Neptune Canada

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Neptune Canada (proper spelling: NEPTUNE Canada ) is a 100 million Canadian dollar expensive deepwater project in Canada . It is located on the Juan de Fuca plate off Vancouver Island (west coast of Canada) at a depth of up to 3000 meters and was named after the Roman god of the sea, Neptune .

Several interconnected deep-sea laboratories are planned with underwater robots that remain switched on 24 hours a day and deliver live images directly to the Internet . Geological data is also collected about the area, including a. with the help of high-resolution video cameras , seismographs , probes , flow meters and remotely operated vehicles (diving robots). Underwater organisms are also observed.

Surname

The name "NEPTUNE" is a Apronym from " N orth- E ast P acific T ime-series U ndersea N etworked E Xperiments" ( German : Northeast Pacific Time-series analysis and underwater network experiments).

Research area

Research area of ​​Neptune

Research is being carried out off the west coast of Canada. The research area begins in the east at the point of contact between the Juan de Fuca Plate , the smallest of the Earth's twelve tectonic plates, which is located in the Northeast Pacific, and the North American Plate and extends over 400 kilometers to the east to where the pacific plate begins.

equipment

Eleven deep-sea observatories are used in the exploration. Each station is equipped with measuring devices and camera systems, which are worth a total of around 100 million euros. Diving robots are also used. The stations are protected with cage constructions to protect the devices from dangers such as marine animals or other influences.

The devices are connected to each other with over 2000 kilometers of power and fiber optic cables .

Project

The project is a so-called open data project: the scientists can both evaluate the data and do their own research. The advantage over conventional research methods is that there are no additional costs for each project, and no additional work has to be done.

aims

Seismic activity on the Juan de Fuca plate

The following objectives are pursued in the project:

  1. Measurement of seismic activity in an entire region
    → better earthquake prediction thanks to real-time data from seismographs
  2. Analysis of chemical processes in the sea
    → u. A. Temperature , pressure , flow , salinity (salinity), fluorescence , turbidity , methane concentration
  3. Expansion of the known flora and fauna
  4. Counting the number of animals and plants present using echo sounders
  5. Use of marine profilers (VPS)
    → Measurement of the influences on the development of plankton
  6. Analysis of methane gas for usability as an energy source

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Phibbs, Peter: Building Marine Infrastructure for Science  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 74 kB) at neptunecanada.com, accessed on June 12, 2011@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.neptunecanada.ca  
  2. ↑ a b Welt der Wunder , issue 6/11, page 75, article: Das Tiefseelabor
  3. ↑ Welt der Wunder , issue 6/11, page 74, article: Das Tiefseelabor
  4. ↑ Welt der Wunder , issue 6/11, page 76, article: Das Tiefseelabor