[CAnet - news] First-Ever Live HD Images from Seafloor

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[In a couple of years Neptune Canada will have a undersea fiber cable
deployed to this site and there will be permanent video transmissions which
researchers and students will be able to receive.  This event is a exciting
precursor to the future of the potential of ocean observatories -- BSA] 
NEWS AT IGRID 2005
 
For Immediate Release
 
Media Contact: Dana Martin/ResearchChannel, (206) 543-8907,
[email protected]

Sept. 28, 2005
 
First-Ever Live HD Images from Seafloor to Land Available as IP-Based Feed

For the first time, live high-definition images of active thermal vents on
the ocean floor were available as an IP-based feed Sept. 27 from 2-3:45 p.m.
PT. Weather permitting, live images will be available again Sept. 28 and 29
from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. PT.

This feed came directly from the ocean floor by way of the research vessel
Thomas G. Thompson. The ship is on site at a research expedition of the Juan
de Fuca Ridge in the Northeast Pacific Ocean, 200 miles off the
Washington-British Columbia coast. This unprecedented live, HD video
broadcast from what has been described as the "Yellowstone of the deep sea"
epitomizes the next generation of research ― in which data and images
collected by scientific instruments are immediately available across
Internet networks. Direct observation of giant earthquakes, cavorting marine
mammals, erupting volcanoes, massive landslides, brilliant blooms of
microscopic life-forms and a host of equally fascinating processes,
creatures and phenomena can be brought into laboratories, classrooms and
living rooms by way of the Internet. These images were available over the
Internet in HD multicast to selected research groups and sites in six
countries capable of handling the high-bandwidth Internet data. 

"This 20Mbps MPEG2 HD video stream is definitely the most-capable imaging
medium in existence for viewing and sharing the unparalleled deep seascapes
festooned with luxuriant and exotic life-forms that thrive on volcanic
activity while living in the shadow of death from scorching 700°F vent
fluids billowing out of the seafloor centimeters away," stated University of
Washington professor of Oceanography John Delaney and co-leader of the
expedition with UW professor Deborah Kelley.

A live HD stream was also transmitted to the iGrid 2005 conference using
ResearchChannel's iHDTV software. 

The expedition uses three HD cameras located on the seafloor, on the ship
and on land in a classroom setting. Internet multicast viewers felt as if
they were present on the VISIONS '05 Research Expedition: They experienced
live underwater images and narration by scientists at sea, on the ship and
on land in real time.

This IP-based feed is an important step in transforming the way research is
conducted. As Delaney said, "It is the result of an exciting collaboration
with resources from ResearchChannel, the National Science Foundation and the
W.M. Keck Foundation. We could not have done this type of program with HD
via satellite even two years ago." He continued, "This program is emblematic
of the rapid and nonlinear changes in both scientific insights and
technology-based capabilities that are literally transforming our
perceptions and interactions with ocean space."

These transmissions were also broadcast in standard definition on
ResearchChannel Sept. 27, giving the public access to incredible, first-ever
video images of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Weather permitting, additional live
standard-definition transmissions are scheduled to air on ResearchChannel
Sept. 28 and 29 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. PT and can be seen as live webcasts at
www.researchchannel.org/visions05.

Partners in this effort are the National Science Foundation, the UW College
of Ocean and Fishery Sciences and School of Oceanography, UWTV,
ResearchChannel, NOAA, NEPTUNE Canada, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
at the University of California, San Diego, Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, Pacific Northwest Gigapop, PacificWave and CANARIE, Canada's
advanced Internet development organization.
 
About VISIONS '05
VISIONS '05 exemplifies the transformation that is underway in the field of
oceanography. VISIONS '05 - which stands for Visually Integrated Science for
Interactive Ocean Networked Systems - is a five-week multidisciplinary
research expedition to the underwater volcanoes of the northeast Pacific on
the University of Washington Research Vessel Thomas G. Thompson. A total of
55 scientists from the United States and Canada are onboard for this
expedition. K-12 science teachers from throughout the U.S. are contributing
to the research as part of the REVEL Project: Research and Education:
Volcanoes, Exploration, Life.
 
About ResearchChannel
ResearchChannel is a nonprofit media and technology organization that
connects a global audience with the research and academic institutions whose
developments, insights and discoveries affect our lives and futures.
ResearchChannel was founded in 1996 by leading research and academic
institutions so they could share the work of their researchers with the
public while collectively participating in advanced distribution and
interactive technology experiments. Programs are shared in their original
form, unmediated and without interruption. Today, more than 50 institutions
participate as members and affiliates, and that number continues to grow. 
Through cable and satellite distribution, ResearchChannel is available to
more than 21 million U.S. households. The ResearchChannel website, with
users in over 70 countries worldwide, provides programs on demand and
through a live webstream. The online video library houses more than 2,100
full-length programs.
 
About the UW School of Oceanography
The School of Oceanography, part of the College of Ocean and Fisheries
Sciences at the University of Washington, explores the world and its complex
ecological systems. The School seeks to understand those processes which
shape our oceans by understanding a much broader set of intellectual
horizons. The School attracts a rich variety of individuals, yet builds a
close community of students and faculty. Our research and education
opportunities will attract theoreticians, problem solvers, computer
specialists, field enthusiasts and those with a passion for learning.
 
About NEPTUNE
The NEPTUNE is an ocean observatory effort that is building an extensive
network of experimental sites. These sites are connected to and powered by
2,000 miles of fiber-optic/power cable on the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate.
NEPTUNE technology represents the next generation of ocean research and will
provide continuous remote access to the extreme environments found on the
seafloor. Once completed, the NEPTUNE fiber-optic/power cable network will
make it possible to transmit real-time images of three-dimensional ocean and
seafloor environments both to shore and over the Internet.
 
About iGrid 2005
The International Grid (iGrid) collaborative event showcases ongoing global
collaborations in middleware development and applications research that
require high-performance multi-gigabit networks. The
iGrids are organized every two or three years by institutions,
organizations, consortia and National Research & Education Networks who also
participate in the Global Lambda Integrated Facility. Overall
planning responsibilities for iGrid 2005 are being handled by the Electronic
Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Calit2
at the University of California, San Diego, in cooperation with the
Mathematics and Computer Science Division of Argonne National Laboratory,
SURFnet, University of Amsterdam, and CANARIE.




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those  of the CANARIE board or management


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