Write your abstract here.First stage of NEPTUNE Deep Sea Observatory Completed.
The world of scientific exploration
is nothing short of fantastical and
amazing. Each month we are confronted with new discoveries, and reports
of
scientists pushing the boundaries of human knowledge. NEPTUNE – the
North-East Pacific Time-series Undersea Networked Experiments – is
another of these amazing attempts to push the boundaries of human
knowledge. And, as of Wednesday the 7th of November, its first phase
has been successfully installed.
NEPTUNE (also the Greek god of the seas) is the world’s
largest cable-linked seafloor observatory.
But what does that mean and what exactly will NEPTUNE be doing? Why is NEPTUNE being described as a technological advancement?
NEPTUNE is the world’s first regional cabled ocean discovery
program and led by University of Victoria, British Columbia. The 800 km ring of
powered fiber optic cable on the ocean floor will provide scientists
with unparalleled access to the oceans various environments.
Located
over the northern part of the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate off the west
coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, NEPTUNE consists of the
800 km backbone of fiber optic cable, which will link together five or
six seafloor laboratories.
These “nodes” will provide scientists
with real time data, streamed across the network, back to a data center at
Port Alberni, Canada, before being transmitted around the world.
The
five planned nodes are to be located on the inshore at Folger Passage,
on the slope site of Ocean Drilling Program 889, at the northern edge
of Barkley Canyon, at the mid-plate ODP 1027 site and at the ocean
spreading, active venting site along the Endeavour Ridge.
These
five laboratories will focus on five distinct scientific themes; the
structure and seismic behavior of the ocean crust, seabed chemistry
and geology, ocean climate change and its effects on marine life at all
depths, the diversity of deep sea ecosystems and engineering and
computational research.
The five nodes will allow land-base
operation, using video cameras, sampling instruments, and even remotely
operated vehicles. Their range of exploration ranges from top to
bottom, the first time that scientists and researchers have had the
opportunity to do so. By completion, more than 200 instruments will be
in operation.
The cable which has just been successfully laid
was supervised by Alcatel-Lucent, the company which, along with its
contractors, is installing and supervising much of the NEPTUNE program. “As expected, the installation of the cable was challenging at
times, but thanks to the expertise of Alcatel-Lucent, everything went
very well,” says Dr. Chris Barnes, project director of NEPTUNE Canada.
“Alcatel-Lucent has now contracted another cable ship with a remotely
operated vehicle to inspect sections of the cable route to ensure
proper placement and burial.”
Upon successful completion of the inspection, the five 6.5
ton nodes will be deployed at the five locations. The NEPTUNE program
is hoping to begin its first live data flow late 2008.
Of course,
with many of the new scientific programs being developed these days,
internet will play a large role; and not just in distribution of
information. Schools, libraries, aquariums and the amateur scientist
will all have access to live pictures, video and information via the
website.