Author Archive for mmaheigan

2026 OCB Activity Proposals due Oct 24 + Sept 23 webinar

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Thursday, September 18th, 2025 

REGISTER for the proposal info webinar Tuesday, September 23, 3-4pm

This webinar will feature recent successful OCB activities and their PIs and also provide opportunities for Q&A with Project Office staff on community building and what makes a successful OCB proposal and activity.

The Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) Program is soliciting proposals for OCB activities that will take place or begin during the 2026 calendar year. We seek proposals for OCB-relevant workshops and activities as follows:

  • Workshops and training activities – These activities bring together practitioners across disciplines to build community and/or capacity on OCB-relevant topics (see scientific scope below). A training activity is typically limited to 30-40 participants, and a topical workshop is typically limited to 50-60 participants. A hybrid format is strongly encouraged to broaden input and impact. We also welcome proposals for fully virtual workshops and training activities. The participant selection process for training activities should use a pre-determined evaluative rubric. Budgets for these activities will be capped at $70,000.
  • Small group activities – These activities have a specific focus and set of outcomes. They are typically limited to ~8-16 participants and 1-2 years in duration. The majority of participant interaction must take place virtually. Work is to be completed both synchronously and asynchronously via Zoom and collaborative tools (e.g., Google Suite). A small amount of funding (add-on hotel night, food and beverage) can be provided to accommodate a side meeting in conjunction with other workshops (OCB, AGU, OSM, etc.), and publication costs. If a small group activity is a follow-on or direct outgrowth of a previous OCB activity, this connection should be explicitly noted, and PIs must address how this activity will further advance progress. Budgets for these activities will be capped at $15,000.
  • Regional hubs – This is a relatively new OCB activity model (based on the OCB-supported regional mCDR nodes) that aims to foster community building at the regional scale on OCB-relevant topics, including practitioners across sectors, disciplines, and career stages. A small amount of funding is provided to support one large or a series of smaller gatherings, as well as funding to support outcomes (e.g., publications, outreach materials, etc.). There is no travel/lodging support available for these activities, as all participants should be local or within driving distance of a regional hub. Budgets for these activities will be capped at $10,000.

Read the full solicitation

SSC openings for Surface Ocean CO2 Observing Network (SOCONET)

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Wednesday, September 17th, 2025 

The Surface Ocean CO2 Observing Network (SOCONET), an emerging observing network of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), is looking for applications to join our Steering Committee (SOCONET SC) for term beginning on 1 December 2025. Please share the attached call document with your networks.

The newly selected SC members will join those currently acting as interim SC (list in the attached SOCONET Terms of Reference) to develop and deliver a comprehensive and effective set of coordination activities for SOCONET. These activities will include:

  • The SOCONET SC will develop and provide oversight for execution of the SOCONET Implementation Plan including a clear strategy to secure the network coordination function.
  • The SOCONET SC shall oversee the coordination of surface ocean CO2 observations with the primary objective of delivering sustained, high-quality, and accessible observations for constraining CO2 fluxes between the ocean and the atmosphere.
  • The SOCONET SC will establish surface ocean CO2 measurement requirements, including reference-level measurements. Different data qualities will be assigned different Tier levels. This will include developing and disseminating standard operating procedures and best practices and updating those as needed.
  • The SOCONET SC will encourage, facilitate, and coordinate the recruitment of greater and global representation in SOCONET, including determination of minimum requirements for SOCONET participants and coordination of training and capacity building activities as needed.
  • The SOCONET SC will facilitate collection and timely submission of data from SOCONET platforms to the Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT) data repository and platform metadata through the Joint WMO-IOC in-situ Observations Programmes Support (OceanOPS). The SOCONET SC in coordination with SOCAT and GOOS-OCG shall provide advice on the contents, quality, and timeliness of the SOCONET data streams to ensure that guidelines regarding measurements and data submission are met.
  • The SOCONET SC will coordinate with other relevant global observing networks, including those for atmospheric greenhouse gases, other ocean greenhouse gases (N2O and CH4) and satellite-based measurements.
  • The SOCONET SC will interact with OceanOPS through GOOS-OCG, International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project (IOCCP / GOOS Biogeochemistry Panel) and relevant panels and working groups (e.g. WMO Greenhouse Gas Watch – G3W) and solicit funding from national agencies and multi-national entities for OceanOPS services.
  • The SOCONET SC will facilitate interactions between nations and stakeholders to ensure surface ocean CO2 observations that meet SOCONET quality requirements are made on research vessels, ships of opportunity, surface buoys and other emerging surface ocean observing platforms.
  • The SOCONET SC will advocate for routine surface ocean CO2 instrument intercomparison exercises, including for emerging technologies.
  • To address specific tasks, SOCONET SC will convene specialized Task Teams (TT). These TTs can include relevant experts that are not part of the SOCONET SC. The TTs will report back to the SOCONET SC and be disbanded following their fixed-term.

SC members serve for a period of four years, with the potential of renewing for an additional 4-year term. SC members are assisted by the Network Coordinator (currently provided by IOCCP) and Technical Coordinator employed at OceanOPS. SOCONET SC will meet once a year in-person, and up to monthly remotely. The expected time commitment for SOCONET activities is on average 1-3 days per month, which might occasionally accumulate around specific activities.

In this call we seek to fill several SOCONET SC positions hoping to be able to fill the expertise, geographic, career stage and other gaps identified by the iSC members. We seek individuals who are familiar with the ongoing community initiatives and needs. Ideally candidates would have some research experience on an international level and a working overview of the global landscape of surface ocean carbon observations. We encourage applications from individuals with strong leadership skills and past experience in providing strategic guidance, e.g. through international working groups or steering committees participation.

To make inquiries and/or to submit your applications, please contact the IOCCP Project Office (ioccp@ioccp.org) by 24 October 2025. Please provide the following information in your application:

  1. CV including (at a minimum)
    1. Full name, nationality, contact information (incl. email and institutional website link if available)
    2. Affiliation and held positions in the past 5 years (with brief description of tasks and responsibilities)
    3. Membership in national and international networks, programs, expert working groups, etc.
    4. Up to 10 most relevant publications
  2. Brief description (300-400 words) of how you see yourself contributing to the SOCONET Terms of Reference and what is your proposed vision for activities related to that contribution.

NSF Ocean Sciences Office Hours – September 30

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Tuesday, September 16th, 2025 

NSF Ocean Sciences Office Hours

September 30, 3-4:30 PM (ET)

Staff and division leadership will share information and updates on preparing proposals, address commonly asked questions, and answer yours. These office hours webinars will not be recorded.

Register https://nsf.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_yu5jE4EWQl2FyUZ1x2LEAw?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#/registration

2025 Call for OCB Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) nominations

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Thursday, September 11th, 2025 

OCB is seeking nominations for new Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) members, including a new early career member! The term begins in January 2026. The following SSC members are scheduled to rotate off at the end of 2025:

  • Yige Zhang (formerly Texas A&M University) – paleoceanography and paleoclimatology; organic and stable isotope geochemistry; global biogeochemical cycles
  • David “Roo” Nicholson (Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst.) – global biogeochemical cycles in the context of a changing climate, cycling of dissolved gases, including oxygen, carbon dioxide, methane and the noble gases
  • Jessica Luo (NOAA/GFDL) – plankton ecology, food webs, biogeochemical dynamics, global-scale marine ecosystem models
  • Dreux Chappell (USF) – molecular microbial ecology, phytoplankton cultivation/physiology, and trace metal biogeochemistry
  • Anela Choy (Scripps Inst. Oceanography) – Deep-sea biological oceanography, water column food web ecology, pelagic ecosystem dynamics, biochemical tracers

We are especially interested in filling the following expertise gaps:

  • Deep sea biogeochemical and ecological processes
  • Molecular microbial ecology
  • Plankton ecology
  • Nitrogen cycling
  • Paleoceanographic perspectives on marine ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles

To qualify for the early career spot, a nominee must have completed a PhD within the last 4 years; both postdoctoral researchers and new faculty members are eligible. For the early career nominees who are currently postdocs, a letter of support from the nominee’s postdoctoral advisor is required in addition to filling out the nomination form. This letter of support should be sent to hbenway@whoi.edu.

