Scientists Jason Hartog and Alistair Hobday from CSIRO, and Grant Smith and Claire Spillman from the Bureau of Meteorology, have received the 2026 Eureka Prize for Environmental Research, one of Australia’s top science awards.
Between 2020 and 2025, the team developed Australia’s first operational long-range forecasts of marine heatwaves, periods of unusually warm sea water. The system gives up to four months’ warning.
The forecasts have been public on the Bureau of Meteorology website since the 2025–26 summer and are used by fishers, aquaculture businesses, tourism operators, conservation managers and coastal communities. Most Australian states have since drawn up response plans based on them.
The work has attracted interest from New Zealand, the UK Met Office and Singapore. With the ocean warmer than in over 100 years of measurements, early warnings help protect reefs, fisheries and jobs.
