Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry

Submit & view OCB-relevant sessions for 2026 Ocean Sciences Meeting

OSM2026 Abstract submissions are open until August 20 https://www.agu.org/ocean-sciences-meeting/present#abstract-submission Share your OCB-relevent special session via this OCB form.

FAIR Data Practices for Marine Ecological Time Series

International Workshop: FAIR Data Practices for Ship-based Marine Ecological Time Series Photo credits: O. Arsenault (above) and B. Siddle (ASU/BIOS) (feature photo) Sustained ocean time series measurements are fundamental to distinguish between natural and human-induced variability in ecosystems and processes required to advance ecological forecasting. Since 2007, OCB has led and contributed to numerous efforts […]

PAUSE on all bulk travel requests

Until further notice, OCB will not be able to consider bulk travel support requests. We will post an announcement if this changes.

Leaky Deltas workshop summary

The Leaky Deltas OCB workshop was held 17-20 March 2025 at Louisiana State University, in Baton Rouge, USA, which is situated within the Mississippi River delta. We brought together 57 members of the research community who study river deltas in the context of the global carbon cycle. The goal of the workshop was to create […]

New: Connecting Observations to Models

Ombres, E., H. Benway, K. Bisson, A. Larkin, L. Perotti, L. Wright-Fairbanks (eds.) (2024). Connecting Observations to Models: Biogeochemical Observing and Modeling Workshop, 2024 Summary Report and Suggested Steps Forward. Published Date: 2024 Series: NOAA technical memorandum OAR-OAP ; 6, DOI: https://doi.org/10.25923/wpdj-ja69

New workshop report: Ecological Forecasting

New workshop report from the joint OCB-US CLIVAR 2022 workshop Daily to Decadal Ecological Forecasting along North American Coastlines Capotondi, A., Coles, V. J., Clayton, S., Friedrichs, M., Gierach, M., Miller, A. J., and Stock, C. 2024. Daily to Decadal Ecological Forecasting Along North American Coastlines Workshop Report. 54pp. doi: 10.1575/1912/70991 Citable URI https://hdl.handle.net/1912/70991 Download here.

Recent Science Highlights

Migrating zooplankton increase N2 production in Oxygen Deficient Zones

Diel Vertically Migrating Zooplankton that spend their day in an Oxygen Deficient Zone to avoid predators are a previously ignored source of organic matter for N2 producing bacteria. A recent study in GBC, examined biogeochemical cycling in the offshore Eastern Tropical North Pacific Oxygen Deficient Zone. They found that the daytime maximum in backscattering, used […]

Giant iceberg meltwater supplies nutrients to upper ocean layers

Iceberg meltwater induces mixing which erodes upper-ocean layers. This supplies nutrients, both released from the iceberg and entrained from deeper waters, to surface waters which stimulates phytoplankton growth. Meltwater from the base, sidewalls and surface of giant icebergs influences upper ocean stratification and mixing. Containing a substantial micro-nutrient load, (incorporating nutrient-rich deep waters along with […]

Tracing the biological carbon pump across diverse export regimes

The ocean’s biological carbon pump (BCP) plays a crucial role in regulating Earth’s climate. But how efficiently does it transport carbon to the deep? It has been difficult to answer this question because observations are sparse, labor-intensive, and the uncertainties of the BCP’s magnitude, which are nearly equivalent to human emissions. Fortunately, autonomous vehicles unlock […]

New over-determined CO2 system solver QUODcarb

Do you work with over-determined datasets of seawater carbon dioxide system chemistry? QUODcarb (Quantifying Uncertainty in an Over-Determined marine carbonate system), a new over-determined CO2-system solver is described in the recently published “QUODcarb: A Bayesian solver for over-determined datasets of seawater carbon dioxide system chemistry.” The Bayesian formulation of the novel solver and demonstrates its […]

Photoacclimation by phytoplankton under clouds

Unlike most remote sensing products, Net Primary Production (NPP) is computed under clouds. Since satellites can’t see through clouds, NPP models rely on clear-sky observations, interpolate model inputs, and assume that phytoplankton behavior stays the same, regardless of light conditions. But phytoplankton are known to photoacclimate, adjusting their internal chlorophyll to carbon ratio in response […]

Microbial Iron limitation in the ocean’s twilight zone

How deep in the ocean do microbes feel the effects of nutrient limitation? Microbial production in one third of the surface ocean is limited by the essential micronutrient iron (Fe). This limitation extends to at least the bottom of the euphotic zone, but what happens below that? In a study that recently published in Nature […]