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July 2011 Expedition Comes to an End

Overview

From July 4 - 25, 2011, Ocean Networks Canada navigated an impressive installation and maintenance expedition in the northeast Pacific Ocean. Diving down to the seafloor to investigate our 800-km cabled network observatory along the northern Juan de Fuca plate, we tended to our technically-advanced instruments and witnessed some of the amazing marine life dwelling off the coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

September 2011 Expedition Complete

Overview

Our fall 2011 installation and maintenance expedition sailed September 10 – 30 aboard the R/V Thompson. It was a very active time for 7 Ocean Networks Canada staffers, 4 contractors, 1 Pacific Geosciences Centre technician, 1 volunteer, an 8-man ROPOS crew, 2 marine techs and the 21 crew members of the R/V Thompson. During our 20 days at sea, we completed 13 ROPOS dives at three locations, including a trip into Bamfield for parts. During our adventures, we deployed 32 new instruments, including those attached to a Regional Circulation Mooring, retrieved-refurbished-redeployed 3 instruments, in particular our Barkley Benthic Pod 3. We also and retrieved sediment samples from Barkley Canyon and took water samples at Endeavour. Weather significantly impacted expedition operations. We were delayed by strong winds and high seas for 7 days (see our blog), including stormy weather which forced us into Trevor Channel for several hours. In particular, rough seas caused long delays to installations at our Endeavour site. This did not dampen our spirits; ROPOS crewman Robert Bowen created a t-shirt design which embraced many of the challenges we faced during our time at sea.

Wiring the Abyss: Part 1

Overview

# 27 May - 2 June: Barkley Canyon The vertical profiler system, nicknamed POGO, was successfully deployed. A multibeam survey was carried out set a baseline for our understanding the evolution of hydrate mounds in Barkley Canyon. A variety of instruments, including a broadband seismometer, were connected. All 4 “benthic pods” were recovered and redeployed. Some samples were collected including push cores, water samples, and biological specimens. Wally II was swapped out for its twin, Wally I at Barkley hydrates. Two experiments were maintained in Wally’s study area: a study that uses mussel shells to investigate how carbonate persists in different environments and a longitudinal study of fluid chemistry that makes use of an osmotic water sampler.

Wiring the Abyss: Part 2

Overview

On June 26, we completed our summer expedition, Wiring the Abyss 2012 aboard the R/V Thomas G. Thompson (University of Washington). Despite the inevitable challenges we encounter when deploying deep sea instruments, overall the cruise was a success.

Tully Leg 1 Summary: Apr-May 2013

Overview

Today marked the end of Leg 1 - servicing installations in the Salish Sea - wrapped up after a successful 10 days of operations. At 09:00 the newly arrived leg 2 crew stood in the sun on dock with the happy, but tired, leg 1 crew. We began loading our gear and instruments right away with the ship's crane and finished at 14:00. It took us until evening to rearrange it like a giant block puzzle and tie it all down. All those hours playing TETRIS finally paid off. The CanPac ROV Team spent the day conducting maintenance on the Remotely Operated Vehicle and working through the various tooling required for leg 2. The big event of the day was the installation and configuration of the satellite system which will enable high bandwidth communication for leg 2. We began in the morning by setting up network equipment in anticipation of the satellite system's arrival. The frame finally arrived on the dock at 13:30 enabling the pedestal, dish and ISO connectors to be installed. The entire assembly was hoisted onto the CanPac Divers containers on the aft deck at 16:15 with most of the science crew outside watching. Cable runs and terminations were completed by 18:30 and the system was powered up. Calibrations, verifications and network testing continued for several more hours. Testing included clockwise and counter-clockwise spin tests with the Tully, a.k.a. doing donuts in Pat Bay. The spin tests confirmed we have a 15 degree dead zone facing the ship's mast. The system is now functioning (enabling us to send you this log), but requires a few tweaks in the morning to get the streaming video online. We have two VoIP phones with Houston area codes, but don't expect a Texas accent when you call, and saying "Houston, we have a problem!" is not funny to us. The satellite technicians from Oceaneering, Hung Phan and Gary Cheramie, along with Ocean Networks Canada's Nic Scott were transferred to shore after a long, but ultimately successful, day of system setup. We are currently underway to Barkley Canyon Upper Slope, looking forward to our first day of offshore operations tomorrow.

Tully Leg 2 Summary: May 2013

Overview

#### That’s a wrap! The evening of May 22, 2013 is fair and sunny. The seas are calm, and the atmosphere on board is cheerful. This afternoon, we finished the last tasks on the NEPTUNE Canada portion of the Ocean Networks Canada Installation and maintenance cruise. We are on the long transit back to Saanich Inlet to continue the last 2 days of work on the VENUS network. Thanks to the Tully crew and the ROV crew, along with all the cruise participants for making the operations a success!

