NEPTUNE Canada: Realtime, continuous, interactive information from the coast to the deep sea
NEPTUNE Canada: Realtime, continuous, interactive information from the coast to the deep sea.
Dr. Mairi M.R. Best, Associate Director – Science, NEPTUNE Canada, University of Victoria
Wednesday, February 16, 2011 | 3:30 – 4:30 pm
Harry Hickman Building, Room 105, University of Victoria
ABSTRACT: NEPTUNE Canada is operating an 800km, 5‐node, regional cabled ocean network across the northern Juan de Fuca Plate, northeastern Pacific as part of the Ocean Networks Canada Observatory. Public data flow started in 2009 and instruments continue to be added to this technically challenging system which provides the continuous power and bandwidth to collect integrated data on physical, chemical, geological, and biological gradients at temporal resolutions relevant to the dynamics of the earth‐ocean system. Initial experiments were planned through a series of workshops and international competitions. At inshore Folger Passage, Barkley Sound, understanding controls on biological productivity help evaluate the effects that marine processes have on fish and marine mammals. Experiments around Barkley Canyon allow quantification of changes in benthic activity with nutrient and sediment transport. There and north along the mid‐continental slope, instruments on gas hydrates allow monitoring of changes in their distribution, structure, biotas and venting. Circulation obviation retrofit kits (CORKs) at mid‐plate ODP 1026‐7 monitor real‐time changes in crustal temperature and pressure, particularly related to events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, hydrothermal convection or regional plate strain. At Endeavour, Juan de Fuca Ridge, complex interactions among volcanic, tectonic, hydrothermal and biological processes will be quantified at the western plate edge. Across the network, high resolution seismic data elucidates tectonic processes such as earthquakes, and a tsunami system allows determination of open ocean tsunami amplitude, propagation direction, and speed. The data is freely available through a Web 2.0 environment, and the infrastructure has capacity for experiments and instrumentation to expand from this initial suite. Visit neptunecanada.ca for information and opportunities.
The Pacific Climate Seminar Series, jointly hosted by the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) and the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC), takes place every third Wednesday of the month from 3.30 to 4.30 pm at the University of Victoria. All seminars will be available via live webcast at http://www.pics.uvic.ca/broadcast.php. This seminar will also be available at http://pacificclimate.org/resources/seminars/