News

Robert (Bob) Ellis, a long-time member of the Geophysics group in our Department, and its predecessors, passed away peacefully in the early morning of Sunday, June 22. He was 89. Bob received degrees in mathematics and physics from, first, the University of Western Ontario and then his PhD from the University of Alberta. He joined the (then) Department of Geophysics and Astronomy in 1966 and remained as Professor until his retirement in 2001. Bob’s research interests focused on earthquake and explosion seismology and their application to earthquake activity and the structure and evolution of the lithosphere, particularly in B.C. He mentored many graduate students who went on to successful careers in industry, academia and government service. 

Bob also contributed in a major way to the administration and collegiality of geophysical colleagues and other Earth science groups. In 1991, he became Head of Geophysics and Astronomy and effectively guided that department for the next 5 years. This was not an easy period as discussions concerning the creation of an amalgamated department (geology, oceanography and geophysics) took place throughout. On April 1, 1996 the new Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences was created from those groups while the astronomy group was joined with Physics. Bob was appointed Head of the new department. With perseverance and equanimity, he provided excellent leadership of the three groups, housed in four buildings, for 5 years until his retirement. Upon taking up this leadership role, Bob had this to say about the merger: “There has been a gradual convergence due to the complexity of problems in earth and ocean sciences, problems which can best be solved through close collaboration among experts from a number of sub-disciplines within the broad field. There is no doubt that it is the needs of the science and a contemporary teaching program in the science that has brought us together.” His statement is just as relevant today. 

On the personal side, Bob was quiet and thoughtful. He played a mean game of badminton and was a regular with a group of badminton players at UBC. He was also an avid cyclist. Bob and his loving wife, Wendy Drysdale, have literally cycled all over the world. Bob lived and worked a good life. 

For me, he was a wonderful mentor, colleague and friend. Thank you, Bob. 

…contributed by Ron Clowes, Emeritus Professor, EOAS

Bob at his retirement in 2001 

Bob in his cycling gear in 2016

Bob at the EOAS 25th Anniversary Gala

We are excited to share that Dr. Susan Allen has been named a Fellow of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS). This honor recognizes her “…outstanding scientific contributions to Canadian Marine Science as well as exceptional long-term service to CMOS and CNC-SCOR”. 

The CMOS Fellowship is awarded to members who have provided exceptional long-term service and support to the Society, and/or who have made outstanding contributions to the scientific, professional, educational, forecasting or broadcasting fields in atmospheric or ocean sciences in Canada. CMOS is the national society of individuals and organisations dedicated to advancing atmospheric and oceanic sciences and related environmental disciplines in Canada. The Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) is the leading international non-governmental organization for the promotion and coordination of international oceanographic activities, and the Canadian National Committee (CNC) - SCOR is the senior non-governmental oceanographic coordinating committee in Canada. 

Dr. Allen is a Professor in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (EOAS) and Associate Dean in the Faculty of Science at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Her research spans atmospheric science, climate science, environmental science, and oceanography. As a physical oceanographer, Dr. Allen is known for her expertise in fluid mechanics, including scaling, analytics, laboratory and numerical modeling, with applications in coastal oceanography, mesoscale meteorology and biogeochemical-physical interactions in the ocean. Some of her research projects include: 1) understanding flow over and around topography and particularly canyons, and the resulting impacts on cross-shelf exchange, 2) biological-physical interactions and in particular the impact of surface processes on the timing of the phytoplankton spring bloom, and 3) atmosphere buoyancy driven flows in the mountains. 

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Allen on this well-deserved recognition.

To learn more, visit here: QES scholarship furthers pivotal research exchange with Chile on marine hazards and resource stewardship

The UBC Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (EOAS) and Go Global are leading PROTÉGÉ, a multi-year graduate student exchange program in partnership with Chile., which focuses on marine hazards and resource stewardship in the context of rapid climate change. PROTÉGÉ has been awarded $300,000 through the Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship (QES) program administered by Universities Canada, with additional matching funds from UBC bringing the total budget to $434,000. QES supports projects focusing on adaptation, response and resilience to climate change—including biodiversity, community resilience and ecosystems—with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion. A key aim is to amplify the impact of young leaders on local and global communities.

“It’s a pretty spectacular opportunity to bring researchers from both countries together, exploring how we might work together to address common ocean problems,” says Dr. Philippe Tortell, Professor of EOAS. “I’m excited about the opportunity to build this relationship between students and research professors, and to see students come alive with the realization that there is a whole other context, half a world away, where they can conduct research in a different, yet oddly similar, manner.”

