North East Pacific Time-series Underwater Networked Experiments observatory - Ocean Networks Canada
Original (non-English) name
Acronym
NEPTUNE Observatory - ONC
Citation
Abstract
In the Northeast Pacific ocean, ONC is observing changes in the timing, intensity, and chemical properties of upwelled waters, nutrient availability, and primary production. To quantify these changes, ONC is committed to continuous, long-term recording of temperature, salinity, direction and intensity of water currents, dissolved oxygen distributions, pH and pCO2 using sensors installed on the North East Pacific Time-series Underwater Networked Experiments (NEPTUNE) observatory. The NEPTUNE shore station at Port Alberni on Vancouver Island sends the collected data from NEPTUNE via fibre optic cable to the University of Victoria. The NEPTUNE infrastructure is an 840 km loop of fibre optic cable with five nodes. Each node is instrumented with a diverse suite of sensors that enable researchers to study interactions among geological, chemical, physical, and biological processes that drive the dynamic earth-ocean system over a broad spectrum of oceanic environments including:
- explore the continental shelf at Folger Passage,
- explore the continental slope at Clayoquot Slope and Barkley Canyon,
- explore mid-plate on the abyssal plain at Cascadia Basin and,
- explore mid-ocean ridge at the crest of the Endeavour Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge.
- explore the axial rift valley at Middle Valley.