Canada-France-Chile Ocean Research Connections Workshop

About the Workshop

In February 2024, the CNRS hosted a France–Western Canada workshop on ocean and polar science at PIMS (UBC), bringing together researchers from across disciplines. The success of that meeting has since catalyzed efforts to build a broader international collaboration between France, Canada, and Chile focused on Pacific, Arctic, and Antarctic ocean research.

Building on this momentum, we invite researchers to participate in a follow-up workshop dedicated to developing a network of augmented, community-based ocean observatories across Canada, Chile, and France. This workshop will explore shared interests in enhanced ocean observation and experimental methods, as well as the critical intersections between oceanography, mathematics, and data science.

The 2026 Canada-France-Chile Ocean Research Connections Workshop aims to further strengthen marine research collaborative opportunities and partnerships between Canada, France and Chile. The workshop will bring together oceanographers, marine ecologists, and mathematical scientists from all three countries to articulate a shared vision for augmented ocean observing / experimental systems across the eastern Pacific Rim. Our goal is to stimulate new research partnerships across nations and disciplines, and articulate shared research priorities that can inform joint projects and major funding proposals.

Thematic focal areas:

• Autonomous ocean observing systems
• Marine ecological dynamics, biodiversity and restoration
• Interfaces of ocean research with mathematical sciences and data science

Key Desired Outcomes:

• Build relationships among ocean researchers from Canada, France and Chile to gain a deeper understanding of shared research interests and complementary expertise.
• Articulate key research questions for joint projects.
• Identify key research infrastructure needed to address priority science objectives.
• Identify the most important mathematical and data science challenges relevant to our ocean research priorities.
• Develop draft concepts and preliminary text for joint research funding proposals, including Belmont Forum and Horizons Europe.

These conversations aim to support community-based ocean monitoring, coastal restoration, and improved risk-mitigation strategies. Key challenges of interest include ocean deoxygenation and acidification—issues that are particularly acute along the eastern Pacific Rim—as well as emerging environmental pressures in Mediterranean regions.

A major objective of the workshop is to lay the groundwork for large-scale, international funding proposals (e.g., Horizon Europe, ERC Synergy) to support collaborative research across the partner countries.