VENUS: Victoria experimental network under the sea

The Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea (VENUS) is an innovative approach to ocean research that is unique in the world. VENUS is an online real-time observatory of ocean instruments at three sites in coastal waters near southern Vancouver Island. Cameras and instruments measuring physical, chemical, biological and geological properties are plugged into seafloor modules that provide electrical power and digital network connections and are, in turn, connected by fibre-optic cable to shore stations. From there the data and images stream, via the Internet, to the Network Operations Centre and Data Management and Archive System at the University of Victoria. The VENUS website (www.venus.uvic.ca) allows anyone, through the Internet, to examine marine conditions in Saanich Inlet and the Strait of Georgia. They can also download VENUS data, sounds and images for further research. A scientist can log on, browse the state of the ocean, and take control of his or her experiment using simple Internet tools. Students anywhere can study the ocean without leaving home. In its first three months of public access, the VENUS website had more than 1 million page views. While only one site is currently delivering data, VENUS is serving faculty and students at seven Canadian universities in five provinces, four federal agencies and four foreign universities and agencies. Their initial research with VENUS covers a broad range of topics such as animal behaviour, biodiversity of benthic invertebrates, impacts of microbial metabolism on sediment biogeochemistry, ocean technology development, and data mining techniques. NSERC MRS funding will support an operations team, user outreach, and maintenance of VENUS subsea infrastructure, Network Operations Centre, and Data Management and Archiving System.