The PROTÉGÉ program builds on the success of PRODIGY (Pacific Rim Ocean Data Mobilization and Technology), an NSERC (National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada)-funded graduate training initiative now in its fifth year. Like PROTÉGÉ, PRODIGY emphasizes Canada–Chile collaboration in ocean research and brings together students from diverse disciplines, such as oceanography, statistics, and computer science, to explore state-of-the-art methods for the collection, analysis and communication of ocean data. 

Check out our previous articles on PRODIGY:

• First installment of the PRODIGY field school
• PRODIGY wraps up two weeks of field school in Northern Patagonia
• Third annual PRODIGY field school takes place on Vancouver Island

Dr. Ali Ameli, Assistant Professor and Principal Investigator of the HydroGeoScience For Watershed Management Lab at the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, has received the Young Scientist Award by the Canadian Geophysical Union (CGU) – the highest honor of CGU for early-career scientists, awarded to only one recipient each year. 

This prestigious Union-Level senior award recognizes outstanding research contributions to Geophysics, including Biogeosciences, Hydrological Sciences, Geodesy, and Solid Earth, by an early-career scientist (within 10 years of obtaining a Ph.D.). At the award ceremony, CGU President highlighted Dr. Ameli’s work as follows: 

"Since completing his PhD, Dr. Ameli has continued to push the frontiers of hydrology through deep theoretical insights, creative modeling approaches, and a strong commitment to addressing real-world water challenges. His research bridges gaps between theory, observation, modeling, and large-sample synthesis—producing tools and frameworks that quantify streamflow generation mechanisms, water storage dynamics, and hydrologic connectivity across a wide range of landscapes. Importantly, his work has advanced a new hydrologic theory of both stormflow and baseflow generation, with major implications for understanding flow processes in ungauged basins. These contributions extend beyond the hillslope-dominated landscapes that have long underpinned hydrologic theory to include wetland-rich systems, where a mechanistic understanding remains limited but is urgently needed.

Dr. Ameli’s research has laid the foundation for interdisciplinary work at the interface of hydrology, geochemistry, and watershed management. His ability to bridge theoretical and applied hydrology has made him a valued collaborator among international scientists and policymakers. He has addressed critical challenges related to land use, forestry, and agricultural impacts on water quality, and his work has informed environmental policy related to flood and drought risk. He is also helping lead the field into the era of big data—developing new statistical and machine-learning tools to identify and generalize hydrologic processes across scales, thereby advancing efforts to build a more transferable hydrologic science. Despite being extremely deliberate and rigorous in ensuring the quality, originality, and impact of his research, Ali has far exceeded expectations in terms of productivity—publishing 30 peer-reviewed articles to date, leading 20 of them, including eight in Water Resources Research, the flagship journal of our discipline. His trainees have received prestigious scholarships, and many have gone on to pursue advanced research and academic careers at leading institutions, including Stanford, Columbia, Caltech, and Harvard. His remarkable record of achievement, leadership, and mentorship at this early stage of his career makes him a truly deserving recipient of the Canadian Geophysical Union’s Young Scientist Award.”

To learn more about Dr. Ameli's research, please click here: HydroGeoScience For Watershed Management Laboratory

Congrats, Dr. Ameli!

EOSC 328 Field Geology began with a 2-day refresher “Bootcamp” on campus and then the 27 students boarded a bus for the trip to the Oliver region of the Okanagan with stops on the way at the Hope Slide, the talus slopes at Keremeos, and lava flows along Yellow Lake.  The instructional team this year included faculty (Ken Hickey, James Scoates, Matthjis Smit) and students (Dylan Spence, Daysha Pierobon, John Xu, Lindsay Abdale).  Our new structural geologist, Matt Tarling, joined us in the final week on some of the biggest hikes (Helipad Ridge, Death March, East End) and also collected samples of deformed rocks for a new structure lab. 

Over the course of three weeks, the students mapped a range of deformed metamorphic rocks beneath the Okanagan Valley Detachment Fault (Keogan exercise) and then sedimentary and volcanic rocks from above the detachment fault (White Lake/Dominion Observatory exercise).  They climbed hills, crossed streams, rolled under barbed wire fences, evaded cactii, hammered rocks, chased contacts, measured structures, navigated through forests, puzzled over new units, drew innumerable cross sections, and lost a few coloured pencils and binder clips along the way.

