The University of Manitoba campuses are located on original lands of Anishinaabeg, Ininew, Anisininew, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the National Homeland of the Red River Métis. More
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada, R3T 2N2
CEOS regularly hosts workshops to exchange ideas and communicate results.
Freshwater quality and quantity are high priorities for Canadians, and the federal government recently announced the development of a Canada Water Agency. CEOS researchers have expertise in freshwater research and contribute to the scientific understanding of this important resource. In March 2021, CEOS hosted a virtual workshop about research programs occurring in the Lake Winnipeg basin and Nelson River. The workshop focused on community-driven monitoring and citizen science initiatives. The workshop also provided a space for participating groups to share information about water quality in the basin and included keynote presentations from the Manitoba Métis Federation, South Central Eco Institute River Watch, Lake Winnipeg Indigenous Collective, Lake Winnipeg Foundation and the Institute for Sustainable Development.
If you would like to learn more about upcoming workshops, reach out to us at ceosinfo@umanitoba.ca.
Community-driven research is at the heart of many of our programs. Through initiatives led by community organizations or local governing bodies, we have partnered on programs that focus on answering research questions co-developed with local concerns.
A Weather keeper pilot program was developed in coordination with the Manitoba Métis Federation and were designed to build Métis capacity in water quality management activities and increase Métis ability to make science-based decisions about climate and nutrient issues in the basin.
In the summer of 2021, the Arctic Coastal Oceanography team partnered with the Mushkegwuk Council, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Oceans North for a field campaign in James Bay, the first dedicated oceanographic expedition to James Bay since the 1970s. This exciting expedition was designed to gather new scientific data on an important ecosystem that’s home to polar bears, belugas and even walrus.
As part of the James Bay Expedition, our researchers were invited to the signing ceremony for the feasibility study for a national marine conservation area for west James Bay and the portion of southwest Hudson Bay bordering Ontario. Understanding James Bay, the ecosystem and physical processes in the bay, is essential for managing and protecting it.
Fishing is a traditional activity for Cree communities living on the James Bay coast. However, some non-traditional fish have been showing up lately. Cree fishers have reported seeing rainbow smelts, for example, which are an invasive species. As waters warm, it’s possible more species like the rainbow smelt will arrive in the bay, with potentially serious consequences for the species that already live there. Researchers on the James Bay expedition were looking to see what new species are in the area and how they might be impacting the food web.
For Cree and Inuit communities, sea ice is a highway between communities and hunting grounds. But James Bay has lost more than a month’s worth of sea-ice cover over the last few decades—a worrying change for both animals and humans. While climate change is partly to blame, sea ice is a complicated phenomenon, and researchers on the James Bay 2021 expedition collected data to better understand the dynamics and local processes.
Kelp forests are marine habitats made by large seaweeds that give food and shelter to small animals. Like land plants, seaweed use photosynthesis to turn carbon dioxide into biomass, which stores the carbon in their bodies and can help combat climate change. As part of the James Bay 2021 expedition, researchers are working to better understand the role of kelp forests in these coastal ecosystems and predict how climate change could affect them and the animals that depend on them.
In southeastern Hudson Bay and James Bay, communities have noticed a decrease in eelgrass in recent years and have been working with CEOS researchers to understand where and why eelgrass grows in the bay.
The climate is changing because there’s too much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. That’s why it’s important to find places where lots of carbon is stored and make sure it doesn’t get released. When scientists talk about “blue carbon,” they’re generally referring to places and things in the ocean that keep carbon locked up, like sediments and eelgrass beds. One of the goals of the James Bay 2021 expedition is to try and understand how much blue carbon the bay stores.
The Arctic Coastal Oceanography team studies coastal marine processes across the Canadian Arctic, with a special focus in Hudson and James Bays. The team collaborates closely with Inuit and Cree communities, NGOs, and government and academic researchers from across Canada.
In 2014, CEOS’s Coastal Oceanography team laid the foundation of a long-term oceanographic monitoring program with a small set of salinity profiles, water samples, ice cores, and mooring data collected around the Belcher Islands. Since then, the project has expanded across the region.
