First Dives of 2024: Science and Maintenance of CORK Site

OET and Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) have launched the first few dives (H2029 and H2030) of our 2024 season at the NEPTUNE observatory. Using ROV Hercules, we successfully deployed a new autonomous data logging device at the Circulation Obviation Retrofit Kit (CORK) 1024C site, reviving this infrastructure that has been studying the seafloor for over twenty years. This CORK was first installed on leg 168 of the Ocean Drilling Program in 1996. CORKs enable geoscientists to observe changes in subsurface pressures and temperatures caused by earthquakes, storms, hydrothermal convection, and regional plate strain. In the video, you’ll see some familiar tools, such as the TBOS “toilet brush of science” and a push core for sediment sampling. 

Learn more about the #ONCAbyss NA161 expedition funded by Ocean Networks Canada.