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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

Monitoring the rapidly changing Arctic is vital to climate science. However installing and maintaining real-time ocean observing infrastructure in Canada’s remote and icy north is complex. After five years of gathering real-time Arctic Ocean and sea ice data, Ocean Networks Canada’s (ONC) Cambridge Bay community observatory infrastructure received a major overhaul in September 2017. In addition to annual maintenance, the original network equipment and servers were replaced and all dock electronics and shore instruments were relocated to a new secure shore station. Read more...

When ONC installed a community observatory in Cambridge Bay in 2012, fifteen-year-old Mia Otokiak was inspired to get involved and learn about the ocean that surrounds her tiny hamlet. Five years later, she is fulfilling her dream of pursuing a science career, and helping other young people do the same. Mia recently landed an exciting job to help protect Nunavut communities. “I can guarantee that ONC was a huge reason I have been able to get my current job with the Nunavut Impact Review Board,” says Mia. “ONC has been a huge stepping stone in my science career, and I am truly grateful to have been a part of the team.”

In September 2017, Ocean Networks Canada's (ONC) seismic sensors collected real-time information on two recent and very different earthquakes: one distant earthquake off Mexico’s west coast and a much smaller regional event near Ucluelet, British Columbia. Both seismic events provide insight into British Columbia’s earthquake early warning system, currently in development.

The Canada Foundation for Innovation has supported ONC since 2002. In 2014, Transport Canada, WED, and IBM Canada wisely invested in a vision to take ONC’s decade of deep sea ocean observing science, data, and infrastructure to the next level. After three years of hard work, collaboration, and innovation, this timely investment bore fruit in April 2017 when ONC successfully delivered an impressive suite of Smart Ocean™ Systems infrastructure, services and data product prototypes, positioning Canada as a global leader in ocean technology, data management and responsible ocean management.

Every year ONC sets out to sea in the northeast Pacific for a few weeks, equipped with remotely operated vehicles (ROV), ocean observing instruments and platforms, and a long list of to-do’s. Working around the clock, the crack team—scientists, engineers, ROV pilots, navigators, communicators, and ship’s crew—contend with unpredictable weather and the mighty abyss to maintain and upgrade ONC’s deep sea ocean observing infrastructure. Wiring the Abyss is a critical undertaking to help us #knowtheocean, and no-one even gets wet.