PRODIGY wraps up two weeks of field school in Northern Patagonia

Students and professors involved in the PRODIGY program are returning home after two weeks of intensive field school at the Foundacion San Ignacio del Huinay. The foundation’s field station is located on the shore of the Comau Fjord, one the many fjords that make up the extensive Patagonian fjord network. 

During the first week of field school, PRODIGY Year 1 students designed research projects, collected oceanographic data across Comau Fjord, and capped off the week by presenting their findings. During the second week, the Year 2 cohort completed their own research projects. Research questions covered a broad range of topics, including: surface and intermediate water circulation patterns in the fjord, dissolved oxygen dynamics in the fjord, and an investigation of a potential fault line in the ocean floor of fjord. 

The PRODIGY (Pacific Rim Ocean Data Mobilization and Technology) program is designed to train future ocean leaders across every stage of the ocean data life-cycle; from initial sensor development and testing, to using data-driven findings to engage community stakeholders and policy decision-makers. Students and post-doctoral fellows in the program represent a selection of Canadian and Chilean institutions including: Universities of British Columbia, Waterloo, Victoria, and Concepción. Participants also come from a wide range of academic backgrounds, such as oceanography, geophysics, and computer science. 

PRODIGY fosters interdisciplinary and international collaboration among early-career scientists studying coastal areas facing similar challenges: rapidly growing aquaculture industries, communities developed in zones subject to earthquake and tsunami risk, and changing physical and biogeochemical within delicate fjord ecosystems. The program is funded for another three years. Those interested can view the available positions and supervising faculty here.