Stories

Nov 14, 2019

Drop, cover, and hold on

The final land-based Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) sensors have been installed, completing this advanced seismic infrastructure for British Columbia's alerting system. The system, now ready for commissioning, includes eight seafloor EEW sensors installed on the Cascadia subduction zone, providing real time data on earthquakes—a first on the seafloor off the coast of North America. 36 land-based EEW sites on Vancouver Island help to pin down high magnitude earthquakes.

Data integration is done with the Canadian National Seismograph Network and Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. We are currently working with alerting authorities to determine future roll out of the earthquake early warning system.

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earthquake | earthquake early warning | tsumani | Cascadia subduction zone | data

Past Stories

Listening to Deep Ocean Whales

Aug 5, 2013

Passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammals is a growing research theme on both the VENUS and NEPTUNE observatories. Universit of Victoria Co-op student Kristen Kanes works with the Ocean Networks Canada Innovation Centre (formerly Centre for Enterprise and Engagement, ONCCEE) to process passive acoustic data from their technology demonstrations. Together with John Dorocicz, Acoustic Systems Developer, the two “listeners” publicize the highlights from these data within relevant research communities.

Glider Readied for the Open Water Test

Jul 26, 2013

“Integration of ocean gliders into the Ocean Networks Canada observatories is progressing”, advised Paul Macoun – Project Manager of the VENUS Phase II developments. Presently, the engineering team is working up the first of two gliders for deployment off-shore this summer.

Maintenance Work at Folger Pinnacle

Jul 17, 2013

16-17 July 2013 we are performing maintenance work at Folger Pinnacle, with the assistance of the Pelagic dive team and the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre.

CBC's Bob McDonald Goes to Sea

Jul 4, 2013

During the final days of Ocean Networks Canada's month-long expedition on board the CCGS Tully, award-winning science journalist Bob McDonald caught up with the research vessel at Bamfield, a tiny port on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Thompson Expedition Summary: June 2013

Jun 26, 2013

We are back in the office after nearly 3 weeks at sea aboard the University of Washington’s R/V Thompson. The team followed the Operations Plan that was set out over the last 6 months and achieved most of the planned goals. The weather co-operated perfectly for dive operations, resulting in no weather downtime.

Gas Plume Detected

May 28, 2013

An impressive plume of gas has been detected rising from the seafloor off Vancouver Island in a region monitored by the NEPTUNE observatory.

Tully Leg 2 Summary: May 2013

May 22, 2013

This afternoon, we finished the last tasks on the NEPTUNE Canada portion of the Ocean Networks Canada Installation and maintenance cruise. We are on the long transit back to Saanich Inlet to continue the last 2 days of work on the VENUS network.

Tully Leg 1 Summary: Apr-May 2013

May 10, 2013

Today marked the end of Leg 1 - servicing installations in the Salish Sea - wrapped up after a successful 10 days of operations.

Strait of Georgia Array Online

Mar 8, 2013

After several months of “silence”, our instruments in the Strait of Georgia are alive again, with data streaming into the database, and out to users via the website.

Strait of Georgia Array is Coming Back Online

Feb 13, 2013

Responding to a failure of an array power connector on the VENUS Strait of Georgia in early fall 2012, a joint team of engineers from Ocean Networks Canada and OceanWorks Int’l have spent a week (Feb 5-9) aboard CS Wave Venture recovering, repairing, testing and redeploying the VENUS primary sub-sea infrastructure in the Strait of Georgia.

Buoy Profiling System Winch Test Progress Update

Jan 23, 2013

The VENUS buoy profiling system winch system test on the Ocean Technology Testbed buoy is progressing. Soon after installation in December 2012, the system underwent a site acceptance test with the manufacturer. Following on from this, the Data Management group has now developed a real time linkage between the system and the database. The next stage is to develop the software infrastructure to command and control the system.

Teen Spots Hagfish-Slurping Elephant Seal

Jan 23, 2013

On 12 January 2013 Kirill was watching the video feed from our Pod 4 camera in Barkley Canyon (depth: 894 m) and noticed a hagfish moving around on the sediment below the camera, when something unusual happened.

Verena Tunnicliffe—Changing Perspectives

Jan 10, 2013

"Who could ask for a better 12 years?? I am leaving VENUS with such a wealth of memories, experiences, new knowledge and cakes consumed..."

-Verena Tunnicliffe, VENUS Director (2001-2012) changes perspectives and says goodbye to VENUS.

Negligible Tsunami From Alaska Earthquake

Jan 5, 2013

A strong magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck west of Craig, Alaska at 12:58AM PST, 5 January 2013. Tsunami warning and alerts were issued for a broad section of the Alaskan and Canadian coastline, but no damaging waves were generated.

