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ACCOUNTS
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What are advantages of having an account?
- Personal history — remember searches, save plots, create annotations.
- Prolonged storage — logged in users searches persist for 14 days after the search completes. Searches run by anonymous users (i.e. users who are not logged in) only persist for 3 days.
- Access across different computers — you can start a data request on one computer and download it later to a different computer. Searches by anonymous users are tied to their browser via a cookie (clear your browser's data and you'll lose your searches).
- Support — being logged in with an account with a valid email address allows ONC support to contact you if anything goes wrong with your search requests or with the data itself. It also allows us to respond to help requests. We aim to respond to support requests and problems within the business day.
- Share — send plots to colleagues and friends.
How to I open an account?
- To open an account, simply register via this page.
- There is a checkbox that says Yes, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The words Terms of Use and Privacy Policy are links. You can click them to view details about each of these.
How do I log in?
- Click the login link in the upper-right corner of any Oceans 2.0 application.
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VIDEO
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How can I watch live video from the seafloor?
- Several live video streams are available on our Live Video page.
- Our video camera pages let you watch live video from our seafloor cameras. If you are a registered camera operator, you can also control video cameras. Learn more.
How can I watch recorded video from the seafloor?
- Most recent videos from several locations can be found on our Community Observatory Pages.
- The complete video archive can be accessed via SeaTube, which lets you watch, search and comment on observatory cameras both above and below water, as well as Remotely-Operated Vehicles (ROVs). Learn more.
- Video highlights are also available on the Oceannetworks.ca site as well as our YouTube Channel.
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DATA & METADATA
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How can I find out about available data products?
Visit the Data Products catalog for detailed information about all of ONC's data products.
How to access seismic (earthquake) data?
For links and step-by-step instructions, see this page: IRIS Instructions. You can also see the latest earthquakes on the interactive Earthquake Data Dashboard.
How can I find out about ONC's data quality?
Visit the Quality Assurance (QA) Quality Control (QC) page for detailed references. Additional information is provide on this Data Quality page.
See the QAQC Test Finder that lists the details for all the automatic QAQC tests.
What Metadata formats does ONC use?
Visit the Metadata information page for details.
Where can I find related data sources?
Check the related data sources page for information about other co-located and related data sources that may be useful for your studies and/or research.
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GETTING INVOLVED
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How can I volunteer?
Ocean Networks Canada does not have any formal volunteer programs, although volunteers do work with us from time to time. These volunteers generally have a suggested project or skill to offer. If you are interested in volunteering, we would need to know what special skills or areas of expertise you are able to offer as a volunteer. Unfortunately, we are not able to offer assistance obtaining visas for volunteers wishing to support our work.
One thing anyone can do from anywhere is participate in our Citizen Science project, Digital Fishers. Using Digital Fishers and a smart phone, you can help scientists study deep-sea marine life and features.
How can I join an expedition?
Interested scientists and graduate students may request to join one of Ocean Networks Canada's installation & maintenance expeditions, please - contact ONC with your interest.
How can I propose an experiment?
Ocean Network Canada's seafloor observatories are built for researchers. A wide variety of instruments are installed already and this data is available for free. The observatory's modular design allows for new experiments and equipment to be plugged into our existing networks. If you are preparing a proposl to a funding agency for funds to develop an observatory experiment, we can assist. To get assistance and information on accessing installed instruments or deploying a new system to support your research, contact the Associate Director, Science Services who will connect you with the appropriate staff scientist focused in your specific research area. ONC secures funds to maintain and operate the observatory infrastructure. ONC does not have funds to support the development and installation of new systems, but we are keen to assist in your efforts to form new collaborations with existing observatory researchers and to obtain external funding.
How can I join a research working group?
Visit the Research Working Groups page.
How can I contact a Staff Scientist?
Staff scientists are listed on the Science Home page.
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INFRASTRUCTURE
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What is a node?
The network consists of a large submarine cable which provides electrical power to the observatory systems, including the oceanographic instruments, and thin fibre optic threads for Ethernet communications. In order to distribute the power and communications, Ocean Networks Canada and OceanWorks have designed and built network hubs called Nodes, much like a USB hub attached to a computer, into which we can plug many oceanographic instruments.
How many instruments can be connected to a Node?
The system is designed to be highly flexible in the total number of instruments that can be connected at any one time. However, the nodes physically have places for multiple wet-mateable connectors, or ports. Each port can in itself support many individual instruments. To optimally utilize the rather expensive wet mateable connectors, Ocean Networks Canada has designed special Science Instrument Interface Modules (SIIMs) and Junction Boxes (JBs) to multiplex many instruments into one data stream.
