According to recent studies, roughly 10,000 submarine canyons exist worldwide. Only 1% have been studied in any detail.

The exploration of submarine canyons reveals exuberant ecosystems with never-before-seen life forms and habitats. While the scientific understanding of canyons advances, so does the human footprint into the deep sea—with increasing demands for oil and gas, minerals and fisheries.

The scientific community has a responsibility to prepare an assessment of the role submarine canyons play in generating and maintaining deep-sea biodiversity and ecosystem function, in support of developing marine policies that define clear strategies for conservation.

JOIN US in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia, from 25 to 27 July 2016!

Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), an initiative of University of Victoria, is hosting the third international INCISE symposium—the first time in North America.  ONC operates world-leading observatories in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans.

• Regular rate - early bird $330
• Regular rate - full $410
• Student rate - early bird $220
• Student rate - full $275
• All fees in Canadian dollars.

Early bird discount fees apply until 25 May 2016.

Registration closes on 25 June 2016

Ocean Networks Canada’s NEPTUNE regional cabled observatory has four real-time monitoring pods in Barkley Submarine Canyon (map above).

Featuring Keynote Speakers from around the globe

Opening Keynote: a tribute to Francis Parker Shepard, Father of Marine Geology – Insights of  his work on submarine canyons. By H. Gary Greene, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, California State University

Theme 1: Canyon processes in the space-time continuum (formation, evolution, circulation) By Susan Allen, University of British Columbia.

Theme 2: New ways to study submarine canyons: integrated programs, new technologies and coordinated monitoring efforts. By Veerle Huvenne, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK.

Theme 3: Patterns in submarine canyons: role of scale and heterogeneity. By Thomas Schlacher, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia.

Theme 4: Physical and anthropogenic disturbance in submarine canyons, conservation and marine policy. The Gully Marine Protected Area: reflections on 20 years of conservation efforts for Canada’s largest submarine canyon. By Derek Fenton, Marine Protected Areas Program of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

SPECIAL KEYNOTE SESSION: The challenge of monitoring sediment flows within submarine canyons: lessons learned in Monterey Canyon. By Charlie Paull, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

• For more information and to register for the symposium, visit INCISE.org or contact Fabio De Leo, staff scientist at Ocean Networks Canada