Wiring the Seafloor - Installing Research Instruments at Clayoquot Slope

In June 2017, E/V Nautilus launched its third season in the Pacific Ocean exploring Canadian waters with Ocean Networks Canada (ONC). ONC operates world-leading cabled ocean observatories that supply continuous power and Internet connectivity to a broad suite of subsea instruments. The ONC NEPTUNE observatory installation, off Vancouver Island’s west coast, allow scientists to operate instruments remotely and receive data at their home laboratories anywhere on the globe in real time. 

This expedition launched with numerous dives with ROV Hercules and ROV Argus to the Clayoquot Slope site of the NEPTUNE cabled observatory, as well as dual-ship operations with cable ship (C/S) Cable Innovator to repair and install sections of the fiber optic cable network. We removed retired instrument platforms, repositioned and tested new equipment, deployed several new sensors including seismometers for earthquake early warning detection, and helped lay new cable to bring additional power to this observatory node. Learn more about these complex feats of deep sea engineering in each image caption!