Saanich Inlet 2016 Symposium: Ten Years of Observatory Science
11-12 February 2016 | University of Victoria
In early February 2016, the VENUS Saanich Inlet cabled observatory celebrated ten years of continuous operation in supporting international coastal marine science.
To mark this occasion, Ocean Networks Canada hosted a two-day Symposium (11-12 February 2016) at the University of Victoria (Bob Wright Centre) for the community to present past accomplishments, report on the latest results from active research, and develop future observation plans and studies in this dynamic fjord.
Symposium Agenda

9+ years of oxygen, sigma-T, salinity and temperature measurements from Saanich Inlet. (Click to enlarge.)
Symposium Themes
- Microbial Processes and Biogeochemistry
- Benthic Processes
- Plankton Dynamics
- Chemical/Physical Processes
Presentations
Microbial Processes and Biogeochemistry |
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Steve Hallam (University of British Columbia) Saanich Inlet is a model ecosystem: Exploring microbial community structure and function in the oxygen starved ocean |
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Monica Torres-Beltran (University of British Columbia) Exploring microbial controls on methane cycling in Saanich Inlet (29 mb pdf) |
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Celine Michiels (University of British Columbia) N-cycle dynamics in stratified low oxygen fjord (Saanich inlet, BC) |
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Alyse Hawley (University of British Columbia) Co-metabolic strategies of Marine group A along ecothermodynamic gradients |
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Sean Crowe (University of British Columbia) Linking microbiology to geochemistry in Saanich Inlet |
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Rachel Simister (University of British Columbia) Investigating biogeochemical processes in Saanich Inlet sediments |
Benthic Processes |
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Verena Tunnicliffe (University of Victoria) Down in the mud: Benthic process and time-series studies in Saanich Inlet |
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Jackson Chu (University of Victoria) Influence of seasonally variable hypoxia on epibenthic communities (2 mb pdf) |
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Paul Snelgrove (Memorial University) Biodiversity & ecosystem functioning in Saanich Inlet sediments (16 mb pdf) |
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Gail Anderson (Simon Fraser University) |
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Yvonne Sawall (GEOMAR) Assessing the effect of hypoxia on organisms and communities using in situ incubation chambers ( 4.5 mb pdf) |
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Fabio De Leo (Ocean Networks Canada) |
Data & Data Visualization |
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Akash Sastri (Ocean Networks Canada) |
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Dwight Owens (Ocean Networks Canada) |
Plankton Dynamics |
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Mei Sato (Oregon State University) More than up and down: insights into zooplankton phenology through long-term acoustic monitoring |
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Karyn Suchy (University of Victoria) Influence of interannual variations in crustacean zooplankton productivity on trophic transfer efficiency |
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Curtis Martin (University of Victoria) Phytoplankton assemblage dynamics and elemental cycling in Saanich Inlet |
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Frank Whitney |
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Steve Mihály (Ocean Networks Canada) |
Chemical/Physical Processes |
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Roberta Hamme (University of Victoria) Interaction of nitrogen cycling and water mass renewal in Saanich Inlet and the 2016-17 Saanich Inlet Redox Experiment (20 mb pdf) |
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Damian Grundle (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Marine Researc, Kiel) The use of low oxygen 'natural laboratories' for understanding future marine nitrous oxide conditions |
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David Capelle (University of British Columbia) Nitrous-oxide variability in Saanich Inlet: 2007-2014 (4 mb pdf) |
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Richard Dewey (Ocean Networks Canada) Physical processes in Saanich Inlet (4.3 mb pdf) |

Remotely operated vehicle lights shine down on two anemones during camera installation operations in Saanich Inlet, September 2012.