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Recent Submissions

Access status: Open Access ,
Shifting Shorelines: Exploring Coastal Ownership in Nova Scotia with a Focus on the Characteristics of Access in Shelburne County
(2025-12) Fleming, Anthea
This study examines the distribution and the characteristics of public coastal access in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia, using GIS analysis, policy review, and on-the-ground fieldwork. Although 18% of the county’s 936-kilometre coastline is publicly owned, much of it remains inaccessible due to its location on offshore islands, limited infrastructure, and unclear legal protections. Key access points—such as roads, beaches, and wharves—are increasingly constrained by privatization, aging infrastructure, and seasonal overcrowding. Climate change poses an increasing threat, as rising sea levels are expected to inundate beaches and certain coastal infrastructure, particularly on low-lying islands where substantial public coastal land is situated. The inland movement of coastlines due to sea level rise and changing of natural coastlines due to shoreline armouring may shift the high-water mark onto private property, raising complex legal questions about ownership and access. Fieldwork further revealed discrepancies between official data and ground conditions, including recent land sales that reduced access and new infrastructure that enhanced it. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on coastal access in Atlantic Canada by providing a detailed case study and a replicable quality assessment framework that can be applied to other regions. Drawing on policy comparisons with the rest of Canada, the U.S., Scotland, and South Africa, it highlights the urgent need for stronger legislative protections, adaptive land-use planning, and community-engaged management. The study ultimately calls for a multi-scalar, equity-driven approach to access planning that integrates legal reform, infrastructure investment, geospatial tools, and climate adaptation to ensure long-term, fair, and sustainable coastal access within Nova Scotia.
Access status: Open Access ,
Aligning Science and Policy for North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis) Recovery: An Analysis of Presentations at the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium and Canada-US Legislative Frameworks
(2025-12) Martin, Emma
The recovery of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW) is governed by separate legislative frameworks in Canada and the United States. Two of the main legislations include the Canadian Species at Risk Act (SARA) and the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). This paper analyzes the effectiveness of the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium (NARWC) as a mechanism for science-policy integration across the transboundary range, evaluating its performance based on its ‘fit for purpose’: rebuilding of the endangered NARW population. An in-depth systematic analysis was conducted on 227 NARWC presentations from 2017-2023, examining the components of fit for purpose including credibility, relevancy and legitimacy, alongside the core analysis of legislative alignment between recommendations made by presenters at the NARWC and policy objectives. This analysis reveals that the system operates as a single loop knowledge system. It was found that science presented at the consortium is highly aligned with existing policy objectives, however, the system suffers from institutional and governance gaps, specifically concerning the inclusion of diverse knowledge and addressing emerging threats. The NARWC mandate and current function is as an effective information sharing venue but lacks the dedicated structure for effective knowledge brokerage necessary to challenge the foundations of SARA and ESA. Structural and institutional recommendations are provided to enhance synthesis and introduce brokerage roles to integrate diverse knowledge within the system and consider a move toward a double loop system.
Access status: Open Access ,
Advancing Ocean Literacy Through Media: Best Practices and Insights for Engaging Young Adults in Canada
(2025-12) Carmichael, Eva
Ocean literacy, defined as “an understanding of the ocean’s influence on you, and your influence on the ocean”, is key to advancing the United Nations Ocean Decade Challenge 10: Restoring society’s relationship with the ocean. Public ocean perceptions research (POPR) provides insights into society’s ocean awareness, ocean connectedness, and actions that support a healthy ocean. These insights are particularly relevant for strategic ocean communications, which represent a key pathway for advancing ocean literacy. In Canada, the Centre for Ocean Literacy Collaboration, formerly known as the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition, has pioneered POPR, but limited research has focused on young adults’ perspectives. It is important to address this gap because young adults will inherit future ocean challenges and will be responsible for managing ocean sustainability. For them to meaningfully contribute, they must be ocean literate. To this end, the ubiquity of media as an information source in this digital age can be leveraged by targeted communication strategies. POPR on young adults can provide insights into young adults’ perceptions, guiding tailored communication strategies and inspiring action. This study synthesizes key communication strategies through a directed qualitative analysis of the Communications Inc. Better Practice Principles document, a practitioner-oriented set of guidelines on impactful and effective communication strategies. Findings are integrated with a quantitative analysis of the Canadian dataset of the Ocean and Society Survey (OSS) (n=1,022) to examine young adults’ (aged 18 – 34) perceptions of media’s role in advancing ocean literacy. Ultimately, this research identifies communication approaches that are most effective for engaging young adults in Canada and strengthening their ocean knowledge, emotional connection, and pro-ocean behaviours.
