1. Advancing deep ocean observing.

2. Hot and cold vent dynamics.

3. The coastal ocean.

4. Natural hazards.

5. Ocean soundscapes.

6. Arctic observing.

7. Data science.

Story Map: Highlights from ONC's Spring 2024 Expedition

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


ONC enables research in diverse ocean environments to address climate change, ocean health, marine safety and more.


Our seven priority areas for science research to 2030.

ONC Strategies for Science

A networking space for the science community to collaborate, experiment, share ideas and coordinate projects. 

ONC Science Hub

ONC supports community-based monitoring for coastal communities and organizations across Canada.


Community Fishers Program

Localized systems providing continuous, real-time ocean monitoring in Canada’s coastal communities. 

Community Observatory Program

Real-time vessel traffic information from AIS worldwide vessel tracking system.

Marine Domain Awareness Program

Community Based Monitoring

Our team of staff scientists is available to assist researchers and support their projects. 


Science Team

Publications

Financial support, mentorship and residency programs for visiting scientists, scholars and students. 

Science Collaboration & Student Support

An Ocean Networks Canada project endorsed as UN Ocean Decade project

Advancing Indigenous Partnerships in Ocean Science for Sustainability

Science

ONC is expanding its support for scientific research and is working with partners to address climate change, ocean sustainability and hazard challenges. ONC will concentrate support for basic research in seven priority areas, as outlined in the [ONC 2030 Strategic Plan](https://www.oceannetworks.ca/about-onc/strategic-plan/).

# Science priorities over the next decade  
 

The deep ocean is the largest habitat for life on Earth, yet less than one percent has been sampled or monitored while most species within this region remain un-described. Deep-sea ecosystems are vulnerable to large-scale resource extraction (for example, bottom trawling, ocean mining) and the oceanic consequences of fossil fuel burning including acidification, deoxygenation, and warming. ONC’s platforms support pioneering, impactful research into how deep-sea organisms respond to habitat disturbance and long-term environmental change. ONC will expand biogeochemical and mixing observations throughout the water column using biogeochemical profiling floats to link processes from the surface to the deep ocean.

Hydrothermal vents and gas hydrates on the ocean floor host unique ecosystems and discharge globally important quantities of metals, gases, and heat directly into the ocean. These exchanges affect ocean chemistry, form mineral deposits, and support novel  biodiversity and ecosystems. ONC’s extensive observing systems are helping scientists understand the dynamics of these systems themselves, as well as revealing how these seafloor discharges and their dependent ecosystems are influenced by earthquakes, tides, ocean currents, and weather. Longer time series and the deployment of new sensor technologies will extend this understanding and generate and test new hypotheses.

Coastal waters are the most productive and heavily utilized areas of the ocean. They are complex to study and understand because of local effects—such as river discharge and irregular depth, tides, currents, and ocean mixing—and the compounding influences of pollution and shoreline alteration. Over the next decade, ONC’s coastal zone observing systems and growing network of community-based monitoring programs will further support the study of regional- and local-scale ocean processes and changes in ocean health.

Major earthquakes in offshore subduction zones cause death, injury, and infrastructure damage both through ground-shaking and by generating tsunamis. Marine hazards such as marine heat waves, harmful algal blooms, hypoxia, and acidification, which directly affect
seafood resources, are escalating because of climate change impacts on the ocean. Rising sea levels are increasing risks to coastal infrastructure from storm surge. ONC’s observatory systems will support marine natural hazard research and provide real-time data for forecasting and providing alerts to help protect coastal populations and infrastructure. ONC will enhance full ocean-depth observations with regards to the storage of heat and carbon, parameters critical to improving our understanding of how the ocean regulates climate.

Sound travels faster and farther in water than it does in air. Many marine organisms use sound to locate food and communicate with their species. ONC’s extensive network of hydrophones in coastal, deep-sea, and Arctic locations will continue to enable ocean
soundscape researchers to study movements of marine mammals, discover uses of sound by fishes and invertebrates, investigate the impact of human-induced noise on marine organisms, and detect tectonic and geological events.

The Canadian Arctic coastal regions are undergoing rapid change as a result of climate warming and reduced ice cover. These changes will impact marine productivity, marine biodiversity, and ocean circulation patterns. There are limited established scientific baselines for quantifying change in this environment, and its vast area and harsh weather present challenges to long-term monitoring. ONC will expand the use of cabled and autonomous observing systems in Arctic waters to monitor a range of coastal ocean processes and their relationship to ice cover.

ONC’s observatories are collecting and accumulating Big Data very quickly, and at an increasing rate. Deriving scientific understanding from these data requires the development of software tools for detecting events, trends, and features of interest. New artificial intelligence (AI) applications, and data aggregation and integration tools, will support research, modelling, and forecasting. An innovative approach to data science and modelling in the next decade will be essential to the mission of ocean observatories and their connection to society and industry.