Marine Ecosystem Observatories (MEOS)

Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Environment Canada jointly maintain a network of weather buoys in the coastal and offshore waters of British Columbia. The existing weather buoys offer a geographically widespread network for observing the state of B.C.'s coastal ocean and any changes in marine ecosystems resulting from changing climate. The two departments are now working towards the concept of Marine Ecosystem ObServatories (MEOS) , adding new instruments to the buoys for measurements of ocean water properties and key biological fields.The first MEOS buoy has been placed in Saanich Inlet, near the Institute of Ocean Sciences, with easy access for testing and calibrating new sensors and methods. As resources become available, the instruments tested in Saanich Inlet may be added to other buoys in the existing AES/FOC network, or in other specialized locations such as Marine Protected Areas. Deposited content: descriptive metadata only; underlying research data are not included.