Leah Pengelly

2021 Weston Family Awards in Northern Research recipient

Master’s student
University of Manitoba

Growing up in the Canadian Rockies, Leah developed a passion for the outdoors and science. She fell in love with the Canadian Arctic in 2008 during a “Students On Ice” expedition along Baffin Island. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology and Oceanography, she returned to Nunavut to work as a biologist with Parks Canada where she studied narwhals’ responses to shipping traffic.

At the University of Manitoba, Leah is examining the soundscape ecology of Tallurutiup Imanga and how noise levels in underwater ecosystems change seasonally. Leah’s research will determine the baseline levels of noise from marine mammals, wind and ice, and current shipping activity. Leah is also engaging with Inuit communities to promote knowledge exchange and will use Inuit knowledge to determine the current health of the Tallurutiup Imanga acoustic marine ecosystem.

Learn more about the Weston Family Awards in Northern Research.