Land-Ocean Linkages

One theme that runs through our work is the idea that what happens on land has important consequences for water quality and productivity in downstream marine ecosystems. This is especially true across northern latitudes, where a combination of rain, snow and glacial melt result in large quantities of freshwater being discharged to the coastal oceans. Whereas the land-to-ocean aquatic continuum concept has typically been applied either by freshwater scientists leading up to but not including marine waters, or by oceanographers to infer contributions from adjacent landmasses, our most recent work seeks to bridge these two disciplines, in acknowledgement that coastal ecosystem health is highly dependent on its connections to neighbouring ecosystems. 

​Recent publications: 

• Watershed carbon contributions to pelagic ecosystems of the B.C. Central Coast: St. Pierre et al. 2022 Frontiers in Marine Science. Link
• Nutrient stoichiometry across the land-ocean interface on the B.C. Central Coast: St. Pierre et al. 2021 Biogeosciences. Link

Current projects within this theme: 
Nearshore biogeochemical implications of small rainforest watersheds to the coastal northeast Pacific Ocean (Lead: K. Whalen, M.Sc. candidate)
Partners: Hakai Institute, University of Alberta, UBC, Toronto Metropolitan University

Biogeochemical response of a coastal alpine watershed to a geohazard cascade in British Columbia (Lead: K. St. Pierre)
Partners: Hakai Institute, Homalco First Nation, University of Alberta

Visible freshwater plume in a fjord in southern Greenland.

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