Tides of Change

First Place

This image was taken aboard a research vessel in the Bay of Fundy, on the unceded waters of the Mi’kmaq, Wəlastəkwewiyik, and Peskotomuhkati Peoples. Here, I depict an ocean scape at dusk in a unique way: by slowing my camera's shutter speed and bracing against the boat, I created a two-second, long-exposure image that blurred the waves and used the boat’s motion to 'paint' a bending trail of moonlight across the sky. My MSc research focuses on how large-scale ocean-climate systems influence plankton populations and larger marine animals, such as the North Atlantic Right Whale, in the Bay of Fundy. Much like my blurred image, understanding and resolving the details of how ocean-climate systems influence marine food webs can be challenging. However, recent research suggests that local ocean ecosystems undergo major changes roughly every decade, forming 'wave-like' climate patterns over time — echoed by the moon in my image. Through my thesis, I aim to explain recent environmental changes in the Bay of Fundy and explore how 'wave-like' environmental patterns emerge in organisms ranging from tiny plankton to massive whales.