Kelp research getting some help from above
A research team led by Dr. Patrick Gagnon of Memorial University is getting $310,000 in funding from the Canadian Space Agency
It’s been said more is known about space than the ocean, but Dr. Patrick Gagnon plans to use space to gain a better understanding of the marine ecosystem.
More specifically, the head of the Department of Ocean Sciences at Memorial University is going to be incorporating the use of satellites to further his research work on kelp.
FROM DIVING TO SATELLITES
Kelp, a large brown seaweed that grows in aggregations called forests in shallow, rocky areas of the coast, is deemed one of Canada’s most biodiverse and ecologically and economically important ocean resources.
Gagnon is a benthic ecologist and studies marine organisms that live on the sea floor.
Up until five or six years ago, he had been diving into the ocean to conduct his research, but that was timeconsuming and costly, not to mention restricted to covering just a few small square metres of study area at a time.
“That really limits the sort of answers you can bring to those larger questions that impact our oceans right now such as climate change and ocean acidification and warming and so on,” he said.
So, he decided to expand his research group’s capabilities by first using drones and satellite imagery to get a better perspective of his subject areas.
CANADIAN SPACE AGENCY FUNDING
Gagnon and his collaborators are now conducting multidisciplinary research that should position Memorial and Canada at the forefront of satellite-based, Earth-observation approaches to marine benthic habitat mapping.
Recently, the Canadian Space Agency committed to investing $310,000 in a project led by Gagnon and focused on kelp — considered one of the drivers of population change for ocean floor organisms.
The project will involve being provided with images of coastal areas of interest.
From there, Gagnon will be better able to hone in on specific areas he would like his group to study by getting drone images closer to the sites.
Then, he can decide where to navigate his research vessel and deploy his dive team to get up close and personal with the kelp forests he wants to examine.
“We’re going to acquire information at different scales so that we can do what’s called ground truth things and validate what we see on the satellite image,” he explained.
PREDICTIVE MODELS
The project will avail of imagery available through the Canadian agency, as well as some of its partner agencies.
In addition to digital images, the project will also analyze other data gleaned from satellites, including wave action on the ocean surface, water temperature, and the amount of microalgae in the water.
“That’s useful, because what we’re trying to do ultimately with this project is to predict where we will find kelp, even in those coastal areas where we cannot really go with boats,” said Gagnon.
“And we can develop predictive models to know where we can find kelp over the next five, 10, 15 years.”
The groundwork will focus in on an area near Margaree on Newfoundland’s southwest coast, where Gagnon already has done work and can build on that.
Some work will also be done at sites in Nova Scotia.
“The idea is to come up with models that will allow us to really predict, whether you’re Newfoundland or Nova Scotia or New Brunswick or wherever you are in Canada, where we will find kelp,” said Gagnon.
SPREADING THE KNOWLEDGE
In addition to funding some of the operations, the Canadian Space Agency funding will also help develop predictive models for kelp habitats using artificial intelligence.
It will aim to produce an integrated suite of learning modules for remote sensingand Earth observation-based marine habitat mapping.
The plan is to also produce a community of educators who can pass on and advance the knowledge gained from the project and the research effort in general.
The project will involve some highly qualified personnel, including at least five undergraduate and two graduate research assistants, two master of science students and one doctoral student.
“We are training the next generation of ocean professionals to develop and maintain marine research activities and remain competitive at an international scale,” Gagnon said.
A CRUCIAL ORGANISM
Kelp is an important component of marine life, said Gagnon, as it provides habitat, shelter and food for a variety of species.
“It creates what’s called a trophic cascade in ecology,” said Gagnon. “So, it will really generate a habitat that will attract a number of species that would not be there if there was no kelp and that includes ecologically important and economically important species.”
Among those species, he noted, are lobster and green sea urchins.
Kelp is also a fast-growing organism, with some species able to grow by as much as half a metre per day.
Because growing kelp is removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, more of it helps mitigate the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and contributes to carbon capture and sequestration.
SEA TEMPERATURE IMPACT
Fortunately, the waters off Newfoundland are still cold enough to sustain healthy kelp populations, but the same cannot be said of nearby Nova Scotia.
Gagnon said the waters off Nova Scotia are warmer for longer periods of time than they are in Newfoundland and it is beginning to affect kelp populations there.
“As a matter of fact, we’ve started to see a huge decline in their kelp population,” he said.
“Everything is sort of turning from kelp to sort of a low-lying seaweed that’s not providing the complexity that’s needed for a number of species. So, they’re starting to lose some biodiversity just because they’re losing their help because the water is too warm.”
Gagnon said there is not a whole lot people can do to help kelp populations specifically, other than adhere to the broader messages associated with climate change and reducing carbon footprints.