Autonomous moorings

Ferries

Argo floats

Gliders

Fibre-optic cable provides power and connectivity to subsea instruments, enabling real-time continuous, long time series data collection.  

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Cabled Networks

Measuring ocean currents & wave heights to support safer shipping, incident response and tsunami detection

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Oceanographic Radar

Story Map: Highlights from ONC's Spring 2024 Expedition

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


ONC operates world-leading ocean observatories that collect data from the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic oceans.

ONC’s deep-sea, coastal and land-based infrastructure includes cabled, autonomous and mobile ocean observing instruments. 

Gathering data from moorings, ferries, drifters, gliders, remotely operated vehicles and ships. 


Mobile Networks 

Physical Infrastructure

Reliable, seamless, real-time data transfer and advanced data management solutions.


Providing power and Internet connectivity to subsea networks.

Shore Stations

ONC’s world-leading data management system.

Oceans 3.0

Digital Infrastructure

Explore ONC’s observatories and networks by location.  

Locations

Observatories

ONC’s mobile networks allow for data collection from instruments mounted on ferries, drifters, gliders, remotely operated vehicles, and ships. Data from autonomous moorings are available following their recovery from the ocean. 


ONC also operates sensors that are not connected by cable to power or the Internet. These autonomous moorings are powered with batteries and the data are collected after the instrument has been recovered from the ocean. Moorings measure water properties such as temperature, salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. Water speed and direction are measured by current profilers and current meters attached to the moorings. 

![IMG_1319.jpg](https://cdn.onc-prod.intergalactic.space/IMG_1319_0824f0c38f.jpg)<br />

##### Photo: Autonomous mooring on deck. 


Since 2011, ONC has partnered with BC Ferries to instrument its Strait of Georgia vessels to collect oceanographic data during daily sailings. Sensors and weather stations installed in the vessel’s hull enable surface water data collection. 

![DFA_4708.JPEG](https://cdn.onc-prod.intergalactic.space/DFA_4708_66e34fe145.JPEG)<br />

##### Photo: BC Ferries vessel.


[Argo](https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/argo/) is an international program that collects ocean data using a fleet of free drifting and profiling floats, measuring temperature and salinity in the upper 2,000 metres of the ocean. When the floats reach the surface, the data are transmitted to a central data archive via satellite. 

Gliders are GPS-equipped autonomous platforms that collect oceanographic data. They fly at oblique angles through the water column, collecting data on ocean water properties and underwater sound. The gliders periodically surface to receive new instructions, send back data records for early assessment, and transmitting a GPS location The full data sets are downloaded at the end of each glider mission. ONC has partnered with Fisheries and Oceans Canada to conduct glider missions and store the collected data in Oceans 3.0.

![OET_3953_edited_3ba329b3d2.jpg](https://cdn.onc-prod.intergalactic.space/OET_3953_edited_3ba329b3d2.jpg)<br />

##### Photo: ONC staff launch a wave glider during the 2021 expedition season. Credit: Ocean Exploration Trust. 

