Feb 7, 2019
Leveraging science for public good is at the heart of Ocean Networks Canada’s work. ONC’s vision—to provide knowledge and leadership that deliver solutions for science, society and industry—took a big leap forward with a recent announcement to host the World Data System International Technology Office at Queenswood, ONC’s new home at the University of Victoria’s Ocean-Climate Building.
Feb 6, 2019
Ocean Networks Canada concluded its 2018 series of international science theme workshops this past fall with two events, one on observing and monitoring fisheries management/ecosystem functioning and biodiversity and another on sediment transport/carbon burial. The workshops were co-hosted by ONC senior staff scientists and ONC science theme leaders, who are uniquely positioned to connect ONC infrastructure and data with the international research community.
Nov 2, 2018
Visiting scientist Marco Francescangeli is a graduate of Marche Polytechnic University in Ancona, Italy where he completed his undergraduate and masters degrees in marine biology. He will be at Ocean Networks Canada until March 2019 analyzing deep-sea ecosystems at Barkley Canyon and investigating anthropogenic impacts—caused by human activities—on marine life.
Oct 18, 2018
Following the installation of the final set of underwater earthquake early warning sensors off the west coast of Canada, ONC marks a significant operational milestone in partnership with the operator of Vancouver’s Canada Line rapid transit system. A simulated exercise—as if responding to a megathrust earthquake affecting the Canada Line—demonstrates how the network will help data end-users such as transit authorities respond to emergencies.
Sep 12, 2018
The deep sea holds answers to many scientific questions about the origin of life on Earth, our changing ocean, and even outer space. This year, Ocean Networks Canada’s annual Wiring the Abyss expedition expanded infrastructure to monitor both deep sea and deep space⎯from the cosmos to the core⎯reaching new milestones for our offshore observatory in the northeast Pacific Ocean.
Aug 31, 2018
Imagine exploring Banff National Park and discovering mountains that no one knew were there. That’s what happened during our recent Northeast Pacific Seamounts Expedition, in collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Oceana Canada, the Haida Nation and Ocean Networks Canada. While mapping and exploring these underwater volcanoes, the science team aboard exploration vessel Nautilus discovered six previously unknown seamounts ⎯along with an extraordinary diversity and abundance of marine life. These discoveries successfully fulfilled the mission’s goal of learning more about these biodiversity hotspots to inform future protection measures.
Jul 20, 2018
In July 2018, a team of 48 scientists, engineers, communicators, and crew aboard the exploration vessel Nautilus conducted around-the-clock operations to maintain and expand instrumentation on Ocean Networks Canada’s cabled observing systems off Canada’s west coast.
Jul 18, 2018
Ocean Networks Canada is installing specialized equipment at its deepest site in the northeast Pacific Ocean to assess the location’s suitability for observing one of the universe’s most essential and difficult-to-study ingredients—neutrinos. An initiative of the University of Victoria, ONC is deploying the equipment as part of Expedition 2018: Wiring the Abyss, its annual offshore expedition to install and improve cabled observatory infrastructure. Neutrinos are one of the universe’s most essential ingredients and most abundant subatomic particles, produced by nuclear reactions from solar fusion, radioactive decay and exploding stars.
Jul 6, 2018
Ocean Networks Canada is extending its long-term continuous monitoring capabilities to support new marine protection efforts by deploying a sophisticated instrument package on Dellwood Seamount within the Canadian Offshore Pacific Area of Interest.
Seamounts are submerged underwater mountains—often volcanic in origin. It is estimated that there are 100,000 seamounts around the globe, and over 30,000 of these are found in the Pacific Ocean. Despite their abundance, less than 0.01% of the world’s seamounts have been explored.
Jul 4, 2018
Following the successful completion of Wiring the Abyss Leg 1 aboard Canadian Coast Guard ship (CCGS) John P. Tully, the Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) team are busy preparing for Leg 2 of our annual offshore expedition to install and improve cabled observatory infrastructure, 21 July - 4 August. The upcoming 2-week expedition aboard exploration vessel (E/V) Nautilus will complete many of the installations deployed aboard CCGS Tully.
Jul 4, 2018
Visiting scientist Heidrun Kopp, a professor at the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) in Germany, is at Ocean Networks Canada until October to research seafloor geodesy along the northern Cascadia margin and explore possibilities for international collaborations. ONC’s Northern Cascadia subduction zone observatory project aims to provide further critical information on seismic risks in British Columbia, and will be operated on ONC’s offshore observatory that crosses the major fault zone between the converging Juan de Fuca and North American tectonic plates.
