Tivey, Maurice A.

English

University of New Brunswick: Centre for Digital Scholarship Journals

GEOSCIENCE CANADAVoyage of Discovery – Fifty Years of MarineResearch at Canada’s Bedford Institute ofOceanographyD.N. Nettleship, D.C. Gordon, C.F.M. Lewis and M.P. Latremouille (editors)Publisher: Bedford Institute of  Oceanography Oceans Association (a non-profit organization) Published: 2014; 460 p.Price: $35 (CND); Hardcover Available from the publisher at www.bio-oa.ca or www.amazon.com; thereare plans for an e-book edition in the future.Proceeds of  the book sales are going towards public education about theoceans.Reviewed by Maurice A. TiveyWoods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionDepartment of  Marine Geology and GeophysicsWoods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543, USAE-mail: mtivey@whoi.eduIt is a daunting task for one book to cover the past fifty yearsof  activity of  an eminent research organization such as Cana-da’s Bedford Institute of  Oceanography, and to do justice tothe contributions by the past and present institute staff  in theirservice to the Canadian Federal Government, to the Canadianpublic, as well to global science by being a responsible partnerin the stewardship of  the world’s oceans. The book itself  isalso a physically daunting volume weighing in at 5 lbs (2.2 kg)and printed on high quality, coated, glossy paper with 460pages in an 8.5 x 11 inch hardcover format. The book succeedsadmirably on both counts, by providing a worthy heft as a tes-timonial to the research and activities of  the organization, bybeing a comprehensive history of  the institute to date and byproviding concise ‘scientific essays’ written especially for thisvolume that address many topical issues of  interest to a broadcross-section of  the curiously minded. The book is intendedfor a broad readership from professional oceanographers toenvironmental and resource managers, decision-makers onocean policy, marine-science educators and students, and anyperson interested in the oceans and in Canada’s unique posi-tion as the country with the longest coastline in the world.First, however, some brief  background on the BedfordInstitute of  Oceanography or B-I-O as it is known to many.BIO was established in 1962 in eastern Canada on the shore ofBedford Basin, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia by Dr. William vanSteenburgh who was then Director-General for science in theCanadian Federal Government Department of  Mines andTechnical Services. The objective was to bring together differ-ent federal agencies that had, up until that time, overseen var-ious aspects of  oceanographic science and resource manage-ment that encompassed the relatively young sciences of  phys-ical, chemical and geological oceanography, as well as hydrog-raphy, fisheries and biological oceanography. The concept wasto mirror the successful establishment of  oceanographicresearch institutions in the United States like Scripps Institu-tion of  Oceanography in La Jolla, California and Woods HoleOceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts,which brought together a diverse set of  scientists, engineersand dedicated seagoing capabilities to address scientific ques-tions in the inherently interdisciplinary field of  oceanography.Unlike those independent research institutions, however, BIOwas designed to be a federal research laboratory with thepurview to serve the needs of  the Federal Government inaddressing important issues related to the oceans. Interestingly,Volume 43 2016 91REVIEWGeoscience Canada, v. 43, http://www.dx.doi.org/10.12789/geocanj.2016.43.091     pages 91–92 © 2016 GAC/AGC®an important area of  concern at that time was the ArcticOcean and, as we know today, the Arctic continues to be animportant region environmentally, economically and strategi-cally. BIO was established by combining the Canadian Hydro-graphic Service, which brought ships to the table, the AtlanticOceanographic Group, which was a research arm of  the Fish-eries Research Board of  Canada and the Marine ServicesBranch, which was part of  the Department of  Mines andTechnical Services overseen by van Steenburgh. The FederalDepartments overseeing BIO have varied over the years andtoday BIO is comprised of  the Federal Departments of  Fish-eries and Oceans Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Environ-ment Canada and the Department of  National Defence. BIOhas become the largest and arguably the leading oceanographicresearch institution in Canada, respected around the world forits scientific contributions and its leadership on oceanographicissues.The volume, Voyage of  Discovery – Fifty years of  MarineResearch at Canada’s Bedford Institute of  Oceanography, as men-tioned earlier, is a fitting testimonial to BIO’s contributionsboth internationally, but also critically to national Canadianissues related to the oceans. The volume is arranged into 12sections. The first section covers the historical aspects of  theInstitution’s formation and evolution and is followed by a dis-course on the 1970 circumnavigation of  the Americas by theInstitution’s iconic research vessel CSS Hudson. This is fol-lowed by 10 sections that relate past and present research in 