Access status: Open Access ,
INFLUENCE OF GROUNDWATER DISCHARGE ON THE THERMAL PATTERNS IN INLAND AND COASTAL WATERS
(2026-03-14) Smith, Kathryn; Yes; Doctor of Philosophy; Department of Civil and Resource Engineering; Not Applicable; Dr. Michael Gooseff; Yes; Dr. Christa Kelleher; Dr. Lauren Somers; Dr. Barret Kurylyk
River and coastal lagoon water temperatures are rising due to climate change, threatening cold-water biodiversity and altering aquatic habitat distribution. Groundwater discharge and hyporheic exchange buffer surface water temperatures and generate fine-scale thermal heterogeneity that aquatic species depend on during periods of thermal stress. Thus, understanding how groundwater discharge shapes thermal patterns in inland rivers and coastal lagoons is critical for evaluating cold-water habitat vulnerability and guiding restoration efforts. This dissertation investigates how groundwater discharge influences thermal regimes in inland rivers and a coastal lagoon and evaluates the design and performance of engineered cold-water habitat that promotes habitat resilience in a warming world. Field monitoring, thermal infrared imaging, fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing, and process-based numerical modelling are applied across several study sites in Atlantic Canada. A regional analysis of shallow groundwater temperatures in Nova Scotia identifies the climatic, geologic, and hydrogeologic controls on shallow groundwater thermal regimes and their potential to buffer surface water temperatures. In a coastal lagoon located in Basin Head, Prince Edward Island, high-resolution thermal infrared imaging and distributed temperature sensing data reveal how tidal pumping and intertidal groundwater springs generate distinct spatiotemporal thermal gradients that influence cold-water habitat and ecosystem function. Experimental engineered cold-water habitat systems in Rights River and the Killag River in Nova Scotia demonstrate the feasibility of pumped groundwater and engineered hyporheic systems to create cold-water habitat, with modelling results demonstrating how discharge rate, thermal mixing, trench geometry, and residence time govern cooling magnitude and persistence. Collectively, the studies presented in this dissertation advance our understanding of how groundwater discharge creates and sustains thermal diversity in river and coastal systems and provides a basis for integrating natural and engineered groundwater systems into future thermal management and restoration practices to preserve cold-water biodiversity in a warming world.
Access status: Embargo ,
Using Comparative Social Impact Assessment to Understand Resistance and Support for Causeway Removal and Tidal River Restoration
(2026-03-16) Margeson, Keahna; No; Doctor of Philosophy; Interdisciplinary PhD Programme; Received; Dr. Guadalupe Ortiz Noguera; Yes; Dr. Enda Murphy; Dr. Ian Stewart; Dr. Kate Sherren; Dr. Patricia Manuel
Since the mid-20th century, the adverse impacts of barriers in rivers, such as dams and causeways, have been widely acknowledged. Barrier infrastructure requires reexamination considering modern values and technology that allow, or require, more environmentally sound approaches for development. Barrier removal is often locally contested, yet few studies focus on understanding local people’s experiences in dammed river landscapes. The research included in this dissertation is intended to address this gap. We conducted a mixed-methods comparative social impact assessment to explore the evolution of two dammed tidal river landscapes and local people’s responses to landscape changes over time. Our study sites are the Petitcodiac River, where a causeway was partially removed and natural tidal flow was re-established, and the Avon River, where causeway modifications are under consideration. Both sites are located on the inner Bay of Fundy on Canada’s East Coast. The objectives of this research were to: 1) look backward to assess how residents’ connections to and uses of a restricted tidal river and estuary developed over time with landscape change and infrastructure development; 2) determine how present uses, experiences, and perceptions of landscape change influence support for restoring tidal connectivity; and, 3) look forward by assessing cognitive and affective social impacts from Petitcodiac River causeway modifications to provide insights about the similar case evolving in the Avon River context. There are three major findings from this work corresponding with each of the research objectives: 1) landscape values in times of transition require an understanding of the past and expectations for the future, as well as present uses and preferences; 2) social indicators of support for restoring tidal connection are measurable for ongoing, contentious decisions and strongest among them are landscape perceptions; and 3) comparative social impact assessment is an effective way to understand experienced social impacts and social acceptance over time during management changes. Rather than anticipating impacts, the main advantage of this approach is building understanding about perceptions, concerns, and expectations when modifying river barriers. We can learn from the Avon and Petitcodiac cases and make progress towards improving infrastructure adaptation and river restoration outcomes with benefits for people and the environment.
Access status: Open Access ,
Addressing the sexual difficulties of pregnancy loss for couples in clinical care and research
(2024) Allsop, D. B.; Rosen, N. O.