Short History
Ocean Challenge was first thought of in 1987. It resulted from a 'meeting of minds' between certain Challenger Council members (notably Martin Angel, Peter Foxton and Anthony Laughton, then Challenger Society President), who were considering the possibility of a Challenger Society publication, and Angela Colling and John Wright, who were wondering how to set up an accessible, multidisciplinary oceanography publication. The Council were keen to use the experience gained by the Open University Oceanography Course Team in making complex scientific material understandable for their students; and informing the scientifically literate layperson about ocean science remains one of the aims of Ocean Challenge. Ocean Challenge also aims to bring together scientists in various disciplines of oceanography by making different subject areas of marine science accessible to as many readers as possible.
Peter Foxton became the first Editorial Board Chair. He was followed by Bill Prior-Jones, Rachel Mills, Tim Jickells and Mark Brandon. The Editorial Board has evolved over the years, although some stalwarts of the first Board still remain.
Ocean Challenge strives to have a European outlook, and several issues have been published in cooperation with the European Foundation of Marine Science and Technology Societies (EFMS). Until recently, the Editorial Board benefitted from the input of Hjalmar Thiel (Hamburg), who for many years acted as the Board's European representative.
Latest News
Heat and carbon uptake in the Southern Ocean: the state of the art and future priorities
The following Royal Society Philosophical Trans A issue has been highly cited and downloaded - Heat and carbon uptake in the Southern Ocean: the state of the art and future priorities organised and edited by Andrew J S Meijers, Corinne Le Quéré CBE FRS, Pedro M S Monteiro, Jean-Baptiste Sallée and the articles can be accessed directly at www.bit.ly/TransA2249
Purchase the print issue at the reduced price of £40 by contacting sales@royalsociety.org
New Chief Executive at the National Oceanography Centre
Dr John Siddorn will officially start the role of CEO of the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) on 4 April 2024, bringing with him extensive experience in leadership in science, technology, and innovation. Dr Siddorn will be replacing Professor Ed Hill CBE, who announced his retirement from NOC in November 2023 after nineteen years of distinguished service leading the organisation. Full news story.
The Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) Open Meeting
The Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) invites the marine community, particularly those from a policy, commercial, academic and conservation background, to an open meeting to introduce the new MEDIN Business Plan 2024-2029 and to discuss how the wider community can contribute to the future developments in UK marine data management.
Wednesday 24th April 2024 – HYBRID (The Crown Estate, 1 St James's Market, St. James's, London SW1Y 4AH and online using Microsoft Teams)