Neptune: A ber-optic `telescope''to inner space

serve small regions for short periods. Snapshots of individual cogs won’t give us a good sense of how the whole machine works; we need to see all the interconnected parts, throughout the machine, in action, over a long time. Advancements in communications, robotic, computer, and sensor technology have made the required next step possible—a long-term presence in the oceans. It will let us examine in detail the complexity of interactions that mold the seafloor, generate earthquakes and volcanoes, form ore and oil deposits, transport sediments, circulate currents, cause climate shifts, affect fish populations, or support life in extreme environments on and below the seafloor. NEPTUNE is a proposed system of high-speed fiber-optic submarine cables linking a series of seafloor nodes supporting thousands of assorted meaI t would be a scientific outpost in one of our solar system’s most remote and hostile environments. Its mission: to explore the largely unknown fundamental workings of a fascinating planet. Our planet—Earth. The North East Pacific Time-integrated Undersea Networked Experiments (NEPTUNE) project aims to establish an extensive earth/ocean observatory throughout and above the Juan de Fuca Plate off the US-Canadian West Coast (below). With it, we can begin to grasp the myriad, interrelated forces and processes that shape our planet and often have societal impacts. Because these processes occur over vast ranges of space and time, and in the ocean, they have remained largely beyond our ability to observe. To comprehend Earth’s dynamic behavior, ocean and earth scientists now realize that we cannot obNEPTUNE’s planned location off the Northwest US coast would facilitate studies of various components of Earth’s plate tectonic system.