Who: Dr. Blair Greenan

What: Canada's Changing Climate Report

This report is about how and why Canada's climate has changed and what changes are projected for the future. This report is the first of a series to be released as part of Canada in a Changing Climate: Advancing our Knowledge for Action. It documents changes across Canada in temperature, precipitation, snow, ice, permafrost and freshwater availability as well as in Canada's three oceans. This first document of the series provides the climate-science foundation for upcoming reports, which will address the impacts of climate change on our communities, environment and economy, and how we are adapting.

When: Friday, May 31, 2019

Where: 10am, George Needler Boardroom, Room VS-427, van Steenburgh Building, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Who: Sarah Kingsbury

What: The Chinese Mystery Snail Project: Coupling Predictive Species Distribution Modeling for Chinese Mystery Snails (Cipangopaludina chinensis), an Aquatic Non-Native Species in Atlantic Canada, and Citizen Science

Invasive species are a risk to natural biodiversity. Therefore, monitoring of non-native species such as the Chinese mystery snail, Cipangopaludina chinensis, is important because it may become invasive. C. chinensis is a freshwater snail that originated from central Asia and since the 1890s has been spreading across North America. Today, C. chinensis can be found in Canada in seven different provinces including British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Islands, and Newfoundland & Labrador. In order to better understand the species distribution within the Maritimes (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island) the Chinese Mystery Snail Project will be creating a predictive computer model to map freshwater bodies that are likely at risk of invasion by C. chinensis. Additionally, the project involves citizens that report C. chinensis presence/absence in their local water systems. These citizen scientist reports will be used to validate the computer model. By determining where C. chinensis is currently distributed and which habitats are suitable for further invasion, managers can devote their resources to monitoring and regulating high-risk freshwater systems.

This presentation will cover topics such as where C. chinensis came from, how this species is spreading, what the effects of C. chinensis are on native populations, how C. chinensis can impact foodwebs, and what citizens can do to help stop the spread of C. chinensis.

When: Friday, May 24, 2019

Where: 10am, George Needler Boardroom, Room VS-427, van Steenburgh Building, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Who: Dr Yong-Min Jiang

What: Towards Unmanned Autonomous Passive Acoustic ISR Solutions

Underwater gliders were originally developed for oceanographic environment monitoring. They are ideal for long term intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions in wide areas due to their low power consumption hence long endurance. With the development of sensor technologies, a variety of payloads have been integrated into glider platforms. This talk presents some efforts in developing passive acoustic capabilities for underwater gliders for assisting Maritime acoustic ISR missions and seabed characterization. Limitations and technical problems of gliders for acoustic applications identified at the current stage will also be discussed.

When: Friday, May 17, 2019

Where: 10am, George Needler Boardroom, Room VS-427, van Steenburgh Building, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia