Backgrounder: UVic unveils world's most advanced seafloor observatory
The Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea (VENUS) project, led by the University of Victoria, is the world’s most advanced cabled seafloor observatory. Via the VENUS website at www.venus.uvic.ca, ocean measurements, sounds and images can be viewed by anyone at anytime, in real time. From their computers anywhere in the world, VENUS scientists can tell instruments to change measurements or instantly respond to unusual events, such as a storm, an earthquake or a passing school of fish.
There are five components to VENUS: an array of scientific instruments connected by power and fibre-optic cable to a central node; power and fibre optic cable linking the node to shore; a shore station relaying power and two-way communication to the instruments; a data management, archive and distribution centre; and a network operations centre at UVic.
VENUS instruments will include: sensors to monitor ocean currents and sediment movement; vertical profilers to measure physical and biological properties in the water column; acoustic devices to track the movements of fish and marine mammals; and video cameras and remotely operated vehicles to observe marine life and other subsea phenomena.
Operating 24 hours a day for approximately 20 years, VENUS will support studies on long-term ocean change; tides, currents and ocean mixing; fish and marine mammal movements; seismic activity; seafloor community ecology; underwater noise pollution; sediment and slope dynamics; and plankton behaviour.
VENUS users will include: researchers from universities, government and other research institutions; resource managers and policy-makers; ocean technologists designing new tools, software or techniques for ocean measurements; students learning how to conduct ocean research; educators looking for material for teaching or lab demonstrations; and anyone curious about a world they have never seen.
The 4-km Saanich Inlet array, which will come ashore at the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Patricia Bay, will support studies of ocean processes and animal behaviour in a confined inlet. It is also a test site for the design and development of new seafloor observatory components. The array will be installed in December 2005, with live data, sounds and images expected on the website by January 2006.
The second leg of VENUS will be a 40-km array in the Strait of Georgia, one of Canada’s busiest and richest waterways. The main array will extend to a 300-metre depth in mid-strait with spurs onto the Fraser River delta. Initial studies will include dynamics of water movement, animal migration, and sediments in the Fraser River delta.
VENUS is a sister project to NEPTUNE Canada, a seafloor observatory that will install 800 km of cable and instruments off the outer coast of British Columbia, starting in 2007. NEPTUNE Canada is also led by the University of Victoria.
Collecting ocean data is the first challenge, storing them is the second, and delivering them is the third. Together, VENUS and NEPTUNE Canada are building a common data management and archive system to reside at UVic. This archive of continuous, long-term ocean data will be a legacy for future ocean researchers.
The VENUS project is also a testbed for the ocean technology industry and features ocean technological designs developed in B.C. New products, services and expertise can be exported to other marine installations and projects around the world. Over its lifespan, VENUS will generate jobs in information technology, engineering, and research and support services.
VENUS maintains partnerships with many organizations including: Global Marine Systems Ltd., Ocean Works International Inc., Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the National Research Council, the Department of National Defence, Natural Resources Canada, the University of British Columbia, and the Vancouver Aquarium. The project is funded in large part by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and the B. C. Knowledge Development Fund. Other sponsors include Camosun College, 2WE Associates Consulting Ltd., Alcatel Submarine Networks, ASL Environmental Sciences Inc., Barrodale Computing Services, Jet Propulsion Lab; NASA, Ocean Design Inc., Pro-Oceanus and Sun Microsystems.
The University of Victoria is recognized internationally for its excellence in earth, ocean and climate systems research and education. With its unique location, rich marine environment, and proximity to other key marine research centres, UVic is taking a lead international role in ocean sciences and the development of marine technologies.
< Back to ReleaseThere are five components to VENUS: an array of scientific instruments connected by power and fibre-optic cable to a central node; power and fibre optic cable linking the node to shore; a shore station relaying power and two-way communication to the instruments; a data management, archive and distribution centre; and a network operations centre at UVic.
VENUS instruments will include: sensors to monitor ocean currents and sediment movement; vertical profilers to measure physical and biological properties in the water column; acoustic devices to track the movements of fish and marine mammals; and video cameras and remotely operated vehicles to observe marine life and other subsea phenomena.
Operating 24 hours a day for approximately 20 years, VENUS will support studies on long-term ocean change; tides, currents and ocean mixing; fish and marine mammal movements; seismic activity; seafloor community ecology; underwater noise pollution; sediment and slope dynamics; and plankton behaviour.
VENUS users will include: researchers from universities, government and other research institutions; resource managers and policy-makers; ocean technologists designing new tools, software or techniques for ocean measurements; students learning how to conduct ocean research; educators looking for material for teaching or lab demonstrations; and anyone curious about a world they have never seen.
The 4-km Saanich Inlet array, which will come ashore at the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Patricia Bay, will support studies of ocean processes and animal behaviour in a confined inlet. It is also a test site for the design and development of new seafloor observatory components. The array will be installed in December 2005, with live data, sounds and images expected on the website by January 2006.
The second leg of VENUS will be a 40-km array in the Strait of Georgia, one of Canada’s busiest and richest waterways. The main array will extend to a 300-metre depth in mid-strait with spurs onto the Fraser River delta. Initial studies will include dynamics of water movement, animal migration, and sediments in the Fraser River delta.
VENUS is a sister project to NEPTUNE Canada, a seafloor observatory that will install 800 km of cable and instruments off the outer coast of British Columbia, starting in 2007. NEPTUNE Canada is also led by the University of Victoria.
Collecting ocean data is the first challenge, storing them is the second, and delivering them is the third. Together, VENUS and NEPTUNE Canada are building a common data management and archive system to reside at UVic. This archive of continuous, long-term ocean data will be a legacy for future ocean researchers.
The VENUS project is also a testbed for the ocean technology industry and features ocean technological designs developed in B.C. New products, services and expertise can be exported to other marine installations and projects around the world. Over its lifespan, VENUS will generate jobs in information technology, engineering, and research and support services.
VENUS maintains partnerships with many organizations including: Global Marine Systems Ltd., Ocean Works International Inc., Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the National Research Council, the Department of National Defence, Natural Resources Canada, the University of British Columbia, and the Vancouver Aquarium. The project is funded in large part by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and the B. C. Knowledge Development Fund. Other sponsors include Camosun College, 2WE Associates Consulting Ltd., Alcatel Submarine Networks, ASL Environmental Sciences Inc., Barrodale Computing Services, Jet Propulsion Lab; NASA, Ocean Design Inc., Pro-Oceanus and Sun Microsystems.
The University of Victoria is recognized internationally for its excellence in earth, ocean and climate systems research and education. With its unique location, rich marine environment, and proximity to other key marine research centres, UVic is taking a lead international role in ocean sciences and the development of marine technologies.