reVealiNg T H E S A L I S H S E A’ S secrets THE OCEAN IS MORE THAN JUST OUR CRUISING GROUND, AND OCEAN NETWORKS CANADA IS USING EXCITING NEW TECHNOLOGY TO SEE WHAT LIES BENEATH B.C.’S COASTAL WATERS B Y M A R I A N N E S C O T T PHOTOS COURTESY OF OCEAN NETWORKS CANADA N eerie creature scuttles aloNg the dinghy’s tubes—only these are huge and takes place in the ocean’s unseen reaches. sea fl oor intent on reaching a pink have found a home far from shore. The research is unique—presently it’s dead shrimp. It’s a brittle star the world’s fi rst and only underwater equipped with fi ve skeletal legs— ROPOS, a remotely operated vehicle, program that collects data continuously aor arms?—attached to a body resem- took the video of the brittle stars. We can and in real time by streaming informa- bling a fl at metal disc. Soon, other brittle observe the barnacles through the imag- tion into huge computer banks. The fi - stars dash in for a bite and they pile up es captured by a live, streaming camera. bre-optic cables and hundreds of ocean like a bunch of linebackers during a Both images refl ect but a tiny part of the sensors gather data and make it instantly Sunday afternoon football game. research performed by VENUS and NEP- available—globally and free of charge— All this happens at depths of more TUNE, (operated by Ocean Networks through the internet. As the data gath- than two kilometres. Canada [ONC]), a unique and wide- ering is unceasing, it establishes base- Closer to the surface, a webcam light il- ranging marine project with its scientifi c line thresholds and can document later luminates other ocean organisms whose home at the University of Victoria. changes in ecosystems, temperature, sa- large white beaks extend a leafl ike fan Boaters who fl oat on the water’s surface linity, oxygenation, carbon dioxide con- into the water, move it for a second or and enjoy the exuberance of Dall por- centrations, acidifi cation, and zooplank- two to catch nutrients and then suck it poises, dolphins and whales that emerge ton and fi sh behaviour. back in. It turns out to be a family of bar- briefl y from the deep, may speculate Stationary and fl oating sensors attached nacles, just like those sharp protuber- about what lies beneath our keels. VE- to powered cables monitor four highly ances on rocks that tear our infl atable NUS and NEPTUNE reveal some of what diverse sites: A 40-kilometre cable in 37 MARCH . 2014 PY_MAR14_36-41_SEA_FLOOR.indd 37 05/02/14 4:12 PM the Strait of Georgia outside the Fraser nor demonstrate how climate change af- with temperatures exceeding 400°C. To River delta; a four-km cable in Saanich fects our oceans. survive, the tubeworms and other spe- Inlet; an 812-km loop extending over the cies that abound rely on primitive bacte- Pacific Ocean’s Juan the Fuca Plate; and How it Started More than 20 years ago, ria that transform energy-rich hydrogen a small observatory in the Arctic at Nun- University of Victoria marine biolo- sulphide into nutrients. It’s called chemo- avut’s Cambridge Bay. All sites require gist Verena Tunnicliffe began exploring synthesis; a process that shows life can highly technical and robust equipment hydrothermal (hot) vents. At the juncture exist without photosynthesis or oxygen. to survive the deep, cold, saltwater en- where tectonic plates are moving apart, Tunnicliffe pinpointed a group of vents vironments. new crust is forming and black smokers to study but when a submersible dove We have all seen terrific underwater emerge from the earth’s hot magma. The down two years later, the ocean-floor rifts photography that highlights marine hab- Juan de Fuca plate, which runs along Van- and its vents had moved. This form of itats. They catch the colourful, the exotic, couver Island, Washington and Oregon “geology in action” spawned the idea for sometimes the violent aspects of the food and is sliding under the North American permanent observation posts that could chain, but these entertainments don’t plate is one such site. track changes several kilometres down. show how the food web works, can’t Tunnicliffe became a renowned expert Fortunately, in 2000, the Canadian warn us of earthquakes and tsunamis, on the species that live there in water Foundation for Innovation (CFI) chose to A sharp boundary appears as A brittle star sediment-laden freshwater is has glommed discharged from British Columbia’s onto a sea pen. Fraser River into the Salish Sea. 38 MARCH . 