Arctic Sees First Underwater Observatory

Scientists received the first data stream Tuesday from the sea floor observatory, a five-meter-wide frame equipped with instruments to measure temperature, pressure, oxygenation and ice thickness was installed last weekend at the hamlet of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.  The University of Victoria’s Ocean Science Network commissioned observatory. The observatory is a smaller version of units designed and operated by UVic-based Ocean Networks Canada. ONC operates NEPTUNE, a cable-connected 800-km deep ocean network of observatories off the west coast of Vancouver Island and VENUS, a 50-km network in the Strait of Georgia. The Cambridge Bay observatory is connected to an onshore monitoring station that relays data to ONC scientists in near real time via the Internet. Scientists will be able to use the data to track climate conditions in the moment as well as collect baseline data for long-term studies of climate change, especially Arctic Ocean ice coverage. ONC received a substantial cash infusion to fund their research efforts this week: The Canada Foundation for Innovation contributed $32.8 million, while the province of B.C. gave $8.9 million. ONC President Kate Moran called the funding of the observatory a “major step forward” to complete their research projects. Moran said, “ It’s a fabulous fund that allows us to move forward enabling the research we do. As you can well imagine, putting sensitive oceanographic instruments connected to a 10,000 volt, high-bandwidth telecommunications cable offshore, is kind of tricky. There’s a lot of maintenance required to operate the facility. So the funding is really keeping it running and providing the facility for provincial, national and international scientists to do their research.”