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.

“We’d like to commend Alison Proctor and the Ocean Technology Lab team at UVic’s Marine Technology Laboratory for both the integration of a scientific instrument suite with their Bluefin AUV, and the development of a vessel that can readily deploy and recover the vehicle,” commented Phase II Project Manager, Paul Macoun.

“This new development will greatly contribute to understanding the spatial variability of the various parameters presently being measured at numerous seabed locations in the Strait of Georgia and Saanich Inlet. In addition, this resource will be a key asset for high resolution monitoring of specific marine events, like the spring bloom.” 

With funding from the BC Knowledge Development Fund and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the VENUS Phase II expansion is extending Ocean Network Canada’s range as a world-leading ocean research facility.