The weather was definitely not typical for the Okanagan at this time of year with a few days early in the low 20s, then the rest in the 16-20°C range with one day reaching a “high" of only 13!  But it meant for excellent hiking conditions.  The facilities of the UBC – Teck Geological Field Station, including the Peter and Maggie Bradshaw Experiential Learning Centre and C. Fipke Foundation Dining Hall, were stellar, and Jose’s cooking was a daily highlight!  An unforgettable experience for all.

Shifting ocean conditions can influence the species forming both the oyster’s external ecosystem and internal community of microorganisms. 

By Sarah Anderson, PhD, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, UBC

Although they don’t produce the shiny, precious pearls of some of their mollusk family members, Pacific oysters remain a critically valuable resource. The Pacific oyster acts a natural water filter as it feeds, sucking algae and phytoplankton from up to 50 gallons of water per day. The oyster reef also provides a key aquatic habitat that supports a range of fish and invertebrate organisms. And as the most widely farmed species of oyster, the Pacific oyster industry forms the financial backbone of coastal communities spanning Vancouver Island to Vietnam. 

Recently, Pacific oysters have undergone a series of mass mortality events, leading to devastating ecological and economic consequences. In the past few years, death rates have regularly exceeded 50 percent in Pacific oysters farmed in Baynes Sound, British Columbia during July and August. Given the seasonal trend, scientists have hypothesized that ocean warming and acidification due to climate change may be at play. 

Curtis Suttle, a professor of microbiology and immunology, earth, ocean, and atmospheric sciences, and botany, wondered if shifting environmental parameters may affect the Pacific oyster via its microbiome. As the Pacific oyster filter feeds and interacts with its marine ecosystem, it builds up a microscopic ecosystem of its own — a complex community of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms inhabiting its gut and gills. As these microorganisms have evolved to perform important biological functions under specific conditions, increasing water temperature and acidity could disrupt the oyster’s microbiome and impact its health. 

To explore these connections, Suttle’s team took part in a collaborative, multi-institutional study, acquiring Pacific oyster spat (the juvenile life stage) grown at the Deep Bay Marine Field Station of Vancouver Island University and conducting experiments at the Hakai Institute Marna Lab on Quadra Island, British Columbia. The researchers placed the oysters in tanks filled with water from their natural environment in the Strait of Georgia, sampling from both surface water and deep-ocean water where sunken organic matter is decomposed in order to expose the oysters to a diverse array of microorganisms. They then adjusted the temperature or acidity of the water in each tank and, after three weeks, analyzed the composition of the oyster’s microbiomes. 

To get a complete picture of the microbiome, the researchers extracted genetic information to identify both prokaryotic microbes and more elaborate eukaryotic microorganisms. Obtaining eukaryotic microbiome data has been challenging because the genetic profile of the host organism is included within — and typically dominates — the eukaryotic genome. To address this problem, research associate Kevin Zhong used CRISPR-Cas gene editing technology to cut the oyster’s DNA, removing it from the analysis and leaving behind the eukaryotic microbiome genes of interest. “We measured the relative abundance of each microbial species, and then performed bioinformatic and statistical analysis to determine how factors such as water temperature and acidity affected the oyster microbiome,” Zhong said. 

Curtis Suttle (left) and Kevin Zhong (right)

The team observed that the composition of the oyster microbiome stayed the same even as the surrounding water became more acidic. The makeup of the microbiome did shift in response to increased water temperature, but these changes did not yield any negative health effects. “One of the most surprising parts was that we pushed the oyster spat much harder than they would ever be pushed in the natural environment, and they were incredibly resilient and never showed any signs of mortality or catastrophic collapse,” Suttle said.

While rising water temperature and acidity don’t appear to be directly responsible for Pacific oyster die-off events, the effects of shifting environmental parameters can intersect to wreak havoc in the uncontrolled ocean. As certain bacteria thrive at higher temperatures, warming oceans can introduce new pathogens into Pacific oyster habitats. And if increased temperature disturbs the oyster microbiome as it did in the researchers’ experiments, the oysters may be more susceptible to infection and disease. “The Anna Karenina hypothesis is the idea that once you start to lose your stable microbiome, then it becomes chaotic and unpredictable and you don't know what pathogens will invade,” Suttle said.

The team is now focused on identifying marine pathogens that are being driven north by climate change and mapping the relationships between pathogen distribution, ocean conditions, and the Pacific oyster microbiome and mortality. “The saying is that everything is everywhere, and the environment selects,” Suttle said. Whether within an underwater ecosystem or inside the oyster itself, “If you change the environment, you change the organisms that are present.”