Why don’t the connectors short circuit under water?
The instrument systems plug into the nodes using specialized under-water, wet-mateable connectors. They have advanced receptacles for the electrical pins that are hidden behind several water-tight, oil-filled o-rings. It takes about 85 lb of force to mate the 12 pin connectors on the side of the node. Once connected, 400 Volts DC and 100 Base T communications are available for running instruments.
What is the shore station?
Each submarine cable comes ashore and leads directly into an Ocean Networks Canada shore station. The shore station houses the necessary electronics and computers to manage the network power and communications, to and from the sub-sea components, the Data Centre, and Oceans 2.0. The shore stations consist of small, secure trailers at the shore-landing sites. Here power is converted into the high voltage DC current necessary to power the network. The Ethernet communications to and from the arrays, and to and from Oceans 2.0 are also managed by network servers and switches.
Where is Endeavour and how did it get its name?
Endeavour is one of the important study sites on the NEPTUNE Observatory. It is located on the Endeavour segment of the Juan de Fuca mid-ocean ridge. This ridge segment was likely named after the Canadian Navy Auxiliary Vessel (CNAV) Endeavour, after its identification by Sandra Barr and Richard Chase in 1974. This vessel, in turn, was named after British explorer Captain James Cook's ship the HMS Endeavour, which was the first British ship to reach the east coast of Australia. During Cook's third voyage of exploration, on 29 March 1778, his ships landed at Friendly Cove on Nootka Island, along the west coast of Vancouver Island. They also visited Bligh Island and Resolution Cove, where Cook had the HMS Resolution repaired. Maps showing the ship's track from Cook's 3rd expedition indicate that he likely sailed over the Endeavour Ridge segment nearly 200 years before it was identified by the Barr and Chase aboard the CNAV Endeavour.
Why is NEPTUNE called NEPTUNE?
NEPTUNE is an acronym that stands for North-East Pacific Time-Series Underwater Networked Experiments.
How did the VENUS array get its name?
VENUS stands for Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea. This initiative was put forward by a group of marine and ocean scientists at the University of Victoria. The concept is an advancement of preliminary research facilities such as Martha’s Vineyardat WHOI and LEO15 at Rutgers that allow scientists to connect instruments to a submarine cable, provide continuous power and receiving continuous data. Marine scientists from Victoria and Vancouver met in 2001 and discussed various scientific objectives that might be addressed using a permanent cabled ocean observatory. From these meetings, the project of VENUS was born. VENUS is also a Goddess born of the Sea.
Where is the VENUS array?
The VENUS array consists of two main ocean cable arrays near Victoria and Vancouver, BC, Canada. One is in Saanich Inlet, west from the Institute of Ocean Sciences at the mouth of Patricia Bay. The second cable extends from the Iona Causeway near the Vancouver Airport into the southern portion of the Strait of Georgia. Both arrays are equipped with a variety of oceanographic sensors for measuring a variety of properties, including seawater temperature, salinity, dissolved gases, zooplankton distributions, ambient sound, currents, and tides.
The node in Saanich Inlet is located at the 95m isobath, that’s over 310 feet below the surface. In the Strait of Georgia, there are two nodes, one at 300m in the central Strait, and the second at 175m towards the Fraser River Delta. At these depths, there is no light, and the pressures are very high (one atmosphere for every 10m of depth). Far too high for divers. In order to maintain the facilities, the project uses Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs).
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INSTRUMENTS
Where can I find instrument documentation?
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The settling of river sediment slowly builds up the Delta, extending the mud-flats out into the Strait. Along the edge of the delta, the delta slope, the unconsolidated sediments form a steep cliff. Periodically the slope fails, and an underwater land slide ensues. What are the conditions before, during, and after such a dramatic event? What triggers a slide? What are the impacts of a slope failure on the local habitat? Ocean Networks Canada has a dedicated suite of sensors and experiments monitoring and measuring the delta slope stability. Learn more about the Fraser Delta.
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OCEAN HAZARDS
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Did radioactivity from Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster
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reach North America?
By 2014-2016, the slow spreading and dispersion of the contaminated seawater originating from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant reached radioactivity concentrations that are similar to the pre-existing oceanic concentrations, making them difficult or impossible to detect/identify. Naturally occurring oceanic radionuclides dominate the radioactive signal from seawater, not only across the entire Pacific, but even in the near-field regions along the east coast of Japan as measured in early 2012. Additional background information.
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