Maycira Costa

Maycira Costa is a Professor in the Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences, at the University of Victoria. She holds the BC Leadership Chair in Environmental Remote Sensing and serves on the Canadian Space Agency's Earth System Science Advisory Committee, leveraging satellite technology to address marine conservation challenges amid climate change.

Education:

• PhD, University of Victoria

Dr. Costa's research pioneers spectral analysis of light-water interactions through the SPECTRAL Lab—the first dedicated facility in Western Canada. Her work spans coastal oceanography, wetland monitoring, and biogeophysical processes, with field expeditions across British Columbia's diverse watersheds and Brazil's Amazon/Pantanal ecosystems. She develops innovative methods using hyperspectral sensors to track kelp forest dynamics, herring spawning events, and phytoplankton community shifts, revealing critical ecosystem responses to environmental change.

Recent publications demonstrate her focus on long-term satellite data analysis, such as the 2025 Frontiers in Marine Science study showing complex phytoplankton changes in the Subarctic Pacific. This work highlights how regional bioregionalization techniques uncover nuanced climate impacts invisible in broad-scale analyses.

Scientific Awards:

• BC Leadership Chair in Environmental Remote Sensing
• Earth System Science Advisory Committee Member, Canadian Space Agency

Dr. Costa mentors graduate researchers including PhD candidate Vishnu PS (International Years of the Salmon project) and Brian Timmer (kelp forest fieldwork in the Broughton Archipelago). Her projects receive funding from the New Frontiers in Research Fund, MEOPAR, and partnerships with Ocean Networks Canada, Pacific Salmon Foundation, and Irving Shipbuilding.

The SPECTRAL Lab coordinates an international network spanning Brazil (INPA, INPE), Canada (DFO, UBC), the U.S. (UC-Santa Barbara), and Japan (JAXA). Current initiatives include autonomous radiometer deployments on BC Ferries, historical kelp mapping using 1858-1956 British admiralty charts, and sargassum monitoring in Mahahual, Mexico, driving interdisciplinary innovation in environmental observation.