Abstract

The Ocean Tracking Network (OTN), based at Dalhousie University in Halifax, and sponsored by the three major Canadian academic funding agencies, has had considerable success in building technical networks which function across Canada's three major ocean areas (Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic). However, there have been some issues about making these networks function on an interdisciplinary basis. There have been even more questions regarding the parallel construction of global networks, and integrating the information generated across the Canadian and global frameworks. This paper addresses a major lacuna in the science and technology literature on the actual conduct and history of large, interdisciplinary projects, particularly those with global ambitions. The paper should be of considerable interest, as it provides a view of a major project, both from the inside, and with current documents and memories. The paper builds on the first part of a planned three part history of this specific project (Apostle, 2009).