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News from VENUS
The VENUS team will be at sea between April 28 – May 7 for another maintenance and installation cruise.
Live Data applets on the homepage, video streams and data plots will not update regularly during this time. Some data may be unavailable from the VENUS Download Data page.
The team plans to:
- Recover and redeploy instrument systems in Saanich Inlet.
- Re-install the Delta Dynamics Laboratory platform in Strait of Georgia at 110m.
- Add the Seismic Liquefaction In-situ Penetrometer (SLIP) to the Delta Dynamics study area.
- Install new sensors and systems developed by ONCCEE at the Delta Dynamics and Strait of Georgia East study areas.
- Re-install the DFO’s Institute of Ocean Sciences Hydrophone array at Strait of Georgia East 170m.
- Deploy the Bottom Boundary Layer experiment in the Strait of Georgia Central 300m study area.
Due to the number of platforms being deployed during this cruise, it will take the ONC Data team more time to update all the data services on the VENUS website.
To follow the cruise and receive up to date information visit the dedicated website: Wiring the Abyss 2013
VENUS has released new and improved data products for stationary platforms:
* NEW: For all Seabird CTDs, we are now offering a selection of TEOS-10 variables including Absolute Salinity, Conservative Temperature, InSitu Density from Conservative Temperature and Sigma0 from Conservative Temperature. For more information on TEOS-10, please see http://www.teos-10.org/.
* NEW: For oxygen variables, we are now offering the calculated variables oxygen saturation and apparent oxygen utilization for devices that are piggybacked onto a Seabird CTD.
* IMPROVED: To address user requests regarding the date format in our csv files, we have changed the format from decimal day to IOS-8601 format. The new date format is of the form yyyy-mm-ddTHH:MM:SS.FFF.
Visit the Download Data page to try the new products.
Responding to a failure of an array power connector on the Strait of Georgia array of VENUS in early fall 2012, a joint team of engineers from ONC and OceanWorks Int’l have spent a week (Feb 5-9) aboard CS Wave Venture recovering, repairing, testing and redeploying the VENUS primary sub-sea infrastructure in the Strait of Georgia.
The marine operation was a challenging procedure for the cable ship but proceeded smoothly without any major complications. The repair coincided with the 7th anniversary of operations for the VENUS network which began in 8 February 2006.
“The mission was a success”, reported Adrian Round, Director of Observatory Operations (ONC). “Both nodes were recovered, upgraded with new Junction Cans and connectors and redeployed to the original sites in the Strait. The next step is to re-deploy all the science instrument platforms, which is scheduled for late February”.
This month VENUS celebrates its 7-th Anniversary, on 8 February 2006 it is exactly seven years since the first node on the VENUS seafloor network was put into place at the bottom of the Saanich Inlet. It was the beginning of the journey in which science and engineering combined to undertake the challenging mission of building an advanced cabled ocean observatory, which is now a reality.
We have come a long way and would like to thank the dedicated staff and scientists who have been actively participating in the development of what is now the coastal network of Ocean Networks Canada.
With our core installations, the new components of VENUS Phase II, and now our integration with NEPTUNE, we look forward to another decade or more of collaborative ocean exploration.
The Birth of VENUS was marked by the University of Victoria as one of the greatest moments in the history of the university. Read the recollection of the founding director of VENUS – Dr. Verena Tunnicliffe on the UVic website.
 Buoy Profiling System (BPS) Winch Test Progress. (January 2013) The VENUS BPS winch system test on the OTTB Buoy is progressing. Soon after installation in December 2012, the system underwent a site acceptance test with the manufacturer. Following on from this, the Data Management group has now developed a real time linkage between the system and the database. The next stage is to develop the software infrastructure to command and control the system.
The picture shows the instrument cage (centre) being lowered into position under the winch (centre left). An engineer from MacArtney A/S (next to winch in blue) was on site at this time to conduct the site acceptance test. VENUS engineer Paul Macoun (in red) is spooling in winch cable to take up slack as the OTTB crane is lowered.
We anticipate that the software development will be complete by the end of February 2013, at which time the system will come off the OTTB buoy. The next step will be integration with the custom-built buoy at the Marine Technology Centre.
See Buoy Profiling System (BPS) on the map of the VENUS Saanich Inlet array.
Burnaby, BC – OceanWorks International has designed, manufactured, and delivered the SIIM-375, a new mini-Node variant of the Subsea Instrument Interface Module (SIIM) to the VENUS observatory. The SIIM-375 provides Node-like functionality for deployments on extension cables, significantly extending the capabilities of the observatory. Power to loads is controlled by four Oceanworks 3rd generation 375VDC breakers. This allows up-to four regular SIIMs to be powered from the SIIM-375, increasing the available instrument density three fold at the measurement site.
For more about OceanWorks International – www.oceanworks.com
A four-member team from VENUS traveled to the Strait of Georgia shore station, located near Vancouver Airport, to calibrate the newly-installed CODAR antenna.
Generally, an antenna pattern measurement (“APM”) is performed using a powerboat to carry the radio transponder, but the shallow mudflats surrounding the Iona shore station made this impossible. Waiting for high tide, the team launched a canoe from the Iona causeway and paddled it through the required arc.
The calibration process entails moving a radio transponder around the CODAR station along an arc of radius 1 kilometre. Ideally, the signal reception would be uniform over this arc, but various objects surrounding the antenna (trees, buildings, etc., but especially metallic objects) introduce distortions in the electromagnetic environment. The CODAR station receives the signal from the transponder, and uses it to map the spatially-varying antenna reception.
After several hours of paddling the VENUS team was on its way back; while technicians at CODAR in San Francisco began processing the APM data collected during the day. After this is complete, it will be possible to combine data from the Iona and Westshore Coal Terminal CODAR stations to generate two-dimensional maps of ocean currents in the Strait of Georgia between the two stations.
Check out VENUS data plots at http://venus.uvic.ca/data/data-plots/.
In the image, Paul Macoun and Richard Dewey, mounting the transponder on the canoe.
VENUS Celebrates 6 Years of Operation
On February 8, 2006 the VENUS Node in Saanich Inlet went live. The six year data record can be viewed under our Research section,
State of the Ocean, log in to be able to download the data. Look for us at the upcoming Ocean Sciences Meeting in Salt Lake City, February 20-24, 2012.
Help VENUS improve our web portal and get a chance to win an iPod touch.
The VENUS Ocean Observatory is currently undergoing a project to update the VENUS website, with a strong focus on improving usability. As a part of the project, we are conducting online survey asking our users to comment on their experience using VENUS online. The information that you provide will assist us in improving the site’s usability and accessibility. The survey will be posted on the website till Dec 20, 2011. Eligible responders* are offered an opportunity to participate in the draw to win an iPod Touch. If you have questions, please contact us at venus@uvic.ca.
* Employees of VENUS, NEPTUNE Canada and Ocean Networks Canada and its divisions are not eligible enter into the draw.
Click here to start the survey.
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