Distance was no barrier to Ocean Networks Canada’s (ONC) capacity to provide real-time critical data about the tsunami risk following an underwater volcano eruption in Tonga on Saturday, 15 January 2022. Nine thousand kilometres from the volcano, the ONC offshore sensors gathered a variety of data, informing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center alerts that go out to countries and territories in the Pacific and Caribbean regions.

This map of ONC's offshore NEPTUNE cabled networks shows arrival times of the tsunami waves caused by the Tonga volcano. Tsunami waves travel at ~800 kilometres per hour, the speed of a jet plane....