2014 PY_MAR14_36-41_SEA_FLOOR.indd 38 05/02/14 4:12 PM fund infrastructure for scientifi c research. Richard Dewey, ONC’s Associate Direc- tor of Science, explained that CFI money allowed for a “pie in the sky” idea to be- come reality. The result? VENUS—an acronym for Victoria Experimental Net- eed oint work Under the Sea—and the creation LTD. of the Saanich Inlet and Strait of Georgia arina observatories. Both became operational in 2006. More funding allowed for the 2008 launch of the NorthEast Pacifi c Time-Se- ries Undersea Networked Experiments— NEPTUNE—which runs in a loop from Port Alberni through Barkley Sound, and boAtHouSES for SAlE over the continental shelf to the Juan de Fuca plate. www.reedpoint.com - Go to boathouses page Different Results Each observatory gath- ers diverse kinds of information. Take the [email protected] for inquiries Saanich Inlet station. “We measure the fl ows in and out of that fascinating fjord,” said Dewey, who spoke with enthusiastic fervour in his office at the Technology fraser riVer Enterprise Facility. Water moVes “It’s a nursery and a dynamic biologi- iNto the cal and chemical strait at a system, with slow- rate of moving currents. 10,000 m3 Below 100 metres, per secoNd the water is hypoxic [low oxygen] where a unique benthic [bottom dwelling] ani- mal population lives. We have a mooring there that monitors oxygen, tempera- ture, pressure and salinity. Saanich Inlet resembles many fjords. What happens there helps us to understand how parts of the ecosystem work. We look for sen- sitivities, small changes, and how these affect the system. And to determine what is sensitive, what is robust.” The Strait of Georgia’s observatory tracks different phenomena. “This area experiences continual, heavy marine traf- fi c,” said Dewey. “It’s also home to many animals at the top of the food chain, big salmon, orcas. Our advanced hydro- phones measure noise from ships, fer- ries, sonars and so on. We want to learn how so much noise affects these animals.” He added that the Strait of Georgia has strong tides and during the spring freshet, Fraser River water moves into the strait at a rate of 10,000 m3 per second. www.reedpoint.com The fresh and saltwater mix to form a visible plume of buoyant brackish water. Moreover, the Fraser carries hundreds of tons of sediment and the accumulating Eastern Section of Vancouver Harbour silt can cause underwater slumps and slides—much like an underwater ava- (near Indian Arm) - 604-937-1600 lanche. VENUS’s equipment observes 39 MARCH . 2014 PY_MAR14_36-41_SEA_FLOOR.indd 39 05/02/14 4:12 PM ROPOS hangs suspended over the water at the start of a dive to Barkley Hydrates. Quick Facts about VENUS & NEPTUNE ➼ The $200 million marine observation; Field Guide and An Invitation to Science introduce readers infrastructure project has a • Seismometers measuring to ONC’s work. They’re free working life of 25 years. earthquakes; and downloadable. ➼ Within the four ocean • Bottom pressure recorders ➼ Deep-sea forensic locations, the project measuring tsunamis; these events as they happen. studies—“CSI Salish includes seven active Dewey, whose research focuses on observatory sites at depths • Hydrophones monitoring Sea”—use pig carcasses from 25 to 2,700 metres. and recording acoustics; to examine the effects of coastal flows, mixing, turbulence, waves water immersion and pre- and tides, is a lifelong sailor and still ➼ High-voltage, fibre- • Combined, these instru- dation by scavengers. This races his Thunderbird. The annual Swift- optic cables span 850 km ments produce a vast data information will be useful sure Race calls on his expertise: for every along the seafloor. The archive—about 360 GB/ to determine time of death half hour of the race, he predicts tides cables deliver 10 kilovolt of day. in homicides. and currents between Oak Bay to Swift- DC power and a commu- ➼ The open-source data ONC tracks gas hydrate sure Bank. nications bandwidth of 10 are streamed free of charge ➼ deposits, essentially meth- His work on how fresh and salt water gigabytes per second. in real time through the ane molecules trapped mix is teaching us just how our regional ➼ Each site is connected to internet. in water. The deposits a node, or power hub, that ecosystem works. And it’s also important ➼ About 80 people work resemble dry ice. They are a attaches to the major cable for boaters. “Boaters,” said Dewey, “know at UVic’s Ocean Networks potential energy source. key things like the rise and fall of tides and supplies appropriate Canada. Their work is ➼ Coast Guard and and current patterns. But fresh water power to the different supplemented by marine research ships are used instruments. scientists around the world, from the Fraser mixes with Pacific, nutri- regularly to maintain and ➼ The observatories and by “citizen scientists” ent-rich, salt water. And the constricted repair ONC’s instruments include more than 250 who study data and pro- tidal flows among the Gulf Islands con- and cables.