Dr. Nadja Steiner is a research scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), stationed at the Institute of Ocean Sciences (IOS) in Sidney, BC. With a background in developing numerical models for Arctic marine ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles, she is actively engaged in assessing how these ecosystems respond to climate change, both globally and regionally.
Dr. Steiner plays a pivotal role as co-chair of the international expert community on Biogeochemical Exchange Processes at Sea-Ice Interfaces (BEPSII). Her current research and projects involve modeling ecosystems in both regional (Arctic, North Pacific) and global contexts, with a focus on the Canadian Earth System Model. Her work delves into the marine sulfur cycle, examining DMS measurements and modeling along Line P and at Station P. Additionally, she investigates the impacts of climate change on Arctic ecosystems, particularly focusing on responses to sea-ice changes and acidification.
Dr. Steiner was a key member of the SSHRC-Funded OceanCanada Research Committee and National Data and Integrated Scenarios (NDIS) Working Group. In the past, she led a study on the impacts of climate change on local communities in the western Canadian Arctic as part of OceanCanada’s Changing Oceans Cross-cutting Theme. Her contributions extended to the Canadian Science and advisory secretariat (Pacific), where she actively investigated the development of risk indicators, marine ecological classification systems, and the identification of ecologically and biologically significant areas.
Originally from Germany, Dr. Steiner earned her PhD on modeling sea ice roughness at the Institute of Marine Research in Kiel. She arrived in Canada in 2000, contributing to the Arctic Ocean Model Intercomparison Project at IOS. Over the years, she evolved from a postdoctoral fellow within the Canadian Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) to a researcher focused on modeling ecosystem and gas exchange processes. Her current efforts involve the development of coupled atmosphere-ocean ecosystem models, studying marine sulfur and carbon cycles in the North Pacific and Arctic oceans.
Collaborating with CCCma’s Canadian Earth System Modeling group, Dr. Steiner develops parameterizations for Arctic marine ecosystems and evaluates marine ecosystem responses to climate change. She is a contributing author to AMAP’s recent and upcoming Arctic Ocean Acidification assessments, as well as the AMAP Adaptation Actions for a Changing Arctic (AACA) assessment. Leading the Arctic trends and projections assessment for DFO’s Aquatic Climate Change Adaptation Services Program, she also co-chairs the research community BEPSII, previously known as SCOR-WG 140.
