Folger Passage

Barkley Canyon

Clayoquot Slope

Cascadia Basin

Endeavour

Story Map: Highlights from ONC's Spring 2024 Expedition

Engaging & inspiring the next generation of Indigenous ocean scientists, marine resource managers & environmental stewards.


Our ocean expeditions conduct vital maintenance of our expanding ocean observatories, support surveys & gather ocean samples.


Join us virtually live onboard while we maintain and upgrade the Internet-connected ocean! 



Live Expeditions

Explore the deep ocean with us! Learn more about past #ONCabyss expeditions.


Past Expeditions

Expeditions

#ONCabyss Expedition - Summer 2023

This 22-day #ONCAbyss Summer 2023 Expedition aboard the exploration vessel (E/V) *Nautilus* marks the seventh year of partnership between ONC and [Ocean Exploration Trust](https://nautiluslive.org/cruise/na151) (OET). This expedition maintained and expanded the underwater cabled NEPTUNE observatory located off the west coast of Vancouver Island. 

Ocean enthusiasts all over the world remotely joined the deep-sea exploration of this underwater world illuminated by remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) *Hercules* and *Atalanta*. Viewers also had a topside view to watch the dive mobilizations, and the opportunity to connect directly with the team through livestream events.

Map of the locations visited during the ONCabyss 2023 summer expedition

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View the full screen Story Map

![Folger Passage - updated Feb 2023](https://cdn.onc-prod.intergalactic.space/14503995881_649cfc2bf0_o_e3f9751b70.png)

Two instrument platforms are installed at Folger Passage: Folger Deep (depth 95 m) at the mouth of an inlet channel, and Folger Pinnacle (depth 23 m) at the top of a rocky reef within a rockfish conservation area. The site is a unique laboratory that monitors a reef ecosystem driven by upwelling–a process intimately linked to the health of Canada’s fisheries.

![BarkleyCanyon_72dpi - updated May 2023](https://cdn.onc-prod.intergalactic.space/Barkley_Canyon_72dpi_1ab6499bd1.jpg)

Barkley Canyon is located at the leading edge of the Cascadia subduction zone, 400 metres down the continental slope to the canyon axis at 985 metres. At this site the sediments pile along the continental slope as they are scraped off the subducting tectonic plate. Conditions in this location are just right for exposed gas hydrates to be stable on the seafloor. Barkley Canyon has the widest array of ONC instruments, spread over the highest number of platforms on one node.


![ClayoquotSlope_300dpi - Updated April 2023](https://cdn.onc-prod.intergalactic.space/Clayoquot_Slope_300dpi_1600px_1ffa7d018c.png)

Clayoquot Slope (depth 1,250 m) is located 20 km landward of the toe of the Cascadia subduction zone. Here, the sediments of the subducting Juan de Fuca tectonic plate are scraped off and gradually accumulate to the North American plate as the plates converge.  Pore waters are expelled from the sediment as sediments thicken and compact, forming cold-water vents, like Bullseye Vent, as well as gas hydrates and gas seeps.



![CascadiaBasin - updated April 2023](https://cdn.onc-prod.intergalactic.space/Cascadia_Basin_300dpi_2378fa3676.jpg)

Cascadia Basin (depth 2660 m) is ONC's deepest site located in the abyssal plain region of the Juan de Fuca Plate. The site is home to an assortment of well-adapted organisms as well as a few isolated seamounts that pierce through more than 200 m of impermeable sediments.

![Endeavour - Updated June 2023](https://cdn.onc-prod.intergalactic.space/Endeavour_300dpi_634e070f24.jpg)

Endeavour (depth 2300 m) is located along the northern segment of the Juan de Fuca mid-ocean ridge, where new ocean crust emerges as the Pacific and Juan de Fuca tectonic plates diverge. As the seawater meets magma up to 2,400 m below, underwater volcanoes erupt producing hot vents known as the Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents, Canada’s first Marine Protected Area (MPA). These tall sulphide chimneys host very unique ecological communities. The site is included in a new proposed named MPA Tang.ɢwan — ḥačxwiqak — Tsig̱is, set to become the second largest in Canada.


Story Map: Expedition Wrap-up

Study sites