Oceanography

Oceanographers investigate both fundamental and applied problems relating to the physics, mathematics, biology, chemistry, and geology of the sea, often working across traditional academic disciplines. Research carried out both independently and in collaboration with federal government laboratories occurs in many different oceanographic regimes, including coastal BC fjords, the inland sea of the Strait of Georgia, open ocean regions of the Subarctic Pacific, and many other locations, including the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans. The types of problems that can be studied include fundamental questions about the flow of stratified fluids at scales ranging from tens of meters to thousands of kilometers, applied research in estuaries, coastal, and deep-ocean processes, general ocean circulation and climate change issues, marine chemistry, geochemistry, and biogeochemistry, natural product chemistry, marine viruses, fisheries oceanography, plankton ecology and physiology, and primary production of the sea.

 

Explore our Programs in Oceanography

 
 

Faculty Members in Oceanography

Name Research Interests
Allen, Susan Atmospheric sciences; Oceanography; coastal oceanography; coupled bio-physics and chem-physics and all three models; forecast models; Oceans and Inland Waters; physical oceanography; Prediction and Climatic Modeling
Andersen, Raymond Chemicals produced by marine organisms
Bradbury, Hal Chemical oceanography; Ocean biogeochemistry; Marine geology; Isotope geochemistry; Biogeochemistry; Paleoceanography; Chemical Oceanography; Reactive Transport Modelling; Carbon cycle; Marine Sedimentary Environments; Early Diagenesis; Biogeochemical Cycles
Crowe, Sean Geobiology, biogeochemistry, microbial evolution
Hunt, Brian Marine ecology (including marine ichthyology); Biological oceanography; Biodiversity; Ecosystem function; Ecological impacts of climate change; Community ecology (except invasive species ecology); marine food webs; ecosystem oceanography; plankton dynamics; open ocean; Coastal Ecosystems; climate change impacts on the ocean; salmon ecology; food web nutrition; microplastics; stable isotopes; forage fish; zooplankton; Urban oceans; Thiamine defficiency; Stormwater
Maldonado, Maite Phytoplankton Trace Metal Physiology
Pakhomov, Yevhenii Feeding ecophysiology of aquatic invertebrates and fishes, Antarctic ecology, Antarctic krill biology, Tunicate biology, Fishery ecology, Stable isotope ecology
Pawlowicz, Richard Oceans and Inland Waters; ocean physics; properties of seawater; geophysical fluid dynamics; Nonlinear waves
Suttle, Curtis Bioinformatics; Fisheries sciences; Immunology; Microbiology; Oceanography; Plant biology; Biological Oceanography; Environmental Virology; Marine Environment; Marine Microbiology; Microbial Diversity; Phage; Viral Discovery; Viruses
Tortell, Philippe Biological / Chemical Oceanography, Climate-active Trace Gases, Primary Productvity, Polar Marine Ecosystems
Waterman, Stephanie Atmospheric sciences; Oceanography; Arctic oceanography; geophysical fluid dynamics; Jets, eddies & scale interactions; Ocean dynamics; Oceanic processes; Scale interactions; Southern ocean dynamics; Western boundary current jets
 
 

Student & Alumni Stories in Oceanography

 
 

Read tips on applying, reference letters, statement of interest, reaching out to prospective supervisors, interviews and more in our Application Guide!