Backgrounder: ONC heads into the ocean abyss with real-time streams

Everyone, from scientists and science students to people of all ages with an interest in the deep sea, is invited to join via live streaming video of every dive to the seafloor. Interaction with scientists, educators and crew on board both ships will be available 24 hours a day as operations continue around the clock.

Aug. 25 – Sept. 2: First leg of the expedition with the explorer vessel Nautilus and a focus on ONC observatory sites in the Salish Sea.

Expedition goals include:
• servicing all the instrument platforms in the Salish Sea;
• installing a new 3D camera in Saanich Inlet;
• deploying pig carcasses for forensic research in the Strait of Georgia;
• installing a new sensor system to measure underwater landslides on the Fraser Delta;
• servicing moorings in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Sept. 3 – 15: Second leg of the expedition with Nautilus and research vessel Thompson. The two state-of-the art ships will stop at five deep-sea sites in the Pacific Ocean. Their path will span a wide variety of seafloor environments—from rocky coast to submarine canyons and across an abyssal plain to the hydrothermal vents at Endeavour, 300 kilometres off the west coast of Canada.

Expedition goals include:
• servicing instrument platforms;
• deploying autonomous moorings at the Barkley Canyon site;
• repairing the hydrophone array at Clayoquot Slope;
• connecting the tsunami array at Cascadia Basin;
• recovering the Cabled Observatory Vent Imaging Sonar at Endeavour;
• maintaining Tempo-mini at Endeavour;
• conducting high tech photogrammetry surveys at Endeavour and Barkley Canyon.

Starting Aug. 25, up-to-the moment dive plans and shipboard activities will be posted on the ONCAbyss website and @Ocean_Networks.

Nautilus
The exploration vessel Nautilus is a 64-metre ship equipped with the latest in ocean technology and two robotic vehicles Hercules and Argus that can dive up to 6,000 metres. It hosts a team of 31 scientists and a ship’s crew of 17.

Thompson
The research vessel Thompson is an 84-metre ship equipped with the latest in ocean technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute’s robotic vehicle Jason that can dive to 6,500 metres. It hosts a team of 36 scientists and a ship’s crew of 23.

Dr. Kate Moran, president and CEO, Ocean Networks Canada:
Connecting our Planet’s Ocean … To the Internet |TED Talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL-FzBUAHuQ

Dr. Robert Ballard, President, Ocean Exploration Trust:
The Man Who Found the Titanic Is Not Done Yet | Popular Mechanics
http://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/a16715/bob-ballard-oceanographer-titanic/

The Astonishing Hidden World of the Deep Ocean | TED Talk
https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_ballard_on_exploring_the_oceans?language=en