As the first cabled seafloor observatory that involves a geographically distributed network structure, the Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea (VENUS) will oversee the deployment of three powered fiber-optic cable lines in British Columbia’s (B.C.) southern waters. The funded infrastructure will offer two-way high-speed communication access and interaction in 24-hour real time from the ocean floor and water column to a land based location. With an expected life of at least 20 years, each cable line will have a unique set of instrument suite combinations that will reflect the environmental processes being studied by participating scientists and researchers. Internet access to data will be available for all: collaborators, scientists, students and the public. This new approach to sharing data will undoubtedly change the pace of understanding about the oceans for both the scientific community and the general public.

Tunnicliffe, V., R. Dewey, and D. Smith. 2003. Research plans for a mid-depth cabled seafloor observatory in western Canada. Oceanography 16(4):53–59, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2003.08.

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