Scientific Seminars and Events

Current seminars and events at Pacific Biological Station, the Institute for Ocean Sciences and other DFO supported facilities are listed below and updated as required.

• Pacific Biological Station Events
• Institute for Ocean Sciences Events
• Other Events

Pacific Biological Station 2012 Seminar Series

For inquiries about the upcoming events, please email seminar@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

Visitors: please sign in with the Commissionaire. Valid photo ID required. Dates and speakers subject to change. Talks are held in the Seminar Room at PBS at 1:30pm unless otherwise noted.

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Speaker: Chelsea Stanley, Applied Technology Group, Institute of Ocean Sciences, DFO
Subject: Searching for Salpa thompsoni in the Western Antarctic Peninsula
Date: Friday, February 10, 2012

Abstract:
Salpa thompsoni, a species of salp found in the Southern Hemisphere, has become a species of interest in the Antarctic due to its competition with Antarctic Krill (Euphausia superba) for food. As the threat of global warming continues, it is theorized that S. thompsoni may thrive in warmer waters with less ice cover and may threaten the population of E. superba. This could be detrimental to the Antarctic ecosystem as krill provide a rich food source for whales and penguins, while salps provide little nutrition. Therefore, it is important to learn as much as possible about this species, as it could have a major effect on the ecosystem in Antarctic waters in the future. In this talk, I will give a brief overview of a recent Antarctic research cruise that I participated in aboard the Antarctic Research Support Vessel, the Laurence M. Gould. During this cruise two science projects were conducted. One focussed on the population ecology of S. thompsoni while the other conducted an acoustic assessment of S. thompsoni and its ecosystem.

For more information please contact: seminar@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Go to the Pacific Biological Station.

Institute of Ocean Sciences 2011

Speaker: Lawrence A. Mysak, President, IAPSO and Canada Steamship Lines Emeritus Professor, Dept. of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, McGill University
Subject: The Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM): Overview and box model studies.
Date: Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 11:00
Location: Milne Room, IOS (Room 3704A)

Abstract:
Approximately 55 Myr ago, an unprecedented amount of light carbon was abruptly released into the ocean and atmosphere. This event, known as the PETM, is associated with large negative carbon isotope excursions (CIEs) in marine and soil carbonates and global environmental changes, including a regional warming of 5-9 C, ocean acidification and a large shoaling of the Atlantic lysocline. Various models have been applied to constrain the amount of carbon released during the PETM; however, the models give a wide range in the amount of carbon released, from 840 to 6800 PgC.

In this talk, an overview of the PETM is first given, and then the Walker-Kasting (WK92) global carbon cycle box model used in earlier studies of the PETM is revisited. After correcting the model's carbon isotope equations, it is used to resolve a discrepancy in the previously published emission estimates for the PETM. Next, in order to explore the role of methane during the PETM, the atmospheric methane box model of Schmidt and Shindell (2003) is coupled to the corrected WK92 model, tuned to pre-PETM conditions. Calculations with this couped model demonstrate that the PETM onset is most appropriately formulated as a two-stage event. During the first stage, when the CIE was observed to be small, an emission of 900 to 1100 PgC of CH4 is required to simulate the observed temperature and lysocline changes. During the second (very brief) stage, a mixed emission of CO2 and CH4 (totaling about 1000 PgC) for only 50 yr reproduces the observed changes, including the large negative CIE. The results for the second stage are consistent with a methane hydrate source for the PETM.

Seminars will be posted as scheduled.

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Other Seminars

Pacific Geoscience Center Seminar Series
Malaspina Science and Technology Lecture Series