Global Marine wins Canadian observatory contract
UK-headquartered Global Marine Systems has won a contract from Ocean Networks Canada to upgrade fibre optic cables serving the Neptune observatory.
Ocean Networks Canada operates intensive monitoring networks and undersea observatories for scientific research, in association with the University of Victoria.
“Our in-house teams offer proven capabilities in the delivery of fully engineered end-to-end solutions that meet a vast array of customer requirements,” said John Walters, director of maintenance at Global Marine.
He added: “The Neptune installation is a case in point, where Global Marine is providing both installation services and on-going maintenance solutions during the system’s lifetime.”
The subsea infrastructure of Neptune includes an 800km loop of fibre optic cable connected to various instrumented sites.
It enables scientists to study phenomena through continuous long-term, high temporal resolution observations not afforded by traditional ship-based ocean exploration.
By co-locating instruments of different types, researchers can study interactions among geological, chemical, physical and biological processes that drive the dynamic earth-ocean system.
The shore station at Port Alberni on Vancouver Island sends the collected data via fibre optic cable to the University of Victoria and out to the world via the Internet.
The contract with Global Marine was signed in September and includes two parts. The first, completed in October 2015, was the recovery of failed cables from the Neptune system. The second is the cable installation of new subsea cables, which is scheduled for May 2016.
By Alice Mason
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