The CMO has 3 science priorities:

• Oil and other transportation related contaminant spills in sea ice
• Climate change, extreme weather and teleconnections
• Freshwater-marine coupling

The core CMO infrastructure is comprised of:

1. The Ocean-Sea Ice Mesocosm (OSIM) consists of two outdoor pools located in Churchill, which are designed to simultaneously accommodate contaminated and control experiments on various scenarios of oil spills in sea ice and/or to examine processing controlling how freshwater mixes with and affects marine systems.
2. The Environmental Observing (EO) system is a series of taut-line moorings located in the Churchill estuary and along the main shipping channel across the Hudson Bay and Strait. The EO system provides a state-of-the-art monitoring system and can be used to scale process studies conducted in OSIM to Hudson Bay and the larger Arctic environment.
3. The Research Vessel (RV) William Kennedy is a 65-foot former fishing vessel that has been retrofitted for Arctic science expeditions.

For more information about the CMO project, please contact:

Scientific Director: Dr. David Barber
david.barber@umanitoba.ca

OSIM Chief Scientist: Dr. Fei Wang
feiyue.wang@umanitoba.ca

EO & RV Chief Scientist: Dr. C.J. Mundy
cj.mundy@umanitoba.ca

Project Coordinator: Heather Stark
heather.stark@umaniotba.ca, 204-480-1061

Board of Directors Chair: Dr. Gary Stern
gary.stern@umanitoba.ca

In addition to funds supporting economic growth in the Churchill region, funding support is being provided from key programs and initiatives to advance the interests of the Churchill region. The University of Manitoba’s Churchill Marine Observatory (CMO) is receiving more than $1.5 million through the Western Diversification Program (WDP). Over the course of the project, it is anticipated that 13 full-time and 20 trainees will be hired.

The funding was announced today by the Honourable Jim Carr, Minister of Natural Resources, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada and the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs.

“We thank the Government of Canada for this support to a critical piece of infrastructure necessary for this project to move forward. The Churchill Marine Observatory will play a key role in learning more about the impact of oil and other contaminants under realistic ice-covered conditions,” says Dr. Digvir Jayas, Vice-President (Research and International) and Distinguished Professor, University of Manitoba.