Canada’s leading authority on extreme deep-water sea life will be in Vernon Nov. 17.
Dr. Verena Tunnicliffe will speak at Okanagan College’s Kalamalka campus Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Her presentation will focus on some of the undersea worlds she has visited through her more than 120 deep sea dives and hundreds of hours spent with seafloor remotely operated vehicles.
“The human species is limited by terrestrial adaptations and dependence on a few senses to understand our interactions with the environment,” said Tunnicliffe, who is a University of Victoria professor.
“Penetration of the oceans by humans is difficult, and the lack of visual connectivity beneath the sea surface usually means ‘out of sight, out of mind’.”
Tunnicliffe led the world’s first expedition to observe the hydrothermal vents off the west coast of Canada in 1983.
The audience can expect to see imagery captured from various expeditions.
“Canada is a leader in development of subsea technologies that allow us to undertake such exploration, particularly when it comes to the use of submersible, remotely operated vehicles and subsea observatories,” said Tunnicliffe.
Admission is $5 in advance or $7 at the door. For advanced tickets and more information, visit the Okanagan Science Centre at www.okscience.ca or call 250-545-3644.
