Members of the media are invited to the launch of Ocean Networks Canada’s (ONC) Expedition 2015. Take a tour of the Exploration Vessel Nautilus with ocean explorers Drs. Robert Ballard and Kate Moran on Monday, Aug. 24.

The three-week expedition with two world-class ships will conduct annual operations and maintenance on the Ocean Networks Canada observatories off the west coast of Canada and provide a rare glimpse into the undersea world.

Moran is president of Ocean Networks Canada; she led the first Ocean Drilling Program’s Arctic Coring Expedition to recover the first paleoclimate record, and advised the White House in its response to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Moran will be chief scientist onboard the Nautilus during the upcoming expedition.

Ballard is a renowned ocean explorer and President of the Ocean Exploration Trust (OET), widely known for his discovery of the R.M.S. Titanic. He is a National Geographic explorer-in-residence, and in 1977 discovered the existence of hydrothermal vents. The Nautilus is OET’s flagship for exploration.

What: Launch of Ocean Networks Canada’s Expedition 2015
When/where: Monday, Aug. 24 at 9:30 – 11:00 am.
Media are asked to meet in the parking lot at Ogden Point off Dallas Road at 9:30. Pay parking is available. NOTE: High heels and open-toed shoes are not allowed on the tour due to safety.

More on Ocean Networks Canada: www.oceannetworks.ca and on Nautilus at www.natiluslive.org

Follow us on Twitter: @Ocean_Networks #ONCAbyss #NautilusLive

Ocean Networks Canada is an Initiative of the University of Victoria