Jun 21, 2018
During this 2-week expedition aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Vessel John P. Tully using Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility's ROV ROPOS, a team of 35 scientists, engineers, technicians and data specialists will conduct around-the-clock operations to maintain, install and improve instrumentation on the offshore cabled observing networks at Barkley Canyon, Cascadia Basin, Endeavour and Clayoquot Slope.
Jun 8, 2018
Ocean Networks Canada’s extensive archive of deep-sea video imagery, time-series data sets, and live underwater video cameras from sites in the northeast Pacific and Arctic oceans were on full display from 13-16 May at the fourth World Conference on Marine Biodiversity in Montreal.
Jun 6, 2018
Underwater landslides, also known as submarine landslides, are mass movements of sediment that pose a threat to coastal regions and can have extreme consequences. In May, 100 scientists from over 20 different countries gathered in Victoria, BC, to discuss the latest developments in the science behind these potentially devastating events. A major submarine event occurred in Kitimat Inlet, located on the coast of British Columbia on 27 April, 1975. The slide started at the fjord sidewall continuing down the slope to the centre of the deep inlet. Debris travelled 5 kilometres down the inlet, displacing enough water to cause a local tsunami with waves 8 – 10 metres high, damaging the harbour area. Martin Scherwath, is a geophysical staff scientist at Ocean Networks Canada, who answered a few questions about underwater landslides and the potential impact on residents of coastal communities.
May 10, 2018
The Canada Foundation for Innovation has been supporting research in Canada for more than 20 years by providing scientists with state-of-the-art gear and facilities. The University of Victoria and Ocean Networks Canada were recently involved in a new initiative that aims to get Canadian girls excited about science by introducing them to the amazing CFI-funded machines used to explore our world. On 7 April, as part of the CFI’s Science Machines pilot initiative, ONC hosted a hands-on workshop with a local Girl Guide troupe to build their own miniature underwater robots, while learning how ONC uses remotely operated vehicles to install and maintain its ocean observatories.
May 8, 2018
Visiting scientist Christian Stranne received his PhD in physical oceanography from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, where he studied large-scale Arctic sea ice dynamics and coupled ocean-sea ice-atmosphere interactions.
At ONC from 17 April until 25 May, Christian will be investigating mechanisms controlling the observed episodic nature of seafloor gas venting near the Clayoquot Slope node of ONC’s NEPTUNE observatory, and specifically how the dynamics of overpressure development and hydraulic fracturing may play an important role.
May 8, 2018
Visiting scientist Warwick Vincent, a professor from the Université Laval in Quebec City and an international leader in polar research, holds the Canada Research Chair in Aquatic Ecosystem Studies.
Warwick studies marine and freshwater ecosystems in the Arctic and in Antarctica, work for which he was awarded the Polar Medal by the Governor General of Canada in 2017. His research aims to understand how these ecosystems are responding to warming that is resulting in earlier annual thawing and later freezing of ponds and lakes.
May 8, 2018
Visiting scientist Connie Lovejoy, a professor from the Université Laval in Quebec City and an international leader in polar research, is a marine microbiologist whose research is helping understand how microscopic plankton—the base of the food chain in the Arctic Ocean—are influenced by ocean temperature and salinity, and how they will respond to diminishing sea-ice conditions.
At ONC from 26 April until June 2018, Connie will be reviewing data from ONC’s Cambridge Bay observatory, and planning the 2019 deployment of an automated DNA sampler that will be connected to the instrument platform.
Apr 11, 2018
Marine life flourishes in the deep fjords and narrow inlets off the central coast of British Columbia. However, underwater research in this area has been extremely limited, until now. In March 2018, an exciting collaboration brought together a variety of perspectives to expand our understanding of the unique coastal ecosystem within the area known as the Great Bear Rainforest.
Ocean Networks Canada joined Oceana Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Central Coast Indigenous Resource and the Heiltsuk and Kitasoo/Xai’Xais Nations on a weeklong expedition aboard CCGS Vector to explore and study this area of cultural, biological, and ecological importance.
