U.S. Navy researchers are developing an autonomous submarine that gathers military intelligence information in coastal waters and harbors by deploying and operating small unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) as a distributed, collaborative suite of electronic sensors.
The Manta UUV, shown above, was developed by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center as a potential UUV mothership
5:30 pm | Tuesday December 8, 2009
Camp Orkila Larry Norman Lodge
Orcas Island, Washington
Ever wonder what we have for sharks in our waters? Now is the time to find out! On Tuesday, December 8th at 5:30 p.m. Gene Helfman will give a free public lecture entitled “Sharks of the San Juan Islands” for the Orcas Island Marine Lecture Series’ Family Night. Dr. Helfman is a fulltime resident of Lopez Island, having retired after 30 years on the faculty at the University of Georgia. YMCA Camp Orkila will host a free dinner at the Larry Norman Lodge and their staff will provide shark-related children’s educational activities, so bring the family.
Film Screening
Climate Change and Oceans
7pm, Friday, December 4th, 2009
Burke Theatre, St. Mary’s University
Halifax, Nova Scotia
We know that rising greenhouse gases in our atmosphere are affecting the climate, but how are they affecting the oceans that cover 70% of the Earth and play an essential role in regulating our oxygen levels and sustaining us?
A Sea Change: Imagine a World Without Fish explores this question. The answer makes immediate action on reducing greenhouse gas emissions imperative. The film follows Sven Huseby, a retired history teacher, as he tries to understand what ocean acidification means. Speaking with oceanographers, marine biologists, climatologists, and artists, Sven discovers that global warming is only half the story of the environmental catastrophe that awaits us. Excess carbon dioxide is dissolving in our oceans, changing sea water chemistry. The more acidic water makes it difficult for tiny creatures at the bottom of the food web to form their shells. The effects could work their way up to the fish 1 billion people depend upon for their source of protein.
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Interested in what ships are docked in Halifax? Want to track a tanker through the Salish Sea? Wondering how busy St. John’s is? You can do it right now, for free, from home. The Marine Traffic Project takes advantage of Automatic Identification System (AIS) data to provide a near real-time position, speed, and course information on vessels in select regions. AIS data from ship transponders is collected and uploaded to the Marine Traffic Project in minutes. Combined with Google Maps, the data provides open source geointelligence on thousands of ships.
The MArine Traffic Project web site is part of an academic, open, community-based project. It provides free real-time information to the public, about ship movements and ports, mainly across the coast-lines of Europe and North America. The project is currently hosted by the Department of Product and Systems Design Enginnering, University of the Aegean, Greece. The initial data collection is based on the Automatic Identification System (AIS).
Salish Sea Vessel Traffic - November 24 2009
The second talk in the 2009 Killam Public Lecture Series on Oceans and Global Change will be held November 26th, 2009 at 7:00 pm in the Ondaatje Auditorium, Marion McCain Arts and Social Sciences Building at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. A reception will follow. The address is 6135 University Avenue. The Lecture is entitled “The Arctic meltdown: an alarming symptom of global fever”.
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B.C. STUDENTS EXPERIENCE AQUATIC EDUCATION ON THE MOVE
VICTORIA – Students across the province can experience the wonder of the Pacific Northwest’s intertidal marine zone firsthand with the BCTC AquaVan, an innovative aquatic education program from the Vancouver Aquarium that tours B.C. schools, announced Environment Minister Barry Penner at the Legislature where the BCTC AquaVan was on display today.
**Please note this seminar is postponed until the New Year**
The Faculty and Students of the Marine Affairs Program invite you to a seminar:
Jay Walmsley
Oceans Project Leader
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Oceans and Coastal Management Division
Wednesday November 25, 2009 | 1:00-2:00 PM
Room 309, Weldon Law Building
6061 University Avenue, Dalhousie University Campus
Halifax, Nova Scotia
For more information, contact the Marine Affairs Program
The First Barkley Sound Knowledge Symposium
An integration of existing scientific, indigenous, and local ecosystem knowledge to support Comprehensive Ocean Zoning in Barkley Sound
Dates: February 9 – February 11, 2010
Location: Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, British Columbia, Canada
Panel Presentation:
1 December, 11:30am – 12:30pm
ECS 104, University of Victoria
More info: John Newcomb 250-721-7346
The Faculty and Students of the Marine Affairs Program invite you to a seminar:
For the past two years the Government of Nunavut, working through the territorial Department of the Environment, has pursued the acquisition of information on coastal resources (mammals, fish, birds, invertebrates and plants) through a process of interviews with community elders. The resulting information, placed into a GIS format will be used for conservation, monitoring and sustainable economic development.
Robert Fournier
Professor Emeritus, Oceanography Department
Adjunct Professor, Marine Affairs Program
Wednesday November 18, 2009 | 1:00-2:00 PM
Room 3089
Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building
6100 University Avenue, Dalhousie University Campus
For more information, contact the Marine Affairs Program, Marine.Affairs@dal.ca