Dalhousie University. Faculty of Science. Department of Oceanography

Corporate body (Dalhousie University)

Dalhousie University. Faculty of Science. Department of Oceanography

1971-

The Department of Oceanography was established in 1971, developing out of Dalhousie's Institute of Oceanography, which itself was founded in 1959. By 1962 the Institute was supported by faculty members cross-appointed from biology, geology, chemistry and physics, and had twelve graduate students working towards MSc degrees. Its broadly interdisciplinary character and focus on graduate-level teaching distinguished it from the other departments on which it relied, and its departmental status was, in part, achieved because of the significant funding it contributed to the building of the Life Sciences complex.

The Department of Oceanography is located in the Life Sciences Building on Dalhousie's Studley Campus.

The Department of Oceanography offers a program of courses leading to a BSc in Ocean Sciences, as well as MSc and PhD degrees. The department has a strong research mission revolving around developing innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to quantifying ocean change and to assessing associated societal opportunities and risks. It supports research in four major sub-disciplines: biological oceanography, chemical oceanography, geological oceanography and physical oceanography.

The department is involved in collaborative research projects, including: Aquatron; Canadian Healthy Oceans Network (CHONe), which is developing new conservation strategies for Canada’s changing oceans; GEOTRACES, an international study of the global marine biogeochemical cycles of trace elements and their isotopes; Marine Environmental Observation Prediction Response Network (MEOPAR), which funds research, trains students, mobilizes knowledge & communicates results in the area of marine risk and resilience; Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI), a transnational hub for ocean research; Ocean Networks Canada, which monitors the west and east coasts of Canada and the Arctic to continuously gather data in real time for scientific research; the Ocean Tracking Network, a global aquatic animal tracking, technology development & partnership platform headquartered at Dalhousie University; Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS), which aims to understand the key biogeochemical-physical interactions & feedbacks between the ocean & atmosphere; and Transatlantic Ocean System Science & Technology (TOSST), an innovative school that prepares graduates for an increasingly internationalized work environment.

The basic statute relating to Dalhousie University is Chapter 24 of the Acts of 1863. This statute replaced earlier statutes, and the 1863 statute itself has been amended and supplemented several times over the years. The provisions of these various statutes provide for the establishment and regulation of the university, the membership of the Board of Governors and its rights and powers, the authority of senate for the internal regulation of the university (subject to the approval of the board), and various other matters.

The Department of Oceanography is within the Faculty of Science. It is administered by a limited term chair and in 2021 has 21 full-time faculty members, 35 adjunct professors, 37 research staff members and an administrative team of three.

Dalhousie University. Faculty of Science (1988-)