Professor, School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria
Verena Tunnicliffe is a marine biologist with a joint appointment in School of Earth and Ocean Sciences. She holds a Canada Research Chair in Deep Ocean Research.
The Tunnicliffe Lab researches the nature and functions of deep-sea communities including BC fjords, seamounts, hot vents and subsea volcanoes making hundreds of dives with SCUBA and then with manned and remotely operated submersibles. She works with interdisciplinary teams exploring hot vent systems around the Pacific Ocean and near British Columbia where her research helped establish Canada’s first MPA, the Endeavour Hot Vents Marine Protected Area.
For a decade, she helped to make the “Ocean On-line” a reality as Director of the subsea observatory, VENUS, in British Columbia where a long-term program examines the impact of climate change on ocean communities.
Current research focuses on deep ocean conservation, including environmental management around deep-sea mining.
Getting to the bottom of things: Can mining the deep sea be sustainable?
Sep 10, 2019 20:37 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature
It is completely dark, just above freezing cold and the pressure is crushing: this is the deep-sea floor. Food is very scarce in this huge region, yet a great diversity of animals have adapted to exploit and recycle...
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