NEPTUNE Ocean Observatory. Illustration of the NEPTUNE (North-East Pacific Time-series Undersea Networked Experiments) ocean sensor network. In the Pacific Northwest off Vancouver Island, Canada, 800 kilometres of fibre optic cables (yellow) connect six different underwater research stations. Varying from 20 metres deep on the continental shelf to over 2200 metres deep in the ocean abyss, each station, or node, has numerous instruments to track water chemistry and geological and ecological data in real time. It has been in operation since 2009. For insets showing details of research, see image C022/9837.