Deep sea robot expedition sets sails off Vancouver Island coast

Robots are being used to explore the dark depths of the ocean off the coast of Vancouver Island.

Starting Sunday, the Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) Abyss Summer Expedition is embarking on a 22-day expedition with two robots, also known as remotely-operated vehicles (ROV).

ONC is an initiative of the University of Victoria, in partnership with Ocean Exploration Trust.

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The 22-day trip will be aboard the Exploration Vessel Nautilus, and it’s the seventh year of their partnership.

“The new-to-Victoria one-tonne ROV Atalanta will provide a bird’s-eye view of the revisiting 2,950 kilogram main ROV, Hercules, as it works on the seafloor, maintaining ONC’s 800-plus kilometre NEPTUNE ocean observatory located off the southwest coast of Vancouver Island,” staff said in a release.

“The two ROVs will dive at multiple locations, from the abyssal plain region of Cascadia Basin to the smoking chimneys of the Endeavour hydrothermal vent field.”

Ocean enthusiasts all over the world will be able to remotely join the deep-sea exploration, and see this underwater world illuminated by remotely operated vehicles. People can view the live streams online.

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“ONC’s ocean monitoring helps us understand the changes occurring in the ocean, and its role in moderating and potentially mitigating climate change,” ONC staff said.

“ONC’s ocean data reveals the dynamics of ocean and Earth processes and cycles across time-scales –from hours and seasons, into decadal scales — supporting research on complex Earth processes in ways not previously possible.”

Ocean Networks Canada said it is a world-leading observatory in the deep ocean, coastal waters and land of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic coasts of Canada. It collects ocean data that accelerate scientific discovery and looks for solutions for the planet.

For more information, people can visit OCN’s webpage on the 2023 summer expedition.