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MSc Student

Piper Steffen

Piper Steffen

MSc Candidate in Geography, University of Victoria    
BASc Engineering Physics, Queen's University       
Contact      

Spectral Lab Research:

I am part of the Satellite-based Kelp Mapping project (SKeMa) which will develop a software framework for First Nation communities to leverage satellite imagery (Sentinel-2) and machine learning for management of kelp forests in their traditional territories. Detecting kelp forests in imagery often relies on accurate spatial and temporal delineation of the coastline to improve accuracy of kelp mapping by understanding where kelp cannot grow, above the low tide line. However, a comprehensive map of British Columbia’s coast at low tide does not exist at sufficient resolution and accuracy for kelp mapping with Sentinel-2 satellite data.

My research aims to develop an automated software method for coastline extraction from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery by leveraging global tide models and image processing algorithms including deep learning. Although numerous studies have evaluated methods for coastline extraction, the vast majority of work has focused on uniform, sandy beaches at local and regional scales. How these methods perform when applied to heterogeneous and geomorphologically complex coastlines such as those found in BC, is unknown. This work will improve the accuracy of the SKeMa tool by reducing false-positive kelp detections over spectrally similar land cover types such as intertidal green algae. Further, the coastline extraction method developed can be applied broadly to other coastal ecosystem mapping projects such as eelgrass restoration or monitoring sea level rise.

Background:

My professional background is in the Canadian space industry, most recently as a software developer at Rocket Lab in Toronto, ON. My role focused on designing test facilities and ground software applications for satellite ADCS components (reactions wheels and star trackers) in a production and R&D context. I also completed an internship at GHGSat in Montreal, QC, where I focused on optimizing software processes to convert raw multispectral satellite and aircraft data into observations of point-source methane emissions worldwide.

In my free time I am most likely train running, knitting, or generally spending time outside with my dog.

Expertise and Experience:

satellite remote sensing, software development, engineering, physics, Sentinel-2, tide modelling

Aidan Wright

Aidan Wright

MSc Candidate in Geography, University of Victoria
BSc Physics, Simon Fraser University
BEd Secondary, University of Victoria      
Contact 

Spectral Lab Research:

Aidan Wright is a Master’s candidate who will be mapping the spatial and temporal distribution of kelp-encrusting bryozoans on the BC coast. Kelp-encrusting bryozoans are very small, parasitic, invertebrate colonies that live on the surfaces of aquatic plants. Bryozoans can completely cover the surfaces of bull kelp and break them apart. Due to the ecological, sociological, and economic importance of kelp, these bryozoans are of great interest to researchers. Aidan will be using remote sensing data to distinguish between kelp with and without bryozoans, and create a methodology for identifying environmental clusters more significantly affected.  

Expertise and Experience:

remote sensing, machine learning, spatial and temporal distribution

Loïc Dallaire

Loïc Dallaire

MSc Candidate in Geography, University of Victoria
BSc Marine Geography, Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR)      
Contact

Spectral Lab Research:

Analysis of the Pacific Herring population spawning areas using satellite remote sensing along the British Columbia coast. A magnificent phenomenon!

https://marinescience.psf.ca/salmon-herring-interactions/

Background:

Having graduated in marine geography from Quebec, I am deeply passionate about the intersection of marine geography and biology and I am dedicated to unravelling the secrets hidden beneath the waves through sailing and remote sensing. I believe my connection with the sea comes from my britany ancestors! However, I also find solace and inspiration in the lush forests and majestic mountains of British Columbia. When I'm not immersed in the marine realm, you'll often find me pursuing various outdoor adventures. My passion for marine life and terrestrial wonders, coupled with my enthusiasm for active exploration, shape the core of who I am and drive my constant pursuit of knowledge and connection with the natural world.

Expertise and Experience:

remote sensing of aquatic environment, teaching assistant for GEOG228 and GEOG319 in the Geography department, professional sailor for Voile Mercator, QC

Shown above are herring spawning sites along the BC coasts!

Alena Wachmann

Alena Wachmann

Msc Candidate in Geography, University of Victoria  
BSc Honours Geography, University of Victoria      
Contact 

Spectral Lab Research:

Alena’s Master’s research focuses on mapping the long-term persistence and resilience of kelp forests on the West Coast of Vancouver Island (WCVI) in the face of ocean warming and marine heatwaves. As part of the British Columbia Kelp Resilience NSERC Alliance, and in collaboration with Indigenous Nations, government agencies, and local NGOs, she combines five decades of satellite imagery (ex., Landsat, SPOT, Sentinel-2, PlanetScope) with historical datasets from the 1800s, oceanographic records, and local ecological knowledge to understand how these ecosystems have responded to environmental change across a heterogeneous coastline.

