SIDNEY, BC - Ocean Networks Canada’s first major expedition of the year launched today as the CCGS John P. Tully pulled away from the dock for an intense week of key maintenance operations on VENUS ocean observatory locations in the Salish Sea.

The Ocean Networks Canada engineering team will be at sea from March 5 to 11, conducting maintenance on instrument systems at the Saanich Inlet and Strait of Georgia seafloor arrays. Joining them are the Canpac Divers/ITB Subsea team with their Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Oceanic Explorer, Natural Resources Canada's Gwyn Lintern and a number of scientists visiting the ship to handle scientific samples.

CCGS Tully is loaded with equipment for our March 2014 maintenance expedition to the Salish Sea, 5 March 2014.

Research highlights of this Salish Sea expedition include an extensive deployment of sensor systems at the mouth of the Fraser River, including a new sediment probe monitoring sub-sea pressures. On Friday 7 March, the ongoing Strait of Georgia forensics experiments with Simon Fraser University’s Gail Anderson and Lynne Bell will continue, recovering skeletal remains of two pig carcasses from a depth of 300 m, and the deployment of two fresh carcasses at a depth of 170 m. 

Ocean Networks Canada’s Innovation Centre will also be deploying hydrophone systems at several locations for sensor development partners.

Updates, Blogs & Photos

For daily updates, shipboard stories and photos, visit our new expedition website Wiring the Abyss 2014. For specific goals and objectives, visit the overview page.

Follow the Expedition on Twitter

For live updates on operations and highlights, join the conversation at Twitter hashtag #ONCabyss.