Media Releases and Opportunities

A team of Dalhousie student researchers has been recognized internationally for tackling one of the fundamental problems in polar research: how to collect vital ocean data from sensors deployed beneath ice sheets in the high-arctic to support local Inuit communities.

Their project — a wireless communication system capable of transmitting critical sensor data across ice-covered oceans — recently won a prestigious global ocean engineering award and could revolutionize how scientists monitor polar regions facing rapid change due to a warming climate.

The IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society Ocean Challenge attracted student teams from around the world. After advancing through a rigorous two-phase selection process, the Dalhousie team emerged as champions and presented the work last month at the IEEE Oceans conference in Brest, France.

Their project -- Magnetic Induction Sea-Ice Communication Array for CTD Data Collection -- introduces an innovative approach to enhancing air-sea communication systems. This research is particularly significant for applications in ocean monitoring for deployment in harsh environments such as the high Arctic, where receding sea ice is affecting local Inuit communities.

Hunter Alloway, the project's student lead, and PhD candidate Boris Bam Nges are available to discuss the innovation and how the ability to continuously monitor underwater conditions without the need for expensive ice-breaking missions or dangerous manual data collection represents a major advancement in ocean-science capabilities.

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Media contact:

Alison Auld
Senior Research Reporter
Dalhousie University
Cell: 1-902-220-0491
Email: alison.auld@dal.ca