Deep under the coastal waters of British Columbia, a $10 million dollar science project sponsored by the University of Victoria and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation is earning a reputation as the most advanced underwater observatory of its kind in the world.
The Venus Project, the Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea, is a system of monitoring devices and cameras that is helping research scientists and amateur oceanographers from around the globe expand their knowledge about the murky and little understood underwater world, the project's executive director told a rapt audience at a recent Wednesday luncheon in 15th Field Artillery Regimental Hall.
"It's very easy to put a telescope up and map Mars, but it's not so easy to see into the oceans," said Adrian Round, a former naval officer who heads the Venus Project. "Seawater is opaque to most magnetic imaging techniques, including light and radio waves."
In fact, scientists know more about the surface of Mars than they know about the ocean depths, said Round, a former commander of Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt. For example, while a dozen men have walked on the moon, only three people have made it to the furthest depths of the Mariana Trench, the ocean's deepest point.
The Venus Project consists of three monitoring stations, called nodes — the first at a depth of 100 metres in the Saanich Peninsula, and two others, at 170-metre and 300-metre depths, near the mouth of the Fraser River in Georgia Strait - each fitted with an array of underwater microphones (hydrophones), high definition cameras and a variety of chemical and other sensors.
The first node, located in the Saanich Peninsula, was chosen because of its unique anoxic environment, where oxygen levels near the surface can fluctuate by an order of magnitude in just 15 or 20 minutes and most of the deeper water has no oxygen at all.
At the mouth of the Fraser River, along the steep sandy slopes that separate the shallow river delta from the deeper ocean waters, the sensor are paying particular attention to the impact of seismic activity.
But the scope of the Venus Project has expanded greatly since it first went online three years ago. "This is a fascinating facility that has turned out to be far more useful than we planned," he said.
Probably the best-known science experiment associated with Venus is its investigation into the mystery of the floating feet that have been washing up along the inner coastline of B.C. In an attempt to learn how long those feet might have been in the water, a researcher from the University of Victoria sank freshly killed pig carcasses beside the station, and then watched as marine predators stripped the flesh down to the skeleton in less than four weeks’ time.
The research is revealing secrets about the decomposition of flesh in a deep ocean environment and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has agreed to fund the next round of pig carcass experiments.
The Venus Project was first envisioned in 2003, after a ship-based monitoring project was set up to look at an underwater volcano 200 kilometres off the coast of Vancouver Island. Today, Venus is the largest of three cabled underwater laboratories in North America, although the U.S. has recently committed itself to building a $400 million underwater observatory by 2013.
Round said Venus is proving that cabled observatories are far superior to their ship-based counterparts because they eliminate or lessen five of the biggest limitations to the work: battery power; data storage area; speed and efficiency of communication; the ability to take continuous samples; and weather.
But the most unique aspect of the Venus Project is the fact that virtually all of that data collected, more than two terabytes to date, is relayed to the project's base station on Vancouver Island, where it is streamed, in real time, 24-7, onto the Internet for all to see. Round describes the website as offering "interactive 4D experiences."
Available at the website www.venus.uvic.ca, the information includes data on temperatures, acoustics, acidity, oxygen levels, current speed and direction, as well as a wide selection of photo galleries, Round said. The high definition cameras are turned on almost daily, and are good enough to allow researchers to count the hairs on the legs of passing crabs and lobsters.
So far, the website has attracted the attention of 19,000 users from 18 countries, ranging from working scientists and students to amateur researchers of all ages. Users can also sign up to obtain a password that offers the opportunity to link directly to the ethernet and participate in some of the experiments.
While the project is turning heads today, there were some dicey moments when the four-centimetre-thick fibre optic cable was first laid down in the Georgia Straight. Originally set to take place in September 2006, Round and other project organizers were told in March that they would have to finish their work by May, four months ahead of schedule.
The elaborate cable operation began in the "thick gelatinous ooze" near the Iona sewage outfall and used a ship equipped with GPS tracking and eight thrusters to help hold the vessel in place while the eight-kilometre sections were spliced together, a procedure that required staying within three metres of a given spot for up to 24 hours through all phases of the tide.
Then, when the ship was ready for the final splice, the cable was found to be 100 metres further from shore than expected. The entire operation was put on hold for two months, while Round and the crew worked out a plan to finish the work using a shallow water barge and three tugboats.
"We actually succeeded, and we had 30 metres to spare on a total 40 kilometre cable," Round said. "It's also where I got most of my grey beard."
And the discoveries never stop. Venus has confirmed the presence of 50 metre sand dunes that travel down the length of the Saanich Peninsula, and a colourful sponge reef has been found along the Fraser Ridge. For the first time, this fall, the project will also help track the migration of juvenile salmon out of the Fraser River.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Canada treads new path in Afghanistan
April Fools Day saw sparks flying inside the lecture room of the 15th Field Artillery Regimental Hall, and it wasn’t because of some kind of bad joke between old army buddies.
