THE A.G. HUNTSMAN AWARD was established in 1980 by the Canadian marine science community to recognize excellence of research and outstanding contributions to marine sciences. It is presented by the Royal Society of Canada. The award honours marine scientists of any nationality who have had and continue to have a significant influence on the course of marine scientific thought. The Award is named in honour of Archibald Gowanlock Huntsman (1883– 1973), a pioneer Canadian oceanographer and fishery biologist.
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The A.G. Huntsman Award was established through principal contributions from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Natural Resources Canada, the Province of Nova Scotia, and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.  Additional endowment was granted by the LiFT Family Fund through Gift Funds Canada.
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The Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia is Honorary Patron of the A.G. Huntsman Award.

2021 Award Ceremony and Distinguished Lecture
​November 26, 2021

Honorary Patron
His Honour The Honourable Arthur J. LeBlanc, ONS, QC
Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia
 
Foundation President
Dr. Alice Ortmann
A.G. Huntsman Foundation
 
Bedford Institute of Oceanography
Stephen Locke
Director Geological Survey of Canada (Atlantic), Canada
 
Testimonial
Professor Robert Brewin
University of Exeter, UK
 
Royal Society of Canada
Professor John Smol
President, Academy of Science
 
Award Presentation
Professor Icarus Allen
Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK
 
Acceptance Remarks
Dr. Shubha Sathyendranath
Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK
 
Lecture Moderator
Dr. Emmanuel Devred
Bedford Institute of Oceanography
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2021 AWARD WINNER

The A.G. Huntsman Foundation is pleased to announce that the 2021 A.G. Huntsman Medal has been awarded to Shubha Sathyendranath in recognition of her outstanding research achievements in the development of the use of optics and satellites in marine science as well as her dedication to developing international cooperation and capacity building in oceanography and ocean-colour remote sensing.
 
Dr. Sathyendranath is a merit scientist in the Remote Sensing Group at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK. Her research focuses on understanding the interaction of light with the ocean biota and the consequences for marine ecology, biogeochemistry and climate. She applies marine optics and ocean colour remote sensing to topics such as development of algorithms for interpretation of satellite data, light penetration underwater, phytoplankton functional types, ecological provinces in the ocean, marine primary production, biological-physical feedbacks in the ocean, phytoplankton phenology,  carbon cycling, the use of ocean-colour data in climate studies and the dynamics of waterborne diseases. Her work with the Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean and other international initiatives, such as the International Ocean Colour Coordinating Group has advanced international collaborations in remote sensing.
 
The 2021 award ceremony and distinguished lecture was a livestream webcast on November 26th.
The photograph on the website header shows the CSS Hudson in Scott Inlet, Baffin Island, on September 6, 1977. The cliffs in the background are 300 or more metres high. In the fall of 1976, Bedford Institute of Oceanography scientists had observed an oil slick off the Inlet but because of ice conditions at the time they were unable to locate its source or to determine its extent.  So in 1977 and again in 1978, CSS Hudson returned to measure the background levels of petroleum residues in the eastern Arctic and also to investigate the geology of the Baffin Island shelf. Together, the chemical and geological studies demonstrated that the slick at Scott Inlet is the result of natural seepage of petroleum from the walls and bottom of the submarine trough that cuts across the continental shelf in this area.  This image of CSS Hudson appears on the Huntsman Medal.  Photograph by Roger Belanger.