NEPTUNE Canada: Overview

NEPTUNE Canada Overview

NEPTUNE Canada, the world’s first regional-scale cabled observatory network, is located off the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The network, which extends across the Juan de Fuca plate, gathers live data from a rich constellation of instruments deployed in a broad spectrum of undersea environments. Data are transmitted via high-speed fibre optic communications from the seafloor to an innovative data archival system at the University of Victoria. This system provides free Internet access to an immense wealth of data, both live and archived throughout the life of our planned 25-year project.

Our Vision

Vision Statement

NEPTUNE Canada will expand the boundaries of ocean exploration and give us a new way of studying and understanding our planet.

Cross-pollination

NEPTUNE Canada is all about collaboration. Our numerous instruments and study locations allow scientists working in a wide range of disciplines to participate. And we expect this approach to bear fruit in the synergy of inter-disciplinary research. Key areas of research include

underwater volcanic processes
earthquakes and tsunamis
minerals, metals, and hydrocarbons
ocean-atmosphere interactions
climate change
greenhouse gas cycling in the ocean
marine ecosystems
long-term changes in ocean productivity
marine mammals
fish stocks
pollution and toxic blooms

As our insight into each of these areas deepens, a greater understanding of the interconnections will unfold. For example, climate change may alter ocean winds and currents, which, in turn, will affect marine ecosystems and pollution distribution patterns. Cross-disciplinary research will help us understand the complex processes governing our oceans.

To learn more about NEPTUNE Canada, browse our pages on research, sensors & instruments, infrastructure, data, people, education and news.

acronymology

NEPTUNE is an acronym that stands for North-East Pacific Time-Series Underwater Networked Experiments. Here’s why:

North-East Pacific: Home to the Juan de Fuca plate—smallest of Earth’s 13 major tectonic plates. Its small size and close proximity to the coast gives NEPTUNE a unique opportunity to observe tectonic processes.
Time-Series: NEPTUNE Canada hopes to provide continuous observations for 25 years. The data we gather will allow scientists to study both episodic events and long-term changes.
Undersea: Instruments comprising the underwater observatory will operate at depths ranging from 17 to 2660 metres.
Networked: Many dozens of instruments are connected to the Internet via shielded cables carrying both power and fibre optic communications lines. A sophisticated database archives and provides network access to this immense wealth of data.
Experiments: That’s right, experiments with an ‘s’! We expect the scientists using NEPTUNE Canada to conduct thousands of unique and exciting experiments over the life of the project. Interested researchers are more than welcome to get involved.

NEPTUNE Canada