Frequently Asked Questions

Click the following frequently asked questions to reveal the answers. (Click a second time to hide the answers.) If you have further questions or comments, add them by clicking Add Comment below.

Accounts

How do I open an account?

To open an account, simply register via this page.
There is a checkbox that says Yes, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The words Terms of Use and Privacy Policy are links. You can click them to view details about each of these.

Video

How can I watch live video from the seafloor?

In Oceans 2.0 Data Explorer, you can view underwater live video when the camera lights are turned on without any affiliation or credentials, but you will need to register for an account to log in. (See How can I open an account? below )

For a demonstration of how to do this, watch our YouTube video that shows how to get to the live video.

In addition, here are the step-by-step instructions:

Go to http://www.neptunecanada.ca/
Click the link on the front page under "QUICK LINKS" that says "Data Explorer"
Log in to NEPTUNE Canada using your email address (if you don't have a NEPTUNE Canada account, you'll need to register for one.
This takes you to a page called NEPTUNE Canada Oceans 2.0
Look for a button in the upper-left corner, just under the NEPTUNE Canada logo called "Browse..."
Move your mouse cursor over that button so a menu drops down below it
Move your mouse cursor down to the menu item called "Camera Control" and click it.
This opens the live video window from the seafloor. The video window is usually black, except when our lights are turned on periodically by scientists. You can see two laser beams used to measure the size of objects in the view. Click here to see what the live video window looks like.

When is the seafloor webcam turned on?

Our black & white low-light video camera, positioned on the seafloor in Barkley Canyon, is initially scheduled to have its lights turned on from 11:00 am to noon (Pacific Standard Time) daily. The lights-on schedule for this camera is posted on our calendar.

Why aren't the camera lights on all the time?

The cameras are in an environment without natural light, so the lights are on only for limited times, to minimize impacts on the sensitive seafloor ecosystems.

The lights and camera pan/tilt/focus are controlled through the internet by scientists studying seafloor ecology. But anyone can log in and see what's happening as scientists use the camera. Plus, you'll be able to access recorded video from the seafloor. Most of the time, however, you will see a dark image with two laser beams, because the video camera lights are usually turned off.

Check our calendar to see when they'll be on.

Where can I go to find pre-recorded video?

Check our video gallery, video clip collection and YouTube Channel to see a wide variety of pre-recorded video clips.

Interested in video of sealife?

Try these clips:

Barkley Canyon: Benthic Crawler and Local Sealife
Brittle-Star Scuffle
Skate glides near Endeavour Ridge
Rocky Oasis near Endeavour Ridge
Rattail Fish
Humboldt Squid in Barkley Canyon
Sea Pig Slow Dance
A Day in the Live of Saanich Inlet
Squat Lobsters of Saanich Inlet
Folger Passage Sealife

How about ROPOS Dive videos?

Use SeaTube to view ROPOS Dive videos. Instructions on how to use it are given on the SeaTube Help page.

Data

How can I search for live data from NEPTUNE Canada instruments?

For a demonstration of how to do this, watch our YouTube video that shows how to search/browse data from our instruments. You can search for data without any affiliation or credentials, but you will need to register for an account to log in. (See How can I open an account? below )

How do I convert GMT or UTC to local time?

Default event times on the calendar are in GMT (also known as UTC). [This web page explains how to convert GMT to your local time.| http://www.icons.umd.edu/iconsusr/iconsutil2.convert_gmt?gmt_time=#na]

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