Dalhousie University's Oceanography program was recently ranked first in Canada and 32nd globally in this year's Global Rankings of Academic Subjects (GRAS).

Oceanography and Atmospheric Science stood out as two of Dalhousie’s top subject areas, with Atmospheric Science tied for second in Canada, with a global ranking of 76-100.

Department of Oceanography Chair Katja Fennel said the department's primary goal is to offer quality education and fundamental and applied research.

"In terms of education, our undergraduate and graduate programs aim to train environmentally and ocean literate future leaders, not just academic researchers, but also experts that will work in government shape policy intrapreneurs leaders in the industry," Fennel said.

The department's second main goal is to carry out ocean research.

Their current efforts are focused on documenting and predicting the effects of global change, ocean warming, oxygenation-loss of oxygen, ocean acidification, issues related to sea level rise, inundation and threats to ecosystems.

"Finding solutions to mitigate the worst of the worst effects is one of our main foresight these days," Fennel said.

The Halifax Regional Municipality has a vibrant ecosystem with investments in marine technology; Dalhousie's Oceanography department partnered with them to provide the best learning experience.

"[We partnered with] Bedford Institute of Oceanography, which is part of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, as well as with Environment and Climate Change Canada, then we have many partner institutions internationally."

Fennel said it is an exciting major and that all Oceanography graduate students hold scholarships, whether from a federal funding agency, or through the province's Nova Scotia Graduate Scholarship, or from research projects that individual faculty members hold. Any applicant or department who is accepted to the program will be fully funded.

Fennel explained that the Oceanography department mainly involves four traditional disciplines, physics, chemistry, biology, and geology.

Physical oceanography is concerned with studying the fundamental laws that govern the movement of the ocean, with topics covering the prediction of storm surges and extremes. Chemical oceanography is concerned with the distribution and transformation of mostly inorganic species in the ocean, ranging from nutrients to dissolve gases, like co2 and oxygen. Chemical oceanography is closely intertwined with biological oceanography, the study of life in the ocean, ranging from microbes to whales, "microbes are instrumental to many of the chemical transformations that are occurring in the ocean," explained Fennel. Geological oceanography is concerned with the processes that shape the seafloor and the sediment at the bottom and it's also the study of sediment at the bottom of the ocean from the near shore to the deepest depths.

Fennel recommends interested students who would like to be involved in summer research experiences or those considering pursuing an honours degree, to get in touch with potential supervisors.

Another way students can get involved is through Dalhousie Oceanography Undergraduate Society (DOUGS) and through Dalhousie's Oceongraphy Student Association (DOSA) which are helpful and active.

The department is also releasing volume five of their department magazine Current Tides. Published every two years, the magazine comprises students writing articles in their fields as a way to get insight into related research projects.

Other Dalhousie subjects that placed in the top 150 globally are Environmental Science & Engineering, Dentistry & Oral Sciences, and Political Sciences.

Listen to the full interview below: