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Managing research infrastructure for the benefit of the community

The Shallow Marine and Coastal Research Infrastructure (SMCRI) is one of 14 large Research Infrastructures developed by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) as part of the South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap (SARIR). The SMCRI was established in 2017 to develop an array of instruments and physical research platforms around the coast of South Africa and its sub-Antarctic Islands to collect long-term reliable data for scientific research to help decision makers formulate appropriate environmental policies to lessen the risk and vulnerability of the coastal zone to climate and global change.

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Our Platforms

The SMCRI is tapping into South Africa’s geographical advantage by providing access to cutting edge research platforms and data at appropriate spatial and temporal scales in all the coastal biogeographic regions from all three oceans to stimulate innovative research and IP generation that is of global relevance. 

SMCRI is building on the suite of observatories, sentinel site and research platforms already established and maintained by the National Research Foundation’s (NRF) South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) and the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB). SAEON and SAIAB are jointly managing 15 SMCRI Research Platforms.

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Our Team

Prof Tommy Bornman

Node and SMCRI Manager Plankton Ecologist

Dr Shaun Deyzel

Science and Data Coordinator Plankton Ecologist

Sean Bailey

Senior Technician

Tim Parker-Nance

Senior Developer
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Featured News

A ‘One NRF’ face of marine sciences: individually we are a drop, together we are an ocean

A meeting was held to discuss the development of a communication and interaction structure around Marine and Coastal Science within the National Research Foundation (NRF), with the Knowledge Advancement and Support (KAS) directorate being well placed to pull the NRF’s marine and freshwater facilities and infrastructure programmes together. The goal of this meeting was to workshop areas where synergies could be found to optimise collaborations and infrastructure and to present a united ’One NRF’ face of marine sciences.

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SMCRI acquires a fully functioning new Hyperbaric Platform

There has not been a functional hyperbaric chamber in the Eastern Cape for several years, presenting a significant risk to scientific, recreational and commercial diving in the region. To address this issue, the Shallow Marine and Coastal Research Infrastructure (SMCRI) initiative funded by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) acquired a fully functional new Hyperbaric Chamber Platform.

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