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While hypoxic or low oxygen events are known to occur seasonally in coastal bottom waters along the west coast of North America, 2021 was more severely hypoxic. The onset of low oxygen water was the earliest in 35 years, lasted longer, was anomalously low, and covered a larger extent, reaching north into Canadian waters where hypoxia is rare.

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.

A new report released by The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM)—A Research Strategy for Ocean-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal and Sequestration—looks at a variety of technologies and assesses the viability and potential effectiveness. Those technologies range from nutrient fertilization to seaweed cultivation and even electrochemical approaches. Kate Moran, president and chief executive officer of ONC, was the only researcher from this side of the border on the NASEM study panel and illuminates how ONC research can both help with the carbon fight and contribute to a burgeoning and climate-positive blue economy that links aspects of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

On Aug 26, ROVs Hercules & Argus became detached from the cable connecting them to E/V Nautilus. A search and rescue plan is underway to recover the ROVs, which are believed to be tethered together on the seafloor at a known depth/location. Read more.

Every year we undertake three or four expeditions to maintain and upgrade the deep sea ocean observing infrastructure that Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) manages on behalf of all Canadians. From 6 August – 2 September, a nine-person ONC team will spend almost four weeks onboard state-of-the-art exploration vessel EV Nautilus, owned and operated by Ocean Exploration Trust. This will be our sixth major expedition in collaboration with this exceptional team.

On 15 June 2021, a science team will embark on a two-week expedition to uncover the mysteries of Canada’s deepest seamounts in the Offshore Pacific Marine Protected Area of Interest. This expedition is a partnership among Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ocean Networks Canada, the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, and the Council of the Haida Nation, working together to explore and share discoveries from this adventure.

JOIN US LIVE 15-28 JUNE!

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The Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University and partner, the University of Victoria’s Ocean Networks Canada, installed a seafloor observatory in Conception Bay last month to enable real-time monitoring of oceanographic conditions and marine life.

Deep in the ocean off Vancouver Island’s west coast, a gas associated with climate warming is making its way to the surface. Nitrous oxide is a product of plankton decomposition, pulled to the surface in areas where deep-sea waters migrate upwards in what’s known as coastal upwelling. Where is it coming from? That’s a question that University of Victoria PhD student Brett Jameson is exploring, in collaboration with Ocean Networks Canada and the Canadian Healthy Oceans Network.

Despite the usual complexity of working in the deep sea—with a global pandemic to boot—Ocean Networks Canada successfully maintained, upgraded and expanded hundreds of offshore, inshore and coastal ocean observing instruments and sensors this year. This interactive ESRI story map summarizes the year’s highlights and successes in advancing technology, science, community engagement and partnerships on all three of Canada’s coasts.

Research that demonstrates low oxygen levels in the depths of Saanich Inlet might seem like concerning news; after all, marine life needs oxygen to survive. But on a planet facing climate change, this is also good news: without oxygen, the benthic organisms on the seafloor can't decompose, thus reducing the amount of carbon that cycles back to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, a powerful greenhouse gas. New research using ONC's cabled ocean observing infrastructure provides further evidence as to why this deep Vancouver Island fjord is a natural place that stores carbon, also known as a carbon sink.

NEW Summer Webinar Series! While many of us transition to working and learning from home during this extraordinary time, we invite you to dive into Ocean Networks Canada’s continuous real time data and online offerings. Whether you are a parent or teacher with kids at home, an undergraduate student studying the ocean, or an ocean enthusiast, we have something for everyone. Watch for new content coming to our Learning from Home page. 

As we plunge into a pivotal new decade for the health of our planet, philosopher Soren Kierkegaard reminds us that the key to moving forward is to understand our past. Ocean Networks Canada’s tenth anniversary in the deep sea is a poignant opportunity to look at the past, present and future of ocean observing, as seen through the eyes of an emerging ocean science leader whose promising career began with the launch of ONC’s NEPTUNE network in the northeast Pacific Ocean, Dr. Katleen Robert. 

Deploying and maintaining the Internet-connected ocean is a complex and ambitious undertaking. For starters, water and electronics do not play well together and the crushing deep sea pressure makes it impossible for humans to survive at depths below ~100 metres without a submersible. Then factor in wind, weather, currents, tides, the technical challenges of innovative ocean observing infrastructure, and seasonal access. Despite all this, ONC has been successfully bringing continuous real-time ocean data to the surface since 2006. Scroll through this interactive ESRI story map to see highlights of successes achieved in 2019.

During this 2-week expedition aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Vessel John P. Tully, a team of 17 scientists, engineers, technicians and data specialists will conduct operations to maintain, install and improve infrastructure and instrumentation on ONC's cabled observing networks, with the support of Pelagic Research Services ROV Odysseus.