HR: 08:00h
AN: OS41E-01 INVITED     [Abstracts]
TI: Latest Developments in the Installation Planning for Stage 1, NEPTUNE Regional Cabled Observatory, Northeast Pacific
AU: * Barnes, C R
EM: crbarnes@uvic.ca
AF: University of Victoria, NEPTUNE Canada, University of Victoria, PO Box 1700, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2
AB: NEPTUNE is a proposed innovative network of over 30 sub-sea observatories linked by over 3300 km of powered, fiber-optic cables covering the Juan de Fuca Plate (200,000 sq km), Northeast Pacific. Each observatory will host and power many scientific instruments on the surrounding seafloor, in boreholes in the seafloor, and buoyed up into the water column. Remotely operated and autonomous vehicles will reside at depth, recharge at observatories, and respond to distant labs. Continuous near-real-time multidisciplinary measurement series will extend over 30 years. Shore stations will be located in Port Alberni, BC and Nedonna Beach, OR. Major research themes include: the structure and seismic behavior of the ocean crust; the dynamics of hot and cold fluids and gas hydrates in the upper ocean crust and overlying sediments; ocean climate change and its effect on the ocean biota at all depths; and the barely known ecosystem dynamics and biodiversity of the deep-sea. All involve interacting processes, long term changes, and non-linear, chaotic, episodic events that are hard to study with traditional means. VENUS, MARS, and NEPTUNE will use many of the same cable and engineering systems with the former two acting as test-beds for the latter. NEPTUNE is an US/Canada (70/30) partnership with the total facility cost of about $250M. Over $40M has already been funded for NEPTUNE design and development and for VENUS and MARS. Funding for NEPTUNE Canada's installation contribution (CAN$62.4M) was announced in October 2003. With US NSF/MREFC funding not anticipated before FY 2006, the Northern Loop (Stage 1) of the Project will be installed by NEPTUNE Canada, which comprises a consortium of 12 Canadian universities, lead by the University of Victoria. Housed in new quarters at UVic, NEPTUNE Canada has hired a dozen staff members, with more of be appointed, and has purchased the former Teleglobe TPC4 Shore Station at Port Alberni. Current activities include: a) issuing an RFQu and RFP for the Wet Plant (cable/nodes) with a contract to be signed in Spring 2005, deployment in 2007 and most sensors deployed in 2008; b) arranging three Ocean Observing Systems workshops in 2004 to establish the community experiments, the desired observing systems, and the preferred node locations, c) initial planning for the Data Management and Archiving System (DMAS), and d) establishing MOUs with partner agencies including NSF/ORION, HIA/NRC, and DND. UVic also acts as the lead for the VENUS Project (www.venus.uvic.ca): a shallow-water, coastal observatory in southern BC whose installation has been funded for 2002-06. Over 60km of cable will be divided into three lines: Saanich Inlet (anoxic fiord), across the Strait of Georgia (from Fraser River delta), and across the Strait of Juan de Fuca (active circulation with Pacific Ocean). VENUS and Stage 1 of NEPTUNE will thus form a linked coastal/regional ocean observatory system. NEPTUNE North and VENUS will be among the first of many such cabled ocean observatories.
UR: http://www.neptunecanada.ca
DE: 4894 Instruments and techniques
DE: 4223 Descriptive and regional oceanography
DE: 4294 Instruments and techniques
DE: 4594 Instruments and techniques
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting