A new OCB subcommittee is forming focused on identifying and addressing uncertainties in the seawater carbonate system and increasing measurement inter-comparability, with goals of advocating for and sparking collaborations to address these issues and providing guidance for data reporting and documentation while fostering engagement across career stages and global participation. The Ocean Carbonate System Intercomparison Forum (OCSIF) began in 2019 as an OCB working group tasked with identifying the largest remaining challenges in achieving internal consistency between seawater carbonate system measurements and calculations (conceptually demonstrated in Fig. 1). Current research indicates that uncertainties and/or systematic errors exist that prevent complete internal consistency between the seawater carbonate system parameters.
Such agreement is essential for accurately understanding and monitoring marine carbon cycling, including air-sea fluxes of CO2, uptake and storage of anthropogenic carbon, ocean acidification, and marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) technologies. These important topics are strongly aligned with OCB research priorities on changing ocean chemistry, ocean carbon fluxes and sequestration, and carbon cycling. OCSIF was a very successful working group: throughout the working group, small teams of OCSIF members published papers focused on issues related to internal consistency, and the full team worked collectively on two summary papers submitted under the banner of OCSIF at the conclusion of the working group (Carter et al. 2024a,b). These papers provide robust assessments of the internal consistency of the seawater carbonate system parameters, field-wide estimates of uncertainties, and recommendations for further research. The proposed OCB subcommittee would build on those recommendations by advancing research, fostering collaborations (including encouraging and supporting early-career researchers), promoting rotation of membership, and identifying additional knowledge gaps as progress is made and new scientific questions arise.
We are currently seeking nominations for members of a newly established topical subcommittee of the OCB SSC - the Ocean Carbonate System Intercomparison Forum (OCSIF). This subcommittee has its origins in the OCB OCSIF working group focused on identifying and addressing uncertainties in the seawater carbonate system and increasing measurement inter-comparability, with goals of advocating for and sparking collaborations to address these issues and providing guidance for data reporting and documentation while fostering engagement across career stages and global participation. We aim to include a range of expertise and career stages, including very early career scientists (0-4 years since PhD). Non-US applicants are encouraged to apply, as we will aim to include at least 1-2 non-US members on the subcommittee at all times. The subcommittee will include up to 15 members. We are seeking a range of expertise pertaining to the ocean carbonate system, including:
Please submit your nominations to the OCB Project Office using this nomination form by March 13, 2026. Self-nominations are welcome and encouraged!
OCB subcommittee membership terms are typically ~2-4 years, but a detailed charge and terms of reference for this new subcommittee will be established by its inaugural members. The inaugural co-chairs of this subcommittee will be Ryan Woosley (MIT) and Katelyn Schockman (U Miami/NOAA). The OCB Project Office will oversee the nomination and election process. Discussion of nominees and scoring via electronic ballot will be carried out by a small committee of subject matter experts, including Ryan and Katelyn.
Ryan J. Woosley (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chair)
Katelyn Schockman (University of Miami, Co-Chair)
Carter, B.R., J.D. Sharp, A.G. Dickson, M. Álvarez, M.B. Fong, M.I. García-Ibáñez, R.J. Woosley, Y. Takeshita, L. Barbero, R.H. Byrne, W.-J. Cai, M. Chierici, S.L. Clegg, R. Easley, A.J. Fassbender, K.L. Fleger, X. Li, M. Martín-Mayor, K.M. Schockman, A.Z. Wang (2024a) Uncertainty sources for measurable ocean carbonate chemistry variables. Limnol. Oceanogr. 69(1) 1-24. DOI: 10.1002/lno.12477
Carter, B.R. J.D. Sharp, M.I. García-Ibáñez, R.J. Woosley, M.B. Fong, M. Álvarez, L. Barbero, S.L. Clegg, R. Easley, A.J. Fassbender, X. Li, K.M. Schockman, and Z.A. Wang (2024b) Random and systematic uncertainty in ship-based seawater carbonate chemistry observations. Limnol. Oceanogr. Doi: 10.1002/lno.12674
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Funding for the Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry Project Office is provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The OCB Project Office is housed at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.