NEPTUNE Canada Ocean Observatory Goes Live

A new era of ocean exploration has begun.

Today, the NEPTUNE Canada cabled ocean observatory—the largest and most advanced facility of its kind in the world—officially turned on the data flow from hundreds of scientific instruments and sensors installed on the seafloor of the Pacific Ocean.

Led by the University of Victoria, NEPTUNE Canada pioneers a new generation of ocean observation systems that use innovative engineering and the Internet to provide continuous, long-term monitoring of ocean processes and events, as they happen.

“This is a tremendous leap forward for global ocean science and technology,” says Dr. David Turpin, president of the University of Victoria. “Thanks to the vision and dedication of a talented team of scientists and engineers, and ongoing investments by governments and funding partners, we now have unprecedented access to the deep ocean.”

Every year for the next 25 years, NEPTUNE Canada will amass more than 60 terabytes of scientific data—equivalent to the text in about 60 million books—on biological, physical, chemical and geological processes in the Pacific Ocean.

The data will have policy applications in the areas of climate change, hazard mitigation (earthquakes and tsunamis), ocean pollution, port security and shipping, resource development, sovereignty and security, and ocean management.

The observatory’s cutting-edge technologies are already generating commercialization and job creation opportunities, and are attracting considerable attention from other countries building or planning similar facilities.

“One small click of a mouse—one giant leap toward ocean discoveries that will benefit the entire world,” says Iain Black, Minister of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development, who officially turned on the data flow at the event. “From creating jobs for British Columbians and protecting the environment to exploring resources under the ocean floor, NEPTUNE Canada is an example of our province leading through innovation.”

“It is a matter of national pride that the world’s largest undersea observatory has been built in Canadian seas for Canadian researchers, and CANARIE is honoured to be supporting this important initiative,” says Guy Bujold, president of CANARIE. “Our advanced technology and tools will help enhance NEPTUNE Canada’s success on the research, educational and environmental fronts.”

“The science community is driving a new era of ocean exploration and discovery,” says NEPTUNE Canada project director Dr. Chris Barnes. “We’re overjoyed to bring online the world’s first regional cabled ocean observatory. The fire hose of real-time data will increase as we add more instruments next summer.”

The Government of Canada, through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), recently committed $24 million over the next two years to support the operating requirements of NEPTUNE Canada and its sister observatory, VENUS.

The development of NEPTUNE Canada has been funded by more than $100 million from the Government of Canada through CFI, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and CANARIE, and the Government of British Columbia through the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund.

For more information on NEPTUNE Canada, visit www.neptunecanada.ca.

Photos page: Downloadable high- and web-res photos available at:  http://communications.uvic.ca/releases/release.php?display=photos&id=1094

Downloadable Videos available at:   To download videos, right-click on link and "save taraget as" or "save link as".
http://web.uvic.ca/~ucom/videos/NEPTUNE_wow.mp4 24 megabytes

http://web.uvic.ca/~ucom/videos/NEPTUNE_B-roll.mp4 130 megabytes

http://web.uvic.ca/~ucom/videos/NEPTUNE_Snelgrove.mp4 24 megabytes

http://web.uvic.ca/~ucom/videos/NEPTUNE_ele-willoughby.mp4 23 megabytes

http://web.uvic.ca/~ucom/videos/NEPTUNE_goodyear.mp4 7 megabytes

http://web.uvic.ca/~ucom/videos/NEPTUNE_phillipson.mp4 9 megabytes

http://web.uvic.ca/~ucom/videos/NEPTUNE_thomsen.mp4 17 megabytes
 

-- 30 --