Thompson Expedition Summary: June 2013

Overview

We are back in the office after nearly 3 weeks at sea aboard the University of Washington’s R/V Thompson. The team followed the Operations Plan that was set out over the last 6 months and achieved most of the planned goals. The weather co-operated perfectly for dive operations, resulting in no weather downtime. The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) crew ensured that there was as little vehicle downtime as possible and was quick to resolve any problems subsea and on deck. Here is a summary of what was accomplished on the NEPTUNE Canada June 6-26 Installation/Maintenance Expedition aboard the R/V Thompson with the Oceaneering Millennium ROV. #### By the Numbers - 20 days - 19 dives - 9 visiting scientists and engineers - 8 ROV and navigation crew members - 4 guest staff on the communications team - 14 Ocean Networks Canada staff - 10 connected instruments deployed and 4 recovered, plus several autonomous instruments deployed.

**Endeavour Mothra** We completed 10 dives focussed on laying the Mothra-Midpoint cable. The first 3 were cut short due to vehicle hydraulic issues. The Oceaneering Team had only 4 weeks prior to shipment for design and manufacturing of the cable laying system. With input from Ocean Networks Canada, we devised a system that straps the cable spooling device under the ROV cage. Unfortunately, the cable lay was ultimately unsuccessful due to issues with mating the hydraulic connector between the ROV cage and the cable laying system. We retrieved the Mothra cable spool and cable laying system for further investigation on shore. - 4 push core sediment samples. - Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) rosette. **Endeavour North (a.k.a. RCM North)** We attempted to remediate last summer’s failure at the Endeavour North site. We tested the junction box (JB-08) with a spare and troubleshot connectivity at the node port. Replacing the junction box did not alleviate the failure and the node appears uncompromised, implying a failure in the cable system. Testing at the Node also suggested that the existing Mothra Node-Midpoint cable is also compromised. **Main Endeavour Field** Successful deployment of a 600 kHz Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), Benthic and Resistivity Sensors (BARS), Tempo-mini, temperature loggers, Remote Access water Sampler (RAS) and calibration with gas tight water samples for RAS and BARS. - Detailed photogrammetric survey of Grotto for 3D reconstruction. - Tubeworm sampling. - CTD rosette. **Cascadia Basin (formerly ODP 1027)** - Replaced existing Seabird Microcat for a CTD with oxygen sensor. - Deployed a 75 kHz Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP). - Deployed a low-frequency hydrophone. - Deployed a Bottom Pressure Recorder (BPR) experiment including 3 pressure sensors. **Clayoquot Slope (formerly ODP 889)** - Recovered the Controlled-Source Electro-Magnetic (CSEM) experiment transmitter and receivers. - Conducted a visual inspection of the SCIMPI (Simply Cabled Instrument Measuring Parameters Insitu) and SHRIMPI (SHoRt Instrument Modular Probe Installation) instruments, and recovered SHRIMPI. - Visual inspection of gas venting site at Clayoquot Slope. - Water sampling (CTD rosette) directly over gas venting site at Clayoquot Slope.

CBC's Bob McDonald Goes to Sea

Overview

During the final days of Ocean Networks Canada's month-long expedition on board the CCGS Tully, award-winning science journalist [Bob McDonald](http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/host/) caught up with the research vessel at Bamfield, a tiny port on the west coast of Vancouver Island. As host of CBC radio’s weekly national science show [Quirks and Quarks](http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/) since 1992, Bob has spent decades helping Canadians understand science.

#ONCabyss Summer 2023 Expedition Recap

Overview

During this seventh year of partnership, Ocean Networks Canada and Ocean Exploration Trust embarked on a 24-day expedition (June 25 to July 18) aboard E/V *Nautilus* to maintain and explore ONC's 800+ kilometre cabled, ocean floor observatory NEPTUNE. Experience deep-sea discovery in the Pacific Northeast at depths of up to 2,660 metres through science and technology highlights from the 2023 #ONCAbyss Summer Expedition.

2023 #ONCabyss Fall Expedition Recap

Overview

Explore highlights from ONC’s deep-sea fall expedition, including video streamed from the abyss by remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Odysseus. Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) partnered with Pelagic Research Services for the last #ONCabyss voyage of 2023. This 14-day expedition onboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) *John P. Tully* took viewers off-shore and to depths of up to 2.6 kilometres to maintain the 800+ kilometre underwater cabled NEPTUNE observatory, located off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Exciting deployments included a new research project aimed at combating climate change. Come aboard and find out more! ONC is supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Government of Canada, University of Victoria and Government of British Columbia.