Ocean Networks Canada Observatory: The Science and Technology Behind the NEPTUNE and VENUS Cabled Ocean Networks
University of Victoria
NEPTUNE Canada and VENUS are cabled ocean observing systems installed on the west coast of British Columbia. They currently represent the largest such networks in the world, hosting hundreds of sensors under or on the seabed, or in the water column. The presentation will review the purpose of the networks, the technologies they use and the challenges that they represent on a daily basis. Tools to manage the system and use the data will also be presented. The talk should be of interest to anyone working in ocean sciences as well as to engineers in charge of providing solutions that enable the discovery of Earth's inner space.
Benoît Pirenne is NEPTUNE Canada Associate Director, Information Technology at the University of Victoria since October 2004. He is in charge of all Data Management and Archiving aspects (from system development to operations) of both the VENUS and
NEPTUNE Canada observatories. He directs a group of 20 computer professionals organized in three teams.
Previously, Benoît spent 18 years at the European Southern Observatory (ESO, Munich, Germany), a leading Organization for astronomical research. At ESO Benoît assumed a number of scientific and technical positions. As Head of the Operations
Technical Support Department in this Organization, he was responsible for running the Data Management and Archiving system supporting both ESO's telescopes and NASA/ESA's Hubble Space Telescope.
Benoît has a BA in computer science from Liège, Belgium, and a Master in computer science from the University of Namur, Belgium.