48readable, easily accessible articles that are more like ‘scientificessays’ on topical subjects that demonstrate the breadth andrelevance of  ocean science to the modern world. The 10 sec-tions cover the following themes: Arctic Studies, Ocean Life,Ocean Circulation and Chemistry, Hydrography and SeabedMapping, Geological Oceanography, Fisheries, Ecosystemsand Aquaculture, Marine Contamination, Technology andInstrument Development, Energy Developments, and BIOand the Law of  the Sea. A final section is an Epilogue writtenby the editors of  the volume who are all past research scientistsfrom BIO. The book ends with a series of  10 appendices witha BIO time line, lists of  annual reports, past directors, a cam-pus history, awards, patents, and a list of  authors.Within each of  the 10 main science sections are severalarticles written mostly in a clear and concise fashion for abroad readership and focused on the contributions of  BIO ina national context, but often with global implications. Thesearticles are informative and topical for today’s world, evenwhen discussing past historical events. I found them easilydigestible, clearly articulated, copiously referenced and liberallydocumented with high quality images. The reader can pick andchoose what to read either as a group of  articles in a subjectsection, or by individual article, as each article gives a summaryabstract of  the content, and the content itself  is written withsufficient background information to give the reader theappropriate context. As a practicing marine research scientistin geological oceanography, I found the Arctic Studies sectionand the following disciplinary sections on Ocean Life, OceanCirculation and Chemistry, Geological Oceanography andSeafloor Mapping of  most interest. The Fisheries section isinteresting from a political background as important policydecisions have been made based on science as well as otherfactors – perhaps not in that order. The sections on MarineContamination, Technology Development and EnergyResources will be of  historical curiosity to those with interestsin those areas. The final section on the Law of  the Sea is agood example of  why expert advice and in-depth knowledgeof  a subject area is often needed when it comes to Canada’srole in the international arena of  global ocean issues. Many ofthese essays would probably make great introductory materialfor undergraduate students in survey classes of  oceanography,as well as for the interested public. Perhaps more importantly,the volume serves as an important snapshot of  oceanographicresearch for decision makers and managers on how science caninform critical and strategic decisions. I am curious if  there isany plan to make the book and or the articles available in dig-ital or PDF format. This would ensure more widespread dis-semination and possibly greater impact. Digital copy accesswould probably be more important for educators perhaps. Thephysicality of  having the book on your desk or coffee table,however, is undeniable and the price of  $35 Canadian isremarkably reasonable (although its shipping weight will costyou!).In many of  the conclusions to the individual articles, andrecapitulated in the Epilogue, is the hope that those readingthis volume not only gain an understanding and perspective onhow valuable these contributions have been, but will also bemotivated to act to encourage policy makers and governmentleaders both nationally and locally to support future sciencefunding at the federal level. There are several activities such aslong-term monitoring and national representation on globalissues like the Law of  the Sea, climate change and sea-level risethat only a national federal laboratory with the facilities andmandate of  BIO can undertake on behalf  of  Canada’s future.The Voyage of  Discovery makes a good case for this.In summary, the Voyage of  Discovery will indeed take thereader to many places both geographically and intellectually,showcasing fifty years of  Canadian oceanographic science andexploration, making new discoveries and expanding what isknown so we can ask questions of  where we go from here.The book superbly accomplishes its goal of  documenting thefirst fifty years of  the Bedford Institute of  Oceanography. Maythe next fifty years be as productive.Information on the book cover paintingThe cover illustration is also worthy of  note. The artist of  the original oilpainting, C. Anthony Law (Lt. Commander, DSC, RCN) was born inLondon, England in 1906 to Canadian parents and died in 1996. Com-mander Law was an accomplished artist and well known, both nationallyand internationally, for his artwork and writings. He participated on sev-eral CSS Hudson research cruises in the eastern Canadian arctic andproduced many sketches and paintings including this portrait of  the Hud-son surveying the East Baffin Land Current in Baffin Bay.(additional information from David Nettleship)92 Maurice A. Tivey

Voyage of Discovery – Fifty Years of Marine Research at Canada's Bedford Institute of Oceanography

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Voyage of Discovery – Fifty Years of Marine Research at Canada's Bedford Institute of Oceanography

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