Background:

Alena is a spatial ecologist with a passion for marine conservation and the application of remote sensing to inform management and support local knowledge. Raised in Horseshoe Bay, British Columbia, she has worked extensively with geospatial analysis, satellite data processing, and in-situ nearshore ecosystem monitoring. Her work supports evidence-based decision-making for marine protected areas, restoration strategies, and sustainable harvest management. She is happiest when out on the water mapping kelp beds, processing imagery in the lab, or climbing, hiking, and biking in BC’s coast mountains.

Expertise and Experience:

remote sensing of coastal ecosystems, GIS, collaborative fieldwork, drone surveys, kelp forest ecology, geospatial analysis, climate change resilience

Publications:

Gendall, L., Hessing-Lewis, M., Wachmann, A., Schroeder, S., Reshitnyk, L., Crawford, S., ... & Costa, M. (2025). From archives to satellites: uncovering loss and resilience in the kelp forests of Haida Gwaii. Frontiers in Marine Science, 12, 1504701.

Man, L., Barbosa, R. V., Reshitnyk, L. Y., Gendall, L., Wachmann, A., Dedeluk, N., ... & Costa, M. (2025). Canopy-forming kelp forests persist in the dynamic subregion of the Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia, Canada. Frontiers in Marine Science, 12, 1537498.

Mora-Soto, A., Schroeder, S., Gendall, L., Wachmann, A., Narayan, G., Read, S., ... & Costa, M. (2024). Back to the past: long-term persistence of bull kelp forests in the Strait of Georgia, Salish Sea, Canada. Frontiers in Marine Science, 11, 1446380.

Mora-Soto, A., Schroeder, S., Gendall, L., Wachmann, A., Narayan, G. R., Read, S., ... & Costa, M. (2024). Kelp dynamics and environmental drivers in the southern Salish Sea, British Columbia, Canada. Frontiers in Marine Science, 11, 1323448.

Wachmann, A., Starko, S., Neufeld, C. J., & Costa, M. (2024). Validating Landsat analysis ready data for nearshore sea surface temperature monitoring in the Northeast Pacific. Remote Sensing, 16(5), 920.

Lauren Man 文朗晴

Lauren Man 文朗晴

MSc Candidate in Geography, University of Victoria
BSc Marine Biology, University of California, Los Angeles

Contact


Lauren Man is a Master’s candidate with interests in using novel technologies to enhance ecosystem monitoring efforts, particularly in kelp forests. Kelp forests are extremely productive and diverse ecosystems that support a huge variety of marine creatures and provide a myriad of ecosystem services to coastal communities. Lauren’s project is focused on characterizing the spatial and temporal resilience and identifying the drivers of change of kelp forests in the territories of three of the Kwakwakawakw’ Nations: the ‘Namgis, Mamalilikulla and the Kwikwasut’lnuxw Haxwa’mis First Nations, in what is now known as the Broughton Archipelago of British Columbia, Canada. In this region, kelp forests are important habitat for juvenile salmon, and conserving kelp forests is a vital part of a larger effort to bring back healthy wild salmon runs in an area of sea lice and virus epidemics caused by salmon farming industries. This project is a collaboration between the SPECTRAL remote sensing laboratory and the Broughton Aquaculture Transition Initiative (BATI) and will help improve the management of kelp ecosystems in the Broughton area.

Lauren is from Hong Kong and has a BSc in Marine Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Throughout their undergraduate degree, they primarily conducted research on the spatial and temporal dynamics of environmental DNA (eDNA) in the kelp forest ecosystems of Southern California, aiming to improve the utility of eDNA as a biomonitoring method of kelp forest ecosystems. She also researched threat discrimination in skinks on the island of Moorea, French Polynesia and oyster ecophysiology in the face of changing climatic conditions in Hong Kong. Aside from research, they also love snapping pictures on their camera and have worked as a photographer for an environmental education centre, a newspaper, and a recreation centre. She also loves to climb rocks, snorkel, and enjoy what the planet has to offer.

Natasha Nahirnick

MSc Student

MSc Student in Geography
BSc in Geography (Honours), concentration in Geomatics (University of Victoria)
Contact | Flickr

Research Areas:
Remote sensing, aerial photography, UAVs, Geographic Information Systems, nearshore and intertidal habitats, seagrass mapping, land/sea interactions, land use change, eutrophication and nutrient loading, fisheries, freshwater salmon habitats, environmental restoration.
  
Thesis Project:
Long-term aerial photographic mapping of eelgrass (Zostera marina) in the Salish Sea (1932-2016)
Using archived historic aerial photography and imagery captured by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), I am working to assess seagrass distributions change in the Salish Sea, British Columbia from 1932-2016.
Click here for more information

Publications:

Awards:

  • NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s (2015)

  • UVic President’s Research Scholarship (2015)

  • Canadian Hydrographic Association Award (2013)

Reading List:

  • Following the Last Wild Wolves (McAllister, 2011)

  • Salmon: A Scientific Memoir (Isabella, 2014)

  • The Sea Around Us (Carson, 1951)