Dwight Owens – “Sour Seas: ocean acidification explained”

Dwight Owens – “Sour Seas: ocean acidification explained”
by Andrew Bryant, 21 February 2016

Dwight Owens works for Ocean Networks Canada, where he serves as a “user engagement officer”.  Although not a scientist himself, Dwight’s mandate is  to help make recent scientific research accessible to the general public.  This he did – in spades!

He spoke to us about ocean acidification, which has been called “global warming’s evil twin”.   Using graphics gleaned from a wide variety of sources, Dwight provided a lively introduction to a very sobering topic.

Why are oceans becoming more acidic, and what impacts can we expect? Dwight discussed recent and projected changes, examining impacts on marine ecosystems and human society.

For those interested in learning more about this fascinating, although frightening, topic, Dwight also provided a help link to many on-line sources, which can be found here.

David Atkinson – “Pacific Storms”

David Atkinson – “Pacific Storms”
by Andrew Bryant, 28 March 2014. 

David Atkinson, a professor of Geography at the University of Victoria, provided an overview of storm activity in the North Pacific Ocean – types of storms, where they form, why they grow, where and how they travel, where they die, impacts they can exert, and particular features of the Pacific West Coast, including a phenomenon known as “Atmospheric Rivers” or, in more casual terms, how the “pineapple express” actually drives our local weather patterns.

He also spoke about how the research enterprise works, and what some of his graduate students are doing.  His graphics were astounding, and showed just how huge some of these storms actually are.

He spoke for an hour, but given his vast knowledge and obvious passion for the subject, we think he could have gone on for longer had we let him!