Julien Laliberté, PhD
Ocean Remote Sensing · Environmental Observation · Scientific Technology
Ocean Remote Sensing
I am a Physical Scientist at Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and an Associate Professor at l’Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), working at the intersection of oceanography, remote sensing and scientific instrumentation.
I develop and apply satellite-based approaches to monitor changing ocean conditions, identify patterns of environmental change, and provide information that can support the assessment and management of marine ecosystems and fisheries.
julien.laliberte [at] dfo-mpo.gc.ca [dot] com
An Example of What I Do
This example shows how satellite observations can be used to identify spatial and temporal changes in chlorophyll, an indicator of biological productivity. The map highlights areas where biological conditions differed from typical July conditions.
Red represents chlorophyll concentrations that were higher than expected relative to typical conditions for July, while blue represents lower-than-expected concentrations.
When considered alongside typical background conditions, elevated chlorophyll can indicate periods of enhanced biological productivity that may create favourable conditions higher up the food web, including for fish and whales.
Curious to see more? Explore the satellite products I process
Education
Ph.D. in Oceanography, Université Laval 2016 - 2020
M.Sc. in Geography, Université du Québec à Rimouski 2013 - 2016
B.Sc. in Geomatics, Université de Sherbrooke 2009 - 2012
Publications
Laliberté, J., Guénard, G., Dumas, J., Galbraith, P.S., Hall, S., Trossman, D. and Vissault, S. (2025)., Evaluation of satellite-based sea surface salinity derived from two distinct spectral domains over the coastal waters of the St. Lawrence Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence. Frontiers in Marine Science,12:1672298. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2025.1672298.
Stroeve, J.C., Veyssiere, G., Nab, C., Light, B., Perovich, D., Laliberté, J., Campbell, K., Landy J., Mallett, R., Barrett, A., Liston, G.E., Haddon, A. and Wilkinson, J. (2024), Mapping potential timing of ice algal blooms from satellite. Geophysical Research Letters, 51, e2023GL106486. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL106486.
Mukherjee, S., Hedley, J., Fichot, C., Laliberté, J. and Bélanger, S. (2023), Optical closure in highly absorptive coastal waters: significance of inelastic scattering processes. Optics Express, 31(21), 35178. https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.501732.
Laliberté, J. and Larouche, P. (2023), Chlorophyll-a concentration climatology, phenology, and trends in the optically complex waters of the St. Lawrence Estuary and Gulf. Journal of Marine Systems, 238, 103830, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmarsys.2022.103830.
Ardyna, M., Hamilton, D., Harmel, T., Lacour, L., Bernstein, D., Laliberté,J., Horvat, C., Laxenaire, R., Mills, M., van Dijken, G., Polyakov, I., Claustre, H., Mahowald, N. and Arrigo, K. (2022), Wildfire aerosol deposition likely amplified a summertime Arctic phytoplankton bloom. Nature - Communications Earth & Environment DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00511-9.
Laliberté, J., Rehm, E., Hamre, B., Goyens, C., Perovich, D.K. and Babin, M. (2022), A method to derive satellite PAR albedo time series over first-year sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2020.00080.
Laliberté, J., Bélanger, S. and Babin, M. (2021), Seasonal and interannual variations in the propagation of photosynthetically available radiation through the Arctic atmosphere. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2020.00083.
Massicotte et al. (2020), Green Edge ice camp campaigns: understanding the processes controlling the under-ice Arctic phytoplankton spring bloom. Earth System Science Data, 12: 151–176. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-151-2020.
Laliberté, J., Larouche, P., Devred, E. and Craig, S. (2018), Chlorophyll-a concentration retrieval in the optically complex waters of the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence using principal component analysis. Remote sensing, 10(2), 265. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10020265.
Laliberté, J., Bélanger, S. and Frouin R. (2016), Evaluation of satellite-based algorithms to estimate photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) reaching the ocean surface at high northern latitudes. Remote Sensing of Environment. 184: 199-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2016.06.014.
Media
La science à bord du navire de croisière Le Commandant Charcot
BaleinIDÉES: les secrets cachés de la couleur de l’eau
Grants
Co-investigator; Les coccolithophores dans le golfe du Saint-Laurent : d’indicateurs de santé de l’écosystème marin à contributeurs de l’économie bleue (UQAR), 2025, 381 000$ Programme de recherche en partenariat dans le secteur maritime, FRQNT
Co-investigator; SIMBA (Arctus Inc), 2020, 900 000$ SmartWhales, Canadian Space Agency
Co-investigator; Algae-WISE, 2019 (UQAR), 299 750$ VITE, Canadian Space Agency
Co-investigator; WISE-Man, 2017 (UQAR), 399 960$ VITE, Canadian Space Agency
Supervision
Thesis committee; Viswanath Boopathi (Doctorate at UQAR), 2026-
Co-director; Jennyfer Beaulieu (Master’s degree at UQAR), Les coccolithophores dans le St-Laurent, 2023-
Contract Supervisor;* Dr Guillaume Génard (DFO), Développer un algorithme utilisant des réseaux de neurones 2023
Contract Supervisor; Dr Carlos Araújo (DFO), Traitement des données bio-optiques 2023