Apr 9, 2018
Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) hosted two international science workshops in March at the University of Victoria’s Technology Enterprise Facility where researchers focused on expansion at the Endeavour node of ONC’s NEPTUNE observatory and ONC’s Northern Cascadia subduction zone observatory seafloor geodesy project.
Mar 27, 2018
Deadly tsunamis may be rare, but if you live in a coastal community it’s important to be informed and prepared. Over the last few years, Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) has been working with provincial, national and international partners to develop innovative tsunami modelling, measuring, monitoring and reporting methods that supports the creation of more accurate tsunami detection and inundation maps. A recent collaboration between ONC and the University of Victoria’s Coady Laboratory has led to the development of a virtual reality game prototype that simulates science-based tsunami events in the City of Port Alberni. This interactive game involves both cooperative and competitive elements to engage youth and young adults, and will be featured at the Royal BC Museum’s new student learning centre.
Mar 26, 2018
Are you an ocean scientist with interest in ocean observatories? Do you want to know more about how Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) works? Are you interested in making it better? Would you like to help set the goals and direction of the ONC observatories and associate programs, and ways to maximize resulting outstanding science?
Mar 5, 2018
Join us aboard the CCGS Vector from 7-14 March 2018 to explore the fjords of the Central Coast of British Columbia! This is an exciting opportunity to experience an area of high significance for the Heiltsuk and Kitasoo/Xai’Xais Nations. A partnership between Oceana Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), the Heiltsuk and Kitasoo/Xai’Xais First Nations, Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance (CCIRA) and Ocean Networks Canada, the expedition's goal is to gather data in areas important for rockfish, corals and sponges, which will help inform marine planning efforts.
Feb 28, 2018
Ocean Networks Canada hosted an international workshop 7-8 February during which scientists and sensor developers discussed the importance of obtaining accurate and reliable data from ocean-observing systems for ocean acidification.
The workshop featured ONC science theme leader Jim Christian, research scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, and an adjunct faculty member at UVic. Workshop participants included researchers from Canada, the U.S., Japan, the UK and Germany.
Feb 9, 2018
You’ve probably heard of the “Internet of Things”. It’s a connected network of everyday objects that talk to each other, such as cars, kitchen appliances and heart monitors. But did you know that the Internet of Things also extends deep underwater off Canada’s three coasts? Think of it as a Fitbit for the ocean. Made possible by world-leading Oceans 2.0 data management software, Ocean Networks Canada’s infrastructure is continuously monitoring the pulse and vital signs of our deep sea and coastal environments.
Feb 2, 2018
When Ocean Networks Canada’s marine operations team hauled out the Campbell River community observatory for its annual maintenance, they were in for a surprise. A herd of sea urchins had made the platform their home and were earning their keep by feeding on the marine debris that normally accumulates on underwater infrastructure, aka biofouling.
Jan 23, 2018
On 23 January 2018, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake occurred in the Gulf of Alaska at 1:35 am PT. A tsunami warning was issued for the west coast of Canada and the United States. The tsunami warning was cancelled at 4:40 am PT. Ocean Networks Canada’s (ONC) real-time sensors detected the earthquake and the subsequent small tsunami that rippled out across the northeast Pacific.
Dec 8, 2017
Only 0.5 percent of the world’s population lives in the Arctic, a remote region where extreme conditions prevail and daily life revolves around ice. And as global warming continues to cause rising atmospheric and ocean temperatures, that all-important sea ice is increasingly melting away.
Dec 5, 2017
A new study led by Oregon State University (OSU) graduate student Sarah Seabrook that uses scientific data and samples from Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) focuses on the extent, variability, and complexity of species—from microbes to tubeworms—found at deep-sea cold seep habitats along the Cascadia fault off the west coast of North America.
Nov 28, 2017
Observing and understanding the ocean is as challenging as space exploration; it takes leadership, innovation, and teamwork. Ocean Networks Canada’s (ONC) growing matrix of Internet-connected instruments and sensors on three coasts provides real-time data to help scientists, leaders, and communities understand our country’s coastline and deep sea. But who are the specialists that make this world-leading innovation possible? Thanks to over a decade of support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, ONC is now a thriving village made up of 129 professionals from a variety of disciplines who serve over thirteen thousand ocean data users globally. At ONC’s University of Victoria-based ocean hub, engineers, scientists and data specialists rub shoulders with educators, business analysts, media professionals and software developers. Together, we make it possible to #knowtheocean.