The special guest speaker at the regular Wednesday luncheon was the recently returned Commander of Task Force Kandahar, Brigadier General Denis Thompson, and the topic was The Struggle for Kandahar: Canadian Soldiers Making a Difference in Afghanistan.
Throughout the 90-minute talk, it was apparent that some in the small crowd of military officers, reservists, government officials and others were simply not buying the official story – that Canada is achieving its military objectives in Afghanistan and helping to rebuild a stable state in one of the most war-oppressed regions of the world.
But the general who worked his way through Cyprus, Germany and Bosnia before his Middle East deployment was adamant. Any comparison of the Afghanistan mission to historical Canadian military operations was “completely irrelevant,” he said.
“We’re nation building,” he said unapologetically. “We’re trying to make Afghanistan look like it did in 1970, before the Communists arrived.”
Canada and its NATO-led International Security Assistance Force partners are fighting to support the elected Afghan government, to help the spread of human rights, and to rebuild the Afghan national police and other security forces so they can stand on their own, Thompson said.
“We are not engaged in suppressing the Afghanistan population,” he answered sternly to the vehemently stated claim that Canada has only a “pitiful” number of troops in the country and that up to 200,000 soldiers will be needed to “wipe out” the Taliban.
Homegrown political criticisms notwithstanding, Thompson said the Canadian military operation has the support of both the United Nations and the duly elected Afghan government, and with recent political changes around the globe, countries such as India, Russia and Iran have also recently joined the discussions to bring political stability to Afghanistan.
In fact, Thompson said part of the ongoing confusion at home over the mission lies in the fact that Canada is not in battle against the Afghan people, but instead, against a small contingent of religious extremists who are benefiting from an influx by angry young men many of whom have been caught up in the civil unrest in their homelands, most notably neighbouring Pakistan.
And with six years of practical on-the-ground experience in Afghanistan, Thompson said Canada is learning new and successful tactics that are not found in traditional military manuals, books or official doctrines.
Probably the most important aspect of the evolving mission is training the Afghan national police to take over security operations for the country, Thompson said. Canada has already training about 1,000 officers around Kandahar City, but the entire province needs about 4,000 local police before the region can be considered independently secure, he said.
But there is still a long way to go. Currently, there are a mere six security personnel for every 1,000 people in the general population, and ISAF is trying to bring that number up to 20 per 1,000. Recent American deployments will help improve those numbers, but the real solution will only come when the Afghan police are ready to take on that role themselves. “There is no end date, there is an end state, and the international community understands that,” Thompson said.
Another big problem is the entrenched narcotics industry, with Afghanistan having 90 per cent of the world’s poppy fields, largely centred in Helmand province. Although the price of opium has fallen 50 per cent over the past year, Afghan farmers are still reluctant to switch to alternative crops, such as the 750 tonnes of wheat donated by Canada, because of the loss of profits that can be made from the illegal trade. “Afghanistan needs an Elliot Nash,” Thompson said in reference to the famed Untouchables police squads that brought peace to Chicago in the 1930s.
One pending change that Thompson predicts will have a long-range positive impact on reducing the insurgency is an agreement with Pakistan to install biometric scanning at the porous main border crossing with Afghanistan, where no customs office currently exists and few passersby are refused entry unless they are carrying weapons or narcotics.
Military innovations are also helping. One recent change that has boosted Canadian moral and helped reduce the number of potential injuries was the arrival of the first helicopters to transfer Canadian troops to the field, and allow Thompson to log more than 16,500 kilometres during his nine-month deployment in Kandahar province. The ISAF is also making good use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the north of the country.
Surprisingly, Thompson said Afghanistan has a growing number of helicopters and Hercules-style transport planes of its own, and will have a bigger air force than Canada by 2012. When asked if that meant the Afghan troops were better equipped than our own, he clarified by saying it was a matter of quantity, not quality.
But there are setbacks. When asked if the recent proposal of the Afghan parliament to impose Sharia law and limit the rights and freedoms of Afghan women, would have any impact on the troops, Thompson noted that Ottawa was quick to go on record as being “vehemently opposed” to the loss of human rights. But he also noted that there is little the Canadian military can do with something that is fundamentally a political dilemma.
Another setback was the change in Taliban strategy to a campaign of harassment of against the populace, political assassinations, such as the killing of the first female police officer in the country, and the growing use of Improvised Explosive Devices. Thompson does not believe that strategy will help the Taliban gain the support of the Afghan population.
Thompson also downplayed criticisms Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is rampant among the returning soldiers. “The truth is, in war, everyone sees horrific things,” he said. “But you can equate PSTD with obesity. If you’re five pounds overweight, you can do it yourself, but if you’re 100 pounds overweight, you’re going to probably need some medical help.
“We’ve done a lot to educate our officers and NCOs to recognize the signs, and when they see it, they get the soldiers the help they need.”
Thompson surprised many with his closing statement on the three primary enemies of the Afghan people – illiteracy, corruption and the Taliban. “Illiteracy, to my mind, is the most important,” he said.
