International Association of the Physical Sciences of the Ocean 2015: Prague
Juliane Wihsgott
University of Liverpool
The biennial meeting of the International Association of the Physical Sciences of the Ocean (IAPSO) is one of the largest international conferences for physical oceanographers. This year it took place from 26th June to 1st July in Prague, Czech Republic. It attracted more than 1000 scientists who came to discuss their latest research spanning all aspects of oceanography from large-scale circulations to fine-scale ocean mixing processes and biogeochemical pathways.
IAPSO provided a great opportunity for my first oral presentation of my PhD results to an international audience. I presented in the Physics and Biogeochemistry of Semi-Enclosed and Shelf Seas session, talking about some brand new observations, which form part of the Shelf Sea Biogeochemistry project. Although I presented on the last day of the conference I received a lot of feedback and had some interesting discussions afterwards.
One of the highlights of the conference was a union lecture by Nicolas Gruber (ETH Zürich) on the ocean’s role in the carbon cycle. It was a really inspiring talk, which concluded with an estimation of the value of the ocean’s ecosystem service of an astonishing $25 billion! Other highlights included the early career session and the IAPSO opening talk by Walter Munk on internal waves.
IAPSO was a great meeting and the fairly long breaks between sessions also allowed time for in-depth discussion without missing any talks, but also to catch up with old friends. I have also had the chance to make some new links in the oceanographic community, which will hopefully lead to future collaborations.
The attendance at IPASO was a very useful and exciting opportunity and many thanks go to the Challenger Society for their financial support that enabled my attendance.
Profile: Juliane Wihsgott is a physical oceanography PhD student at the University of Liverpool. She is currently using observational data to better understand the energetic budgets in shelf seas. Before starting her PhD in 2013, Juliane completed a BSc in Meteorology and Oceanography at UEA and as part of this undertook a yearlong placement at NOC Liverpool researching a mixing mechanism in Liverpool Bay.
Twitter: Science and Summer in Prague #iugg2015, thanks for travel support @challengersoc #oceanography
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Workshop on the contribution of UK Arctic Ocean science to the International Polar Year 32/33
12:00 11th June – 16:00 12th June 2025: NOC Southampton (In-person with online option): Registration deadline 16th May
REGISTER HERE
Pre-meeting questionnaire (open to all)
The purpose of this workshop is for the UK Ocean Science community to discuss and then draft a prospectus document outlining the priority Arctic research questions the community would like to address during the run up to, throughout and beyond the International Polar Year 32/33. Additionally, to identify what unique strengths and technologies the UK has to help fill these knowledge gaps.
The second day of the workshop will be dedicated to writing groups, one for each of the priority research questions identified - from both the pre-meeting questionnaire (HERE) and day one discussion. By the end of the meeting, each group will have produced draft text and sourced supporting figures for the prospectus.
Post meeting, the draft will be opened for comments and suggestions from everyone, regardless of whether they were able to attend the workshop or not. It will then be shared with UK funders (UKRI, FCDO, DSIT, ARIA) and potential international programmes with whom we would like to collaborate (e.g. Arctic 2050, Norway). It will form a basis from which wider integration with terrestrial, atmospheric and cryosphere communities can be built, e.g. at the UK Arctic Science Meeting in September in Northumbria.
To ensure balanced community and ECR representation, and to ensure that the size of the writing groups is efficient and effective, if the number of registrations from individual institutes becomes overwhelming, we may contact individuals or teams and ask that each institute selects a smaller number of individuals to attend in-person. Please wait for confirmation of in-person attendance before finalising travel arrangements.
The workshop will be open to hybrid attendance and contributions on both days.
Challenger Society Council Position Vacancy
The Challenger Society for Marine Science (CSMS) are pleased to announce an exciting opportunity to support the next generation of ocean scientists and innovators. CSMS are looking for a new Council member to fill the Student Travel Awards and Stepping Stones Portfolio. The successful applicant will administer the travel and research grants available for Early Career Researchers.
The role involves:
- Receiving applications for the two schemes and responding to applicant inquiries
- Soliciting and compiling input from the rest of the Council for assessing the applications
- Communicating with successful and unsuccessful applicants for the two schemes
- Working with the Honorary Treasurer on allocating funds to successful applicants
- Following up with award winners on their reporting requirements
- Attending Council meetings four times a year (in person or online) and contributing to discussions and decision making for CSMS
The usual term for Council members is three years.
For more information about the CSMS Council, please follow this link: https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/The_Council
For more information about our Early Career Researcher grants and awards, please follow this link:
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Stepping_Stones
and
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Travel_awards
If you are interested in applying or have any questions regarding the role, please contact kathen@bas.ac.uk
NOC Association (NOCA) AGM 2025
The 14th AGM of the NOC Association will be held on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th May 2025. This free, on-line event will take place on Zoom, across two consecutive mornings, each starting at 10:00 and ending at 12:30. The agenda will focus on national capability (NC) science, ships, and autonomous vehicles, and how the community can engage. There will be an update on AtlantiS and on the new marine science scoping group. All are warmly welcome to join.
To participate, please complete your registration here.
For enquiries: Jackie Pearson, Secretary to NOCA: jfpea@noc.ac.uk