Projects

This year long project for the Government of Prince Edward Island aimed to provide insight into how slat marshes might respond to sea level rise across the province. I managed technical delivery and budget of a coastal vulnerability assessment using the Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM) to evaluate the response of salt marshes to sea-level rise on different time scales and under different emission scenarios. Led model development, calibration, analysis, interpretation of results, and technical reporting to inform coastal planning policy.

Contributed to an international research project for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)  investigating how the oshv-1μvar virus may spread between Pacific oyster populations along the west coast of the United States. As part of this multidisciplinary team, I set up and executed agent based ecological models, of Pacific Oyster virus infection and spread, interpreted results, and  co-ordinated and edited final reports and scientific papers. 

This multi year project for the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) aimed to investigate the impacts of offshore wind development on the transport and recruitment of commercially important fish and shellfish species along the east coast of the U.S. I developed and ran agent based ecological models, interpreted and communicated the results to the client and led the coordination of technical inputs and review processes for the final report. This included overseeing the integration of multidisciplinary contributions from modellers, engineers, and environmental scientists from the US, Canada, Denmark, Germany and Malaysia. 

This project involved the delivery of a technical report on nature-based solutions for coastal flood risk reduction for the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), involving collaboration across Canada, the United States, and Mexico. My role was primarily lead author, synthesizing the knowledge base and distilling information into concise and accessible text for decision makers.   

Prepared and facilitated a four-part workshop series, authored a workshop summary and a technical brief. Four workshops were hosted, each covering a different topic/theme related to blue carbon. The themes were selected in collaboration with the CEC and intended to address current perspectives, needs, challenges and opportunities surrounding blue carbon projects. A total of 64 participants attended across all workshops, from Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.

Contributed marine environmental expertise to the review and development of environmental impact assessment guidance and training for deep-sea mining for the International Seabed Authority. Supported evaluation of environmental risks, scientific evidence, and best practices to strengthen environmental management and regulatory frameworks for activities in the international seabed Area.

Prepared a field sampling and analysis program to identify biogeochemical causes of stress to mangrove ecosystems in proximity to mining activities in Indonesia.

​Surveyed port authorities and shipping companies about in-water cleaning practices in Canada. Conducted workshop style interviews to gain further insights, to inform Transport Canada's decisions regarding the regulation of in-water cleaning practices in Canadian waters. The final report provided a comprehensive summary of the findings, including the acceptability, practical implications and challenges, feasibility and preferred modes of regulation, enforcement, monitoring and guidelines.

Preparing the environmental risk assessment and environmental scoping exercise for deep sea trial mining project.

Involved the development and execution of an agent based model representing the movement and behaviour of bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico. Assessment of potential number of dolphins that could be adversely affected by noise associated with proposed seismic testing in the area.

Part of the team that ensured regulatory compliance during the construction phase of the Westridge Marine Terminal in Burrard Inlet

Supported a community led monitoring program in Burrard Inlet, cleaning, quality controlling and analysing the data collected so that results could be used to inform the Nation's water quality objectives for Burrard Inlet.

Development of water quality model in MIKE ECOlab based on models developed during my PhD (Simpson et al., 2022), to establish the fate of waste water outfall in the Fraser River and associated chemical changes, including changes in pH and ammonia.

Provided a review of Canadian regulations pertaining to substances released from in-water vessel cleaning. Exhaustive review of existing discharge limits and water quality guidelines to inform policy development.

Environmental Impact Assessment expert contributor. Completed the environmental assessment chapter assessing potential impacts to marine ecology and mitigation options related to a proposed ferry terminal development in Singapore.