Backgrounder: Celebrating 10 years of pioneering ocean science

1. It’s really BIG science.

Don’t just take our word for it. In 2011, ONC was named one of the 10 Most Ambitious Experiments in the Universe by Popular Science. And why not? At the time it involved some 850 km of cable, 130 instruments and 400 sensors laid along the ocean floor to depths of up to 2.7 km, all of it connected to the internet. It’s even bigger than that now. ONC is one of Canada’s four large-scale major science initiatives and the only one in the ocean. Thanks to ONC, Canada is the pioneer on how to conduct high-tech research in corrosive salt water, bone-crushing pressure, extreme temperatures and perpetual darkness.

2. It’s really BIG data.

Think of it as a Fitbit for the ocean. Through its world-leading Oceans 2.0 data management software, ONC is continuously taking the ocean’s pulse and vital signs, including temperature, salinity, pH, tides, seismic activity and noise levels. We can’t see and hear what’s going on down there without these this sophisticated system. Why does this matter? The ocean is the lifeblood of this planet. No healthy ocean, no healthy us. ONC provides scientists and leaders with the data they need to make informed decisions about coastal management, conservation, marine safety, climate change, and earthquake and tsunami detection. And speaking of that…

3. Shake, rattle and roll.

There’s no smoke without a fire. ONC is developing an underwater “smoke alarm” for earthquakes that could save your life by detecting a quake and delivering an early warning before the shaking starts. In 2009, ONC made history by installing the first offshore sensors directly across the fault line where two tectonic plates meet. These ultra-sensitive instruments monitor and measure the more subtle primary or P-waves that precede the dangerous secondary or S-waves that cause the damage. ONC and its partners are currently developing a much-needed Web-enabled Awareness Research Network (WARN) that will offer us precious seconds to get ready before the shaking starts.

4. Science meets The Blob.

As the saying goes, what can be measured can be improved. Climate change has been described as the biggest challenge of our time and a key to understanding it is the ocean. Thanks to ONC, we’re understanding more and more about climate change and ocean conditions in the northeast Pacific every day—including a large patch of unusually warm water known as The Blob. In the Arctic, ONC’s Cambridge Bay Observatory is monitoring the accelerating decline of summer sea ice. And ONC is working with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard to manage the country’s first Marine Protected Area at Endeavour Ridge, located 80 km off the west coast of Vancouver Island.

5. Wiring the abyss.

Like the space race, deep ocean exploration needs specially designed gear that you can’t buy off the shelf. And ocean technology is even more complex than space technology. ONC has worked with some of the most creative minds on the planet to develop and build a remotely operated, internet-connected science lab in deep-sea ecosystems where dive suits just won’t cut it. That’s no mean feat! ONC partnered with Vancouver-based OceanWorks International to develop deep-sea nodes and junction boxes that provide power and internet connectivity to the ocean floor, just like the wireless router in your home. And then there’s Wally, the Mar’s Rover’s underwater cousin. Specially developed as a deep-sea crawler, Wally the telerobot is remotely operated by researchers in Germany to explore the ocean floor.

6. Window to an alien world.

Underwater volcanoes that spew scalding black gases. Tubeworms that thrive without light or oxygen on sulphurous bacteria. Sea pigs that walk the ocean floor with hydraulically operated tube feet. It’s another world down there. ONC is helping us to understand and experience this new frontier, which is less mapped than the surface of Mars. The more we know about the deep ocean and the often bizarre creatures that have thrived there for millennia, the more it tells us about the origins of life on Earth and our collective future.

7. Armchair science.

Want to explore the ocean floor and contribute to science, no diving gear required? Thanks to ONC, you can voyage to the bottom of the sea from the comfort of your own home. Digital Fishers is a crowdsourcing game that invites volunteers to observe hours of undersea video from their own computers. It pays off. Just ask Ukrainian teenager Kirill Dudko. In 2013, he spotted never-before-seen footage of an elephant seal gobbling a hagfish on the ocean floor. His YouTube video went viral. And in 2015, ONC teamed up with the Pacific Salmon Foundation to develop the Community Fisher’s app, which won The Economist’s People’s Choice ‘Ocean Innovation Challenge for solutions that alleviate the tension between growth and sustainability in the oceans.

8. CSI Salish Sea.

Never mind TV’s CSI Miami and its various TV progeny. ONC has its very own crime scene investigations. In 2006, forensic entomologist Gail Anderson deposited a dead pig in front of ONC cameras on the bottom of Saanich Inlet. It was the first real-time scientific observation of what happens to a body in the marine environment over time. Not great for the pig. But very helpful for Anderson’s ongoing homicide research. For example, this work helped to solve the mystery of the severed human feet that washed ashore on BC beaches between 2007 and 2011.

9. An ocean of collaboration.
It takes a global village to raise a scientific brainchild of this magnitude. Over the years, ONC has worked with hundreds of scientists, engineers, researchers, innovators, big thinkers, industry and government partners. It’s been a collaborative process of listening and responding to real needs while leading the scientific community into the 21st century. In the process, the ocean science community has cited ONC in 124 peer-reviewed journal articles, 392 conference papers and posters, 42 theses and 20 book chapters. And ONC’s learning and outreach team is getting students and communities across Canada hooked on the wonders of the ocean and the vital role it plays in our lives.

10. Coming soon to an ocean near you.

We’ve come a long way since Saanich Inlet, baby. In 10 years, ONC now has evolved into a growing network of observatories in the Strait of Georgia, the northeast Pacific, the Arctic and the Bay of Fundy in the Atlantic. An additional six locations are slated for the BC coast and the Arctic over the next year as part of ONC’s Smart Oceans Systems (TM). Through this state-of-the-art infrastructure, coastal communities will benefit from detailed information on weather, sea levels, fish stocks, marine life, incident response, climate change and storm surge. ONC’s new systems will open new doors of exploration to new audiences and an even broader community of researchers.