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ISMER

Oceanography Disciplines

The Institut des sciences de la mer of the Université du Québec à Rimouski (ISMER-UQAR) brings together a community of researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds: biology, chemistry, physics, and geology.

Biology

Biological oceanography researchers at ISMER-UQAR focus on organisms and microorganisms living in marine environments, such as plankton, algae, crustaceans, mollusks, fishes, and mammals. Their research includes:

  • Trophic relationships between these organisms and factors that can disrupt these relationships, such as climate change and pollution;
  • Species interactions and changes based on the physical, chemical, and geological parameters of the environment;
  • Influence of anthropogenic and natural disturbances on biodiversity;
  • Aquaculture (e.g., physiology, genetics, development);
  • Fisheries exploitation techniques.

Chemistry

Chemical oceanography researchers at ISMER-UQAR focus on chemical processes in the water and marine sediments. Their research includes:

  • The origins and fates of chemical constituents in marine waters;
  • Chemical reactions occurring in marine environments;
  • Effects of contaminants (organic or inorganic) and their distribution;
  • Gas exchanges between the atmosphere and ocean.

Geology

Marine geology researchers at ISMER-UQAR focus on seafloor evolution, including the kinds of sediments, deposition mechanisms, and accumulation history. Their research includes:

  • Formation of ocean basins, mountain ranges, trenches, and submarine volcanoes;
  • How sediments are transported, lifted, and distributed to form islands and continents;
  • Paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstruction using mineralogical, geochemical, and/or magnetic properties of the sediments.

Physics

Physical oceanography researchers at ISMER-UQAR focus on water movements influenced by different factors including tides, winds, fluctuations in freshwater discharge, and spatio-temporal variations. Their research includes:

  • Wave formation;
  • Salinity and density gradients;
  • Temperature variations;
  • Sea–Air energy exchanges;
  • Formation of turbulence zones;
  • Interconnected ocean–temperature phenomena (global climate change, El Niño, hurricanes, and typhoons).