Many students from CEOS have worked alongside local hunters using their extensive expertise to collect valuable data for this long-term monitoring program. During 2020 and 2021, local coordinators Johnny Kudluarok and Mick Appaqaq have continued to coordinate sample collection with local hunters. These community-led efforts have ensured the robustness and adaptability of this project to carry on even during the pandemic.
The Coastal Oceanography team initiated this project on request from Sanikiluaq Inuit seeking answers as to why they were observing changes in the surrounding sea-ice, polynyas and leads. This prompted a partnership to investigate the role of freshwater (i.e., sea-ice melt and river discharge) in the observed changes. Collaborating with the Hunters and Trappers Organization and Arctic Eider Society as a part of the Community-Driven Research Network has been integral to the project spreading its wings, including the early development of SIKU: The Indigenous Knowledge Social Network.
Data collected as part of community led monitoring programs is owned and governed by the data collectors and communities. The Sanikiluaq team, which deployed oceanographic sensors and collected water samples around the islands as baseline monitoring, has shared their data through SIKU.
CEOS is part of several national and international research initiatives. These partnerships allow UM researchers the opportunity to showcase their work on a greater stage while encouraging collaboration from around the globe.
ArcticNet is a network of Centres of Excellence of Canada that brings together scientists, engineers, and other professionals in the human health, natural and social sciences with partners from Inuit organizations, northern communities, federal and provincial agencies and the private sector to study the impacts of climate change and modernization in the Canadian North.
ArcticNet initiated an Integrated Regional Impact Study (IRIS) process to integrate research results and communicate them to communities, northern organizations and other interested parties. For this process, the North was divided into four, broadly defined regions: Western and Central Arctic, Eastern Arctic, Greater Hudson Bay Region, and the Eastern Subarctic. The regions do not reflect land claim boundaries but rather similarities or commonalities in important aspects of the environment.
A joint initiative between CEOS and ArcticNet was the IRISes for the Greater Hudson Bay Marine Region and the Western and Central Canadian Arctic Region. The IRIS process aimed to address the knowledge gaps for each region and to strengthen evidence-based decision making by broadening and integrating knowledge bases. Each IRIS consists of two parts: a large report of science-based knowledge, and a synthesis of this knowledge along with subsequent policy-related recommendations.
CEOS is a founding partner of the Arctic Science Partnership (ASP), a ground-breaking international network that transforms how global knowledge is shared in Arctic sciences. ASP brings together the world’s leading Arctic scientists to collaborate on projects and open doors to shared research vessels and field stations, encouraging visionary research initiatives.
ASP was founded in 2012 by three research institutions: the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, the Arctic Research Centre at Aarhus University, and the Centre for Earth Observation Science at the University of Manitoba. Since then, ASP has expanded its membership to institutions from six different countries, including: Université Laval, Alfred-Wegner Institute, Lund University, University of Southern Denmark, University of Tromsø and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
At CEOS, we engage the scientists of tomorrow with the fun of learning and discovery through university wide outreach programs like Science Rendezvous and Let’s Talk Science, which engage children in science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning experiences.
CEOS partners with Fort Whyte Alive to host Arctic Science Day, which focuses on activities for grades 7-12 students to learn about how our researchers do fieldwork in the Arctic to understand how climate change impacts Arctic ecosystems and communities.
Expedition Churchill: A Gateway to Arctic Research is an interactive e-book that introduces readers to the scientific significance of Hudson Bay, the nature of the changes underway in the bay and context for how this knowledge can be used to address the challenges and opportunities that climate change presents to the region and to the Arctic as a whole.
CEOS partnered on the e-book with VIA Rail, the Town of Churchill, the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, the Assiniboine Park Zoo and Travel Manitoba. CEOS also partnered with the Frontier School Division and Fort Whyte Alive to extend the educational reach by creating educational activity cards with experiments students can do with items easily found at home.
Freshwater Ecology Day is an annual event hosted by Fort Whyte Alive where our scientists, along with other experts in our province, help students discover how we monitor water chemistry, and understand the impacts of climate change.
Researchers and graduate students at CEOS work with schools from early childhood through to middle and senior years in high school for relevant presentations and educational outreach. If you would like to discuss new opportunities or to learn more about our programs reach out to us at ceosinfo@umanitoba.ca.
Centre for Earth Observation Science
535 Wallace Building
125 Dysart Rd.
University of Manitoba (Fort Garry campus)
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 Canada
