Themes

Part of the mission of Oceans @UBC is to transcend traditional departmental boundaries. Researchers are grouped based off the questions they seek to answer. The Oceans @UBC research themes and their members can be explored below.

Biodiversity

As the most likely origin of life, it is not surprising that the majority of global biodiversity can be found in the world’s oceans. The waters off the coast of British Columbia offer an exquisite setting to study biodiversity, as geological history has created a complex environment that hosts an astonishing marine biodiversity. With a broad range of species providing different ecosystem services, biodiversity is crucial for a functioning ecosystem that ultimately provides ecosystem services to mankind from fisheries to stabilizing the climate. Nevertheless, global marine biodiversity is under threat from anthropogenic factors ranging from overexploitation, habitat loss and degradation, pollution and climate change. Therefore, it is imperative to assess and understand marine biodiversity in order to preserve these ecosystem services for future generations.

Biology

The majority of the earth’s surface is covered by the oceans. With an astounding diversity of habitats, it is not surprising that the oceans are home to a broad range of species from the microscopic at the edge of what we consider alive, to the largest animals to have ever lived. Despite this breathtaking variety of life forms, life in the oceans is comparatively poorly explored. Many more hidden secrets of life await discovery. BC’s geographic location, as the only province on Canada’s Pacific coast, make it a perfect location to explore the biological marvels that the oceans hold. However, marine biological research at UBC is not limited to the local environments but covers topics on a global scale.

Chemistry

The chemical composition of the oceans is highly variable. Over geological time, the oceans have undergone a remarkable transformation that gave rise to and was influenced by biological and geochemical processes. In fact, the composition of the ancient oceans was remarkably different than from today and pivotal changes had to take place.  To this day, the oceans act as major components in biogeochemical cycles. For instance, the oceans contain the largest amount of actively cycling carbon on this planet and consistently exchange gasses with the atmosphere. Small changes to this huge amount have far-reaching consequences as they, in turn, alter the chemical composition of the oceans as evident by ocean acidification, an unanticipated byproduct of anthropogenic carbon emissions. Additionally, the oceans are home to a diverse array of organisms with the ability to catalyze extraordinary biochemical reactions at large scales that could be of huge benefit for industrial processes.

Climate

Anthropogenic emissions have profoundly changed the composition of the earth’s atmosphere causing climate change. To fully understand the effects of and possible mitigation strategies to climate change, we must consider the ocean as a major driver of earth’s climate. As a major sink of radiation, heat and climate active gases like carbon dioxide, the oceans act as a mitigating factor for global warming. Nearly half of the carbon dioxide that is being produced by the burning of fossil fuels is absorbed by oceans, which in turn causes ocean acidification. Further, the oceans drive meteorological processes by transporting heat across the globe, affecting the weather. The oceans are home to extensive ecosystems that both influence and are at the mercy of the climate. For instance, photosynthetic organisms in the ocean contribute almost half of the current supply of oxygen to the atmosphere, removing carbon dioxide, the main driver of climate change, from the system in the process. Over geological timescales, the oxygenation of the atmosphere can be traced back to photosynthesis in the oceans. Despite being such important mediators of the climate, it is unclear how ecosystems will respond to pronounced climate change and how this might influence ecosystem services to mankind. Because the planet’s climate is determined by the interconnectedness of the ocean, atmosphere, and land, changes in any one component will influence the others. Realizing this interconnection is important for understanding how our global climate system works and how it is affected by our actions.

Conservation

Global species diversity, abundance, and richness have declined rapidly as the human population has increased over the last century. The situation is no different in the oceans where many species have undergone dramatic declines and many face extinction. The mechanisms causing these declines include habitat degradation and loss, pollution, overexploitation and the effects of anthropogenic climate change and ocean acidification. Conservation efforts to save or restore marine species, their habitat and populations, deploy the offset of human impacts include setting up protected areas, developing sustainable fisheries, and restoring endangered species populations. Further, limiting human activities through policy such as fishing quotas is also helping.

Ecology

The oceans are home to some of the most complex ecosystems on the planet. Simply considering the diversity of morphologies present in marine ecosystems, from microscopic planktonic single-celled organisms to the largest animals to have ever lived, exemplifies this diversity. The BC coast is home to an especially vibrant ecosystem due to the unusual combination of geological features and oceanic currents allowing for extremely high primary production that forms the base of the diverse local ecosystem. The productivity of systems like this is of great importance to human activities, such as fishing. However, the health of populations of valued species such as salmon depends on a health and functional ecosystem. This is just one of the many reasons why we need to understand the highly complex processes that govern ecosystem functions and structures.

Fisheries

Fisheries, from small-scale sustenance to large-scale industrial fisheries, are critical for food security, employment and economic development for billions of people. This dependence on fishing is reflected by the central role that fish and fishing play in many cultures all over the world. Salmon are a fundamental cornerstone in the First Nation cultures of the Pacific Northwest and this is just one example among many that reflect the cultural importance of fish. However, our appetite for fish in combination with population growth and the development of industrial-scale fishing has had a disastrous impact on this treasured resource, as almost all global fish stocks are overexploited and severely depressed compared to historic levels. Not only is this highly problematic for aquatic ecosystems, but also for the millions of people who depend on them for their livelihoods, food security, and cultural identity. Developing sustainable fisheries is imperative to secure fish stocks for future generations, but accurate scientific assessments on stock and ecosystem health as well as fishing practices are key in making this a reality.

Oceanography

Covering more than two-thirds of the globe, the oceans represent the largest compartment of earth’s surface. Yet, due to the complexity of this three-dimensional space, the basic processes governing oceanic environments are still poorly understood. Topography, energy fluxes, chemical composition, and biogeochemical processes all influence oceanic systems. As human activity relies on and is at the mercy of oceanic processes, a detailed understanding of these processes is imperative if we want to be able to predict and utilize future challenges and opportunities imposed by oceans in a changing climate. Oceanography explores the oceans from different perspectives, by focusing on the physical, chemical, biological, and geological aspects. Naturally, there is considerable overlap between these sub-disciplines as they influence each other.

Physics

The first step to understanding the world’s oceans is to understand the physical processes guiding them. The ocean’s physical properties and its interactions with the atmosphere, the seafloor and coast are at the heart of the processes that need to be explored as they influence the temperature and density of ocean waters as well as their movements as waves, tides, and currents. The acquired data can then be used to decipher biological processes such as phytoplankton blooms that crucially depend on the aforementioned factors. Additionally, understanding the physical processes that govern ocean processes are key to grasping the global climate and to predict the effects of anthropogenic climate change.

Society

The world’s oceans provide humanity with food, employment, climate stabilization, and energy, not to mention, the social and cultural identity of coastal communities. The ever-increasing demand on oceans including recreational and commercial fishing, transportation, aquaculture, oil and gas development, and tourism, has made managing our oceans important for their long-term sustainability. Overharvesting of the ocean’s resources has caused a reduction in biodiversity, degradation of marine ecosystems and habitats, and put our reliance on the ocean’s ecosystem services at risk. In addition, climate change has altered ocean temperatures and biogeochemistry, changing weather patterns which in turn increases the quantity and intensity of natural disasters. We are now forced to find ways to adapt to these changing conditions to become more resilient to ocean-related natural disasters, as well as preserving the oceans that we rely on.