NEPTUNE is an initiative to provide:

• 20 years of multidisciplinary observations of a scientifically significant ocean area, including the sea floor, with the time and space resolution needed to describe major processes
• 'Community' data in near real time for science and education
• Control of observing systems from shore, independent of weather
• An ability to add new sensors or experiments
• Electrical power from shore

These objectives will be achieved through a network of 20-40 unmanned seafloor observatories linked to shore via submarine cables carrying fiber optic communications (1-5Gbps) and electrical power (50-150kW). The network will be an invaluable tool for scientific research and education, as well as fertile ground for industrial innovation. Installation of the network could begin in 2003.

The proposed site for NEPTUNE is in the North East Pacific along the Juan de Fuca plate. 

A Mini-NEPTUNE project?

Part of the proposed Canadian initiative could add a small observatory network in the Strait of Georgia and the Juan de Fuca Strait, installed before the main NEPTUNE system. These protected and accessible coastal areas could be used as testing grounds for NEPTUNE systems and equipment. As well, observations collected in the process could contribute to local scientific issues, including understanding of exchanges between coastal basins and the open ocean, and obtaining real-time information on fluxes of pollutants and nutrients.