Notice to Mariners
If you have any questions as to the nature of the installed infrastructure, or its potential impact on your boating and shipping activity, please do not hesitate to contact the VENUS Project.
The VENUS Coastal Ocean Observatory is a research project to cable and instrument the coastal waters of BC in order to monitor, study, and better understand our coastal marine environment. The on-site infrastructure consists of a shore station, an armoured submarine cable, an observatory node, and connected observatory instrument systems. The shore station provides high voltage DC current to the node and instruments via a copper conductor, and Ethernet communications via optic fibres, both housed in an armoured marine telecommunications rated cable. The node and instrument systems are large multi-ton platforms, housing pressure cans and delicate scientific instruments. The cable corridor and instrument study area have been cordoned off for observatory use though regulatory permits. We appreciate your cooperation in avoiding this area. Although most gear is mounted on the bottom, there are plans to have mid-water column moorings connected to the observatory in the deeper reaches of the study area (red circle).
Tables with component positions for both Saanich Inlet and Strait of Georgia are posted here.
The latest Notice to Mariners for our fixed marine assets is also available for download in PDF file format.
The most recent instrument and cable positions are available for GPS users by downloading the VENUS GPX file. If your GPS does not support the GPX format, you can use GPSBabel to translate this file into a format supported by your GPS.
The diagram to the left shows the approximate location and cables for each of the deployed instrument systems. For exact locations of each Observatory components, please see the table below. The approximate cable route is marked on the latest CHS charts. If you have concerns or anticipate that the installation, maintenance, or the infrastructure (Node, Cable, Instruments) will impact your operations, please do not hesitate to contact the VENUS Project Manager, Adrian Round, or the VENUS Associate Director - Research, Richard Dewey.
Saanich Inlet Array: As of September 30, 2009
Name |
Latitude |
Longitude |
Depth [m] |
Description |
  |
48° 39.0540’ N |
123° 29.2027’ W |
100 m |
This is the large (1000kg), black, trawl resistant power and communications hub, into which instrument systems are plugged. There are likely to be many cables leading to/from this Node. |
||
48° 39.08’ N |
123° 27.07’ W |
5 m |
The Sea-water return Anode is located along the main cable route, 100m south of the mid-point of the IOS breakwater. |
||
48° 39.184’ N (NW) |
123° 29.350’ W (NW) |
110 - 90 m |
The VENUS Permit identifies a 400m square study area around the Node for instruments and experiments. Instruments connected to the Node by large cables extend in various directions like spokes of a wheel. |
||
48° 39.084' N |
123° 29.1735' W |
95.5 m |
This is a large white frame (850 kg) supporting numerous oceanographic instruments, including several CTDs, an ADCP (300kHz), and an upward looking sonar (200kHz). An orange oil-filled hose runs from here to the Node. |
||
48° 39.0505' N |
123° 29.2486 W |
102.5 m |
This is a large white frame (200 kg) supporting an ISUS Nitrate sensor, ADV, oxygen optode, CTD and a Science Instrument Interface Module (SIIM), into which the black camera cable is connected. An orange oil-filled hose runs from here to the Node. |
OTTB
OTTB |
48° 38.950' N |
123° 28.545 W |
95 m |
Clump Weight at Buoy |
48° 38.956' N |
123° 28.589 W |
|
Turn around Point |
48° 39.022' N |
123° 29.136 W |
|
Mid Span Connection |
48° 39.041' N |
123° 29.020 W |
Strait of Georgia Array: As of September 29, 2009
Name |
Latitude |
Longitude |
Depth [m] |
Description |
|
49° 02.408’ N |
123° 25.529’ W |
300 m |
Large (2000kg), orange, trawl resistant power and communications hub, into which instrument systems are plugged. There are likely to be many cables leading to/from this Node. |
||
| VIP Central | 49° 02.401’ N | 123° 25.5434’ W | 300 m | This is a large white frame (850 kg) supporting numerous oceanographic instruments. An orange oil-filled hose runs from here to the Node. | |
| Hydrophone Central Node | This is a large yellow platform (800 kg) with three extending arms that support three broadband hydrophones. The system can measure ambient sound up to frequencies of 100 kHz. An orange oil-filled hose and black cable run from here to the Node. | ||||
49° 02.532’ N |
123° 19.056’ W |
170 m |
Large orange and black TRF. |
||
| VIP East | 49° 2.531’ N | 123° 19.055’ W | 170 m | Large white steel frame. | |
| Hydrophone East Node | 49° 02.527’ N | 123° 19.072’ W | 170 m | Yellow steel frame, 3 tripods. |
