Kathryn (Kate) Moran
Alma mater
Known forPaleoclimatology

Oceanography

Ocean Engineering
Scientific career
InstitutionsOcean Networks Canada

Kathryn (Kate) Moran OC is an ocean engineer and Professor in the Faculty of Science at the University of Victoria. She is president and CEO of Ocean Networks Canada.[1]

Education

Kate Moran grew up in Pennsylvania, where she first became interested in the ocean.[2] Moran completed a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. She spent some time working at Procter and Gamble before joining a new program in Ocean Engineering at the University of Rhode Island.[2] After receiving a job offer from the Atlantic Geoscience Centre, she moved to Nova Scotia.[3] She received her PhD in 1995 from Dalhousie University, under the supervision of Hans Uaziri and Geoff Meyerhoff.[3]

Research

Moran researches marine geotechnics and paleoclimatology and has led several oceanographic expeditions. In 2004 she was part of a team to extract 400 metres of sediment core from the Arctic sea floor, using it to understand the changing climate in the Arctic.[4][5] The expedition was organised by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, who even threw a party for the scientists on the ice.[4] Her team identified the earthquake that was the cause of the 2004 Indian Tsunami.[6] She was described by Todd McLeish as knowing "more about the history of Arctic climate change than anyone".[7]

In 2008, Moran delivered testimony to the US Senate committee on Environmental and Public Works outlining the scientific evidence for climate change, and future predictions which resulted from the research.[8] Between 2009 - 2011 Moran was seconded to President Obama's White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.[9] Obama instructed the federal government to develop an ocean policy, which was released in 2012.[10][11] Moran was involved with the government's response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.[2] Moran was selected to be on Secretary Steven Chu's team in that response.[3] Moran describes the efforts as "an incredible response, actually, by BP and the government".[2] She is a supporter of renewable energy, "when I first started to be seriously concerned about the fact we need to stop [creating] CO2, I got involved in the first offshore wind farm in the U.S".[2][12][13]

In 2012, Moran took over as president and CEO of Ocean Networks Canada, where she oversees Canada's advanced cabled ocean observatories, NEPTUNE, in the Northeast Pacific Ocean and VENUS.[1][14] The cabled observatories are open-access: their data are provided free-of-charge to anyone in the world.[11] She is a board member of the Clear Seas Centre for Responsible Marine Shipping.[15]

In 2012, Moran delivered a TEDx talk in Vancouver, entitled "Connecting our Planet's Oceans... To the Internet".[16] Her observation systems provide 24 hour monitoring of ocean processes.[17] In 2015 she secured $5 million funding from the British Columbia government for early earthquake detection.[18] In 2017, Moran won a $2.4 million grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to build a new observatory to provide information on seismic and tsunami risks in British Columbia.[19] She is an "Expert on Priority Research Questions for Canadian Open Science".[20]

Moran was appointed to the Order of Canada in June 2023, with the rank of Officer.[21]

References

  1. 1 2 "Leadership". oceannetworks.ca. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 David Lennam (2017-12-04). "Ocean Networks Canada's CEO Dr. Kate Moran Talks Climate Change, Acidification and Changing Coastlines". Douglas Magazine. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  3. 1 2 3 "Kate Moran (PhD '95)". Dalhousie University. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  4. 1 2 "Abstractions". Nature. 441 (7093): xi. 2006-05-31. doi:10.1038/7093xib.
  5. ↑ Moran, Kathryn; Backman, Jan; Brinkhuis, Henk; Clemens, Steven C.; Cronin, Thomas; Dickens, Gerald R.; Eynaud, Frédérique; Gattacceca, Jérôme; Jakobsson, Martin (2006-06-01). "The Cenozoic palaeoenvironment of the Arctic Ocean". Nature. 441 (7093): 601–605. Bibcode:2006Natur.441..601M. doi:10.1038/nature04800. hdl:2027.42/62499. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 16738653. S2CID 4424147.
  6. ↑ Emily Chung (December 27, 2014). "Deadliest tsunami in recorded history now helping save lives". CBC. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  7. ↑ Todd., McLeish (2013-06-18). Narwhals : arctic whales in a melting world (First paperback ed.). Seattle. ISBN 978-0295804699. OCLC 921916158. OL 27145128M.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ↑ "TESTIMONY : Kate Moran to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Field Briefing on The Implications of Global Warming for Narragansett Bay". whitehouse.senate.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  9. ↑ "ONC Staff Profile : Kate Moran". oceannetworks.ca. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  10. ↑ "National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan". The White House. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  11. 1 2 Kate Moran (2014-09-26). "An Interview With Dr. Kate Moran - Planet Experts". Planet Experts. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  12. ↑ "Globe 2016 Perspectives: Is Offshore Wind the Answer?". Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  13. ↑ Peter B. Lord (July 30, 2010). "URI Helps Set Standards for Off-Shore Wind Farms". web.uri.edu. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  14. ↑ Offshore WIND staff (January 16, 2012). "Oceanology International Presents Ocean Observation, Forecasting, Hydrography and Geophysics (UK)". Offshore Wind. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  15. ↑ "Clear Seas: Dr. Kate Moran, Board Chair, President & CEO of Ocean Networks Canada". Vimeo. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  16. ↑ TEDx Talks (2012-02-28), TEDxVancouver - Dr. Kate Moran - Connecting our Planet's Oceans... To the Internet, retrieved 2018-01-22
  17. ↑ "New Developments Underway at Ocean Networks Canada". Subsea World News. October 4, 2012. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  18. ↑ Megan Thomas (Jul 21, 2016). "First earthquake early warning sensor installed deep underwater off Vancouver Island". CBC News. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  19. ↑ "UVic bags Innovation grant for two research projects". Tidal Energy Today. Archived from the original on 2018-01-23. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  20. ↑ "Kate Moran". Council of Canadian Academies. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  21. ↑ "Order of Canada appointees – June 2023". The Governor General of Canada. June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
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