Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources

Research Chairs

Dr. Dorthe Dahl-Jensen

Dr. dorthe dahl-jensen smiling at camera.

Canada Excellence Research Chair in Arctic Ice, Freshwater Marine Coupling and Climate Change

The observed changes in ice (that is, sea ice, glacial ice and permafrost) are increasing freshwater inputs into the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas. These changes are present throughout the system, affecting all levels of ecosystem services, Inuit traditional use of marine areas and global pressure to increase development in the Arctic. Changes in the Arctic also affect processes at lower latitudes, including connections to extreme weather, floods, droughts and climate variability, like the polar vortex, sea level rise and global ocean circulation through export of fresh water to the deep-water convection areas of the North Atlantic. The University of Manitoba’s Canada Excellence Research Chair will generate transformative knowledge, allowing policy-makers, communities, industry and co-management groups to create informed sustainable development, adaptation and mitigation strategies needed to address both the unprecedented challenges and opportunities of the opening of Canada’s Arctic Ocean.

Dr. Igor Polyakov

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Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair in Arctic Physical Oceanography

Polyakov is a Professor in the Department of International Arctic Research Center and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in the United States of America. His work leading the Nansen and Amundsen Basins Observational System was instrumental in tracking recent warming transitions in the Arctic Ocean.

Leveraging UM expertise, Arctic research infrastructure and partnerships with Indigenous communities, Polyakov’s program will support knowledge co-production reflecting regional needs with a new year-round observation system. This will provide critical data supporting safer Arctic navigation, Canadian defense, sustainable resource management and policies to protect Indigenous food security.

Dr. Peter Reiners

a headshot of peter reiners

Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair in Geoscience of Subsurface Fluid-Rock Systems for Solutions in Sustainability and Security

Reiners is a Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arizona in the United States of America. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the Geological Society of America.

Applying recent discoveries in the field of subsurface fluid mineral deposits, Reiners’ new UM research program will develop environmentally sustainable answers to Manitoba’s critical economic, energy, and national security needs. Reiners will build on longstanding collaborations between governments, First Nations, corporations and communities to drive technological advancement in geoscience for Canada’s future and global leadership

Dr. Søren Rysgaard

Dr. Søren Rysgaard sits smiling in a lab with shelving behind him.

Canada Excellence Research Chair (Laureate) in Arctic Geomicrobiology and Climate Change

Canada Excellence Research Chair in Arctic Geomicrobiology and Climate Change Søren Rysgaard leads a research team at the forefront of knowledge about the causes and consequences of global warming. An expert in sea ice and benthos (organisms living in or around the seabed), Rysgaard, along with fellow University of Manitoba scientists at the Centre for Earth Observation Science, is exploring microbial activity and chemical transformations within sea ice and ocean sediments as they occur. His team will be the first to intensely investigate the Arctic at the micro scale.

Dr. Julienne Stroeve

Dr. Julienne Stroeve stands for a photo in front of green summer foliage.

Canada 150 Research Chair (Laureate) in Climate Sea Ice Coupling

The world has turned its attention to the Arctic. This is, in large part, because of how rapidly the sea ice that has covered much of the Arctic is shrinking. The resulting increase in the amount of open water is already having profound impacts on the Arctic’s energy and freshwater balance. Julienne Christine Stroeve and her team will use satellite and in situ data, Inuit traditional knowledge, community monitoring, and climate models to improve our understanding of how changes in sea ice contribute to the large-scale coupling of freshwater and the Arctic Ocean. Stroeve will also investigate how these changes, in turn, influence large-scale weather and ocean circulation patterns, polar ecosystems, marine biogeochemistry, the livelihoods of coastal communities, marine activity, and resource extraction.

Dr. Feiyue Wang

Dr. Warren Bernauer

Dr. Kristina Brown

Dr. Eric Collins

Dr. Nicole J. Wilson

Dr. Nicole J. Wilson, Canada Research Chair in Arctic Environmental Change and Governance

Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Arctic Environmental Change and Governance

Dr. Wilson’s (she/her) research program advances knowledge of water and climate change, particularly in the Arctic. The Arctic has received minimal attention on freshwater compared with other environmental systems. Yet, climate change is driving significant shifts in freshwater, with an overall trend towards a warmer, wetter Arctic. Indigenous peoples in the Arctic are asserting their self-determination to advance novel governance models that respond to water challenges. Overall, it enhances knowledge of water governance in Northern Canada and other Arctic states and contributes to justice and equity in changing climate-water systems in ways that imagine and enact more just and desirable water futures. Using Community-Based and Indigenous research approaches, her research develops action-oriented knowledge of Indigenous water relationships and governance approaches. Rather than reinforcing present deficit-based framings of Indigenous peoples in relation to environmental change, she focuses on the strengths of Indigenous-led approaches and desires for sustainable and just water and climate futures in the Arctic and beyond.