Imagine it is a warm, humid summer day. From your office window, you can see children playing in the park. But you know this scene will change in the next few days. You are a meteorologist and right now you are watching real-time satellite images of Hurricane Emily. You can see she is crossing the Atlantic Ocean, and your Nova Scotia weather observation office and this little park is in the middle of her path, along with thousands of other homes and businesses.
You and your team of meteorologists are about to kick into high gear and begin issuing hurricane warnings to the area. You want to give residents enough time to prepare for the storm and evacuate to safer locations if necessary. The city and its industries also need time to prepare for the hurricane in order to take the necessary precautions to avoid the potential for environmental catastrophe that comes with high winds and damaging debris. As a meteorologist, you have been tracking Hurricane Emily for days now, starting from when she first appeared on satellite images as a swirl of cloud thousands of kilometres off the coast in the Atlantic Ocean. You've watched her gain strength and pick up speed as she heads toward the United States coast.
In collaboration with other weather offices in Canada and the United States, your team has been gathering data to try to predict when and where Hurricane Emily will make landfall. You've looked at prevailing wind patterns for this time of year, current wind velocity and direction, air pressure and temperature isoclines, and the strength of Emily herself. You are confident she will first make landfall on the American coast, but her direction and strength indicate she will travel overland north to Nova Scotia to batter Canada's eastern coast.
Right now, you are looking for any indication that something might change and divert Emily, and if not, you want to know just how bad it will be. You need to let residents know if they will be safe in their homes or if they should evacuate, as well as let the city know the precautions it must take, for example protecting freshwater supplies and treatment systems or shutting off gas lines to avoid leaks and explosions. You and other meteorologists will spend the next few days gathering all the data you can in order to better predict and prepare for the onslaught of Emily.
Duties vary significantly from job to job, but the following list includes typical job duties one might encounter as a meteorologist:
If you are a high school student considering a career as an environmental geophysicist, you should have a keen interest in:
If you are a post-secondary student considering a career as an environmental geophysicist, the following programs are most applicable.
In most cases, the minimum education requirement to work as an environmental geophysicist is a graduate degree. Pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree in fields related to environmental geophysics can enhance your expertise, career prospects, and ability to contribute to the field. These advanced degrees offer specialized knowledge and skills highly valued in both the professional and academic worlds.
In many provinces, geophysicists must obtain registration and licensure with their provincial association as a Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo.). The certification process for geophysicists is similar to that of engineering professions and is typically overseen by the same regulatory body.
Our Environmental Professional (EP) designation can also help you progress in your chosen environmental career.
Technical Skills
Personal and Professional Skills
Environmental employers look for professionals who can combine technical knowledge with soft skills. Watch our free webinar “Essential Not Optional: Skills Needed to Succeed in Canada’s Environmental Industry” or take our Essential Skills courses.
As key executive leaders who shape their company’s sustainability policy, CSOs work in many different types of organizations. Common employers of CSOs include:
Search for jobs on the ECO Canada Job Board.
If you are a post-secondary student seeking a CSO role in the future, consider pursuing a university degree related to:
In addition to the educational fields mentioned above, you will also need extensive management experience to become a CSO, with well-developed human resources management and leadership skills. Consider educational seminars or post-graduate studies that will hone your analytical thinking, such as:
Our Environmental Professional (EP) designation can also help you progress in your chosen environmental career.
Technical Skills
Personal and Professional Skills
Environmental employers seek professionals who combine technical knowledge with personal and professional skills. Watch our free webinar “Essential Not Optional: Skills Needed to Succeed in Canada’s Environmental Industry” or take our Essential Skills courses.
Since someone working for Noranda, a mining company in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, told Luc Paquin there was an opening for a technician trained in meteorology, he hasn't looked back. Today he finds himself part of a team operating a critical air quality monitoring system that collects information from Environment Canada weather computers and Noranda's own network of monitors placed strategically around the town.
If the system detects pollutants like sulphur dioxide exceeding the allowable limits, the smelter cuts back emissions by scaling down its production. "Based on the information we receive from Environment Canada, we predict the effects that the smelter's daily operations might have on the air around us. Our predictions are based on how the meteorological conditions will affect the spread of emissions." "My job is mostly done independently of others," says Luc. "It requires a lot of meteorological knowledge. And I have to be familiar with the software because much of my daily work is done on computers.
I also make use of my writing skills when I compile the information I have collected. And I use my presentation skills when I share the information with other plant employees." What does Luc enjoy most about his job? "The diversity. Although there is some routine involved in my daily activities, there are lots of fresh challenges too. I collect information, make predictions, make presentations and work on different cases with other professionals from the smelter."
Marine geologists are classified into the following occupational grouping:
NOC Code: 21102 – Geoscientists and oceanographers
The National Occupational Classification (NOC) provides a standardized language for describing the work performed by Canadians in the labour market. It gives statisticians, labour market analysts, career counsellors, employers, and individual job seekers a consistent way to collect data and describe and understand the nature of work within different occupations.
See ECO’s Blue National Occupational Standard for a career competency profile for a marine geologist that outlines the specific skills, knowledge, and behaviours required for individuals to perform effectively in this particular role. This profile is a benchmark for training and development, ensuring consistency and quality across professions within the blue economy.
Dans un esprit de respect, de réciprocité et de vérité, nous honorons et reconnaissons Moh’kinsstis, le territoire traditionnel du Traité 7 et les pratiques orales de la confédération des Pieds-Noirs : Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, ainsi que les nations Îyâxe Nakoda et Tsuut’ina. Nous reconnaissons que ce territoire abrite la Nation métisse de l’Alberta, la région 3 au sein de la patrie historique des Métis du Nord-Ouest. Enfin, nous reconnaissons toutes les nations qui vivent, travaillent et se divertissent sur ce territoire, et qui l’honorent et le célèbrent.
In the spirit of respect, reciprocity, and truth, we acknowledge that we live, work, and gather on the traditional territories of the peoples of Treaty 7, including the Blackfoot Confederacy—comprising the Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani Nations—as well as the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina Nations.
This land, known as Moh’kinsstis in the Blackfoot language and encompassing what is now Districts 5 and 6, is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3, within the historical Northwest Métis homeland.
We recognize and honour the deep connection these Nations have to the land, and we are grateful for the opportunity to share in its stewardship.
As we continue our work, we commit to learning from Indigenous knowledge systems, uplifting Indigenous voices, and fostering relationships rooted in equity, understanding, and reconciliation.
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