The special guest speaker at the regular Wednesday luncheon was the recently returned Commander of Task Force Kandahar, Brigadier General Denis Thompson, and the topic was The Struggle for Kandahar: Canadian Soldiers Making a Difference in Afghanistan.
Throughout the 90-minute talk, it was apparent that some in the small crowd of military officers, reservists, government officials and others were simply not buying the official story – that Canada is achieving its military objectives in Afghanistan and helping to rebuild a stable state in one of the most war-oppressed regions of the world.
But the general who worked his way through Cyprus, Germany and Bosnia before his Middle East deployment was adamant. Any comparison of the Afghanistan mission to historical Canadian military operations was “completely irrelevant,” he said.
“We’re nation building,” he said unapologetically. “We’re trying to make Afghanistan look like it did in 1970, before the Communists arrived.”
Canada and its NATO-led International Security Assistance Force partners are fighting to support the elected Afghan government, to help the spread of human rights, and to rebuild the Afghan national police and other security forces so they can stand on their own, Thompson said.
“We are not engaged in suppressing the Afghanistan population,” he answered sternly to the vehemently stated claim that Canada has only a “pitiful” number of troops in the country and that up to 200,000 soldiers will be needed to “wipe out” the Taliban.
Homegrown political criticisms notwithstanding, Thompson said the Canadian military operation has the support of both the United Nations and the duly elected Afghan government, and with recent political changes around the globe, countries such as India, Russia and Iran have also recently joined the discussions to bring political stability to Afghanistan.
In fact, Thompson said part of the ongoing confusion at home over the mission lies in the fact that Canada is not in battle against the Afghan people, but instead, against a small contingent of religious extremists who are benefiting from an influx by angry young men many of whom have been caught up in the civil unrest in their homelands, most notably neighbouring Pakistan.
And with six years of practical on-the-ground experience in Afghanistan, Thompson said Canada is learning new and successful tactics that are not found in traditional military manuals, books or official doctrines.
Probably the most important aspect of the evolving mission is training the Afghan national police to take over security operations for the country, Thompson said. Canada has already training about 1,000 officers around Kandahar City, but the entire province needs about 4,000 local police before the region can be considered independently secure, he said.
But there is still a long way to go. Currently, there are a mere six security personnel for every 1,000 people in the general population, and ISAF is trying to bring that number up to 20 per 1,000. Recent American deployments will help improve those numbers, but the real solution will only come when the Afghan police are ready to take on that role themselves. “There is no end date, there is an end state, and the international community understands that,” Thompson said.
Another big problem is the entrenched narcotics industry, with Afghanistan having 90 per cent of the world’s poppy fields, largely centred in Helmand province. Although the price of opium has fallen 50 per cent over the past year, Afghan farmers are still reluctant to switch to alternative crops, such as the 750 tonnes of wheat donated by Canada, because of the loss of profits that can be made from the illegal trade. “Afghanistan needs an Elliot Nash,” Thompson said in reference to the famed Untouchables police squads that brought peace to Chicago in the 1930s.
One pending change that Thompson predicts will have a long-range positive impact on reducing the insurgency is an agreement with Pakistan to install biometric scanning at the porous main border crossing with Afghanistan, where no customs office currently exists and few passersby are refused entry unless they are carrying weapons or narcotics.
Military innovations are also helping. One recent change that has boosted Canadian moral and helped reduce the number of potential injuries was the arrival of the first helicopters to transfer Canadian troops to the field, and allow Thompson to log more than 16,500 kilometres during his nine-month deployment in Kandahar province. The ISAF is also making good use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the north of the country.
Surprisingly, Thompson said Afghanistan has a growing number of helicopters and Hercules-style transport planes of its own, and will have a bigger air force than Canada by 2012. When asked if that meant the Afghan troops were better equipped than our own, he clarified by saying it was a matter of quantity, not quality.
But there are setbacks. When asked if the recent proposal of the Afghan parliament to impose Sharia law and limit the rights and freedoms of Afghan women, would have any impact on the troops, Thompson noted that Ottawa was quick to go on record as being “vehemently opposed” to the loss of human rights. But he also noted that there is little the Canadian military can do with something that is fundamentally a political dilemma.
Another setback was the change in Taliban strategy to a campaign of harassment of against the populace, political assassinations, such as the killing of the first female police officer in the country, and the growing use of Improvised Explosive Devices. Thompson does not believe that strategy will help the Taliban gain the support of the Afghan population.
Thompson also downplayed criticisms Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is rampant among the returning soldiers. “The truth is, in war, everyone sees horrific things,” he said. “But you can equate PSTD with obesity. If you’re five pounds overweight, you can do it yourself, but if you’re 100 pounds overweight, you’re going to probably need some medical help.
“We’ve done a lot to educate our officers and NCOs to recognize the signs, and when they see it, they get the soldiers the help they need.”
Thompson surprised many with his closing statement on the three primary enemies of the Afghan people – illiteracy, corruption and the Taliban. “Illiteracy, to my mind, is the most important,” he said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
