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7-year plot of temperature (red), sigma-T (blue), salinity (green) and oxygen (purple) in Saanich Inlet (depth 96 m). This full length time series from Saanich Inlet reveals seven full seasons of variability. The VENUS Observatory has been collecting data since February 2006. The data not only show the cooling and freshening during winter and the warming and in-flux of higher salinity water during the summer, but clearly reveal sutble differences between years. The first year 2006-2007 was an El Niño and was one of our warmest. 2008-2009 was a La Niña and one of the coolest. The winter of 2010 (during the Olympics) was mild, as was the summer of 2010 which was cloudy and cool. This week we present our 2012 observations at the Pacific State of the Ocean workshop at the Institue of Ocean Sciences in North Saanich, BC. We celebrate our successes with all of our researchers, partners, and a dedicated staff that continues to develop new and exciting systems that will reveal new features of our coastal ocean in the years to come.

Ten years ago, the world’s first complex, cabled seafloor observatory was installed in Saanich Inlet near Victoria, British Columbia. On 8 February 2006, live data began streaming from instruments on the seafloor to computers around the world. This around-the-clock access to the ocean revolutionized the way ocean research is conducted. Previously, gathering ocean data was limited to research expeditions; ocean scientists on board research vessels taking isolated measurements that provided a snap-shot perspective of the ocean. Now, after 10 years of observatory science, Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) has accumulated the longest high resolution time-series of data that monitors the physical health of the ocean.