VENUS Science From a New Perspective

Jan 3, 2013

With the New Year just beginning, the VENUS observatory continues its Phase II expansion with the testing of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in Saanich Inlet.

AUV Undergoes Tests Before Deployment in Saanich Inlet

Jan 2, 2013

The Ocean Technology Lab’s (UVic) Bluefin AUV has been retrofitted with a suite of instruments to support science experiments in Saanich Inlet (and beyond).

Successful test of the new buoy profiling system winch

Dec 11, 2012

A joint team of VENUS and UVic/Ocean Technology Lab engineers tested a winch system on the Ocean Technology Test Bed (OTTB) Buoy in Saanich Inlet.

DISCO on the Sea Floor

Nov 5, 2012

The VENUS Observatory opens a rare window into the undersea environment of a unique ocean ecosystem: Saanich Inlet, off the southeast coast of Vancouver Island. The observatory site here includes a wide range of sensors and instruments, including DISCO, or Digital Stills Camera system, that provides researchers with high-resolution 8 megapixel underwater images.

Haida Gwaii Rumbles Picked Up on ONC's Hydrophone

Nov 2, 2012

From Alaska to Vancouver, residents along the west coast felt the powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck the Haida Gwaii archipelago at 8:04PM PDT, on October 27th, 2012. Ocean Networks Canada seafloor hydrophones also registered the low-frequency rumbles from this earthquake, along with the calls of humpback whales in the area.

Haida Gwaii Earthquake and Tsunami

Oct 27, 2012

A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck central Moresby Island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago at 8:04PM PDT, 27 October 2012. Residents along the west coast—from Alaska to Vancouver—also felt several aftershocks up to magnitude 5.8. However, no major damage or injuries were reported. This was the largest temblor to hit Canada since 1949, when an 8.1-magnitude quake hit west of the Queen Charlotte Islands, in the same area.

Folger Pinnacle Back Online

Oct 26, 2012

Folger Pinnacle instrument platform, part of ONC's Folger Passage observatory is now back online, streaming data and video from 23 m below sea level in Folger Passage.

VENUS Live Video Shows Ocean Forensic Research in Action

Oct 23, 2012

Continuous undersea monitoring by Ocean Networks Canada enables a wide variety of research studies, including leading-edge forensic experiments by two BC scientists.

Delta Cable is Back for Repair

Oct 18, 2012

The orange reel is >5 km of extension cable on the deck of the powered barge “Georgia Transporter” after a successful recovery. The Delta cable supplies power and a communication link from the East Node in the Strait of Georgia (175 m) to an instrument platform near the mouth of the Fraser River. This cable was damaged in June 2012 by an underwater landslide and will be repaired and then redeployed in April 2013.

Saanich Inlet Hypoxia Paper Published

Sep 26, 2012

A recent paper examines the response of the benthic animals to changing levels of oxygen.

Folger Pinnacle Re-installed

Sep 18, 2012

Thanks to the help of three boat crews and a dive team, our Folger Pinnacle instrument platform is now reinstalled on a submerged reef inFolger Passage, ready to be reconnected to the network. The platform, which was recovered earlier this year, has been cleaned, refurbished and upgraded with new instruments.

Autonomous Mooring at Saanich Inlet Sill

Sep 18, 2012

On September 7, 2012, Paul Macoun and Richard Dewey headed out with the Ocean Technology Laboratory (OTL-UVic) engineers Emmett Gamroth and Jeff Kennedy to deploy a small autonomous (internally recording) mooring just inside the sill at the entrance to Saanich Inlet.

Observatory to Monitor Ocean Turbines

Sep 13, 2012

Canada’s efforts to demonstrate world leadership in tidal energy research and technology are taking a significant step forward, as Ocean Networks Canada’s Innovation Centre partners with researchers and industry to design and install the world’s first cabled underwater monitoring platform specifically for extreme, high-flow tide conditions.

Tale of Two Tsunamis

Sep 5, 2012

A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile in February 2010, generating a tsunami that crossed the Pacific, with measurable waves recorded throughout coastal British Columbia. A recent paper, published in Pure and Applied Geophysics, describes this tsunami in detail and compares it to the Great Chilean earthquake and tsunami of May 1960.

In the Spotlight

Sep 4, 2012

The ROV has just re-deployed a seafloor camera after maintenance.

Methane Flux in Barkley Canyon

Aug 27, 2012

It’s hardly been a case of “all play and no work” for Wally the Crawler. Researchers in Germany and Canada have been making heavy use of Wally and the unique data this deep-sea crawler gathers among the gas hydrates outcrops of Barkley Canyon. A recent paper published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters details their recent findings, which have implications for changes we may expect as Earth’s climate warms.