Please consider casting a wide net in submitting nominations. We are seeking to entrain a broad range of voices and ideas in OCB! Nominees can be from any US-based institution (including Univ. Puerto Rico, Univ. Virgin Islands or in other US territories). Please submit nomination(s) (self-nominations are welcome) HERE by November 21. All nominees’ 2-page abbreviated CVs should be sent to hbenway@whoi.edu.

Nominees are primarily evaluated based on their science expertise (relative to emerging expertise gaps) and their leadership potential. We encourage re-nomination if a prior nomination round was not successful. Note that many SSC members are nominated multiple times before becoming members. OCB SSC members serve a 3-year term. To learn more about what the OCB SSC is/does, please visit the SSC page of the OCB website and feel free to reach out to current SSC members about time commitment and their experiences as SSC members.

New software enables global ocean biogeochemical modeling in Python

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Friday, September 5th, 2025 

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you could write and run complex biogeochemical models easily and conveniently in Python? Wonder no more. In a paper published in J. Adv. Model. Earth Syst., Samar Khatiwala (2025; see reference below) describes tmm4py, a new software to enable efficient, global scale biogeochemical modelling in Python.

tmm4py is based on the Transport Matrix Method (TMM), an efficient numerical scheme for “offline” simulation of tracers driven by circulations from state-of-the-art physical models and state estimates. tmm4py exposes this functionality in Python, providing the tools needed to implement complex models in pure Python using standard modules such as NumPy, and run them interactively on hardware ranging from laptops to supercomputers. No knowledge of parallel computing required! tmm4py even extends the interactivity to models written in Fortran, allowing the many existing models coupled to the TMM, e.g., MITgcm, to be used from the familiar comfort of Python. Whether you’re a seasoned modeler, just want to try out an idea, or illustrate a concept in your teaching, tmm4py is designed to make biogeochemical modeling more widely accessible.

Download the code from: https://github.com/samarkhatiwala/tmm

Figure: Schematic illustrating the structure of tmm4py and its relationship with the various libraries and components it is built on or interacts with. Outlined boxes represent user‐supplied code (such as the “Hello World” example of the ideal age tracer shown on the left). Other low-level libraries on which tmm4py depends, for example, BLAS and LAPACK for linear algebra, MPI for parallel communication, and CUDA for GPUs, are not shown.

 

Author
Samar Khatiwala (Waseda Univ)

Joint Science Highlight with GEOTRACES.

OCB2025 recordings – a week of science, connection, community

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Thursday, September 4th, 2025 

Thank you for being a part of OCB2025 online Summer Science Workshop for a week of science, connection, and community - June 2-6.

Your watch recordings of the workshop on the OCB YouTube channel.

OCB2025 plenary sessions

Constraining the dark ocean carbon cycle: Implications for ocean carbon budgets? (Co-chairs: Anne Dekas, Anela Choy, Jeff Bowman, Randie Bundy)

Rivers to coasts: Biogeochemical linkages and environmental resilience (joint with North American Carbon Program) (Co-chairs: Fei Da, Kanchan Maiti, Shaily Rahman, Libby Larson, David Butman)

Rapidly changing systems (Co-chairs: Kristen Krumhardt, Rachel Stanley, Melissa Melendez)

Bridging scales in the ocean carbon cycle (Co-chairs: Zachary Erickson, Tim DeVries, Roo Nicholson, Daniel Whitt, Dreux Chappell

Learn more and see the schedule

Survey Request on mCDR

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Wednesday, September 3rd, 2025 

California Ocean Science Trust, in collaboration with a network of partners across the U.S West Coast and Alaska, is conducting a survey to assess the need for and inform the development of a regional marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) exchange/network. Building on existing networks and progress made by the Pacific Northwest and California Current Regional mCDR Nodes, and informed by the results of this survey, the regional exchange/network may build institutional science capacity, coordinate timely information exchange, highlight collaborative research opportunities, and provide science-based guidance to inform responsible policy on mCDR.

Take the survey

The goals of this survey are to

  1. Identify opportunities for mCDR science collaboration, coordination, and information-sharing,
  2. Inform development of a regional science exchange/network along the West Coast, Alaska, and British Columbia, and
  3. Gauge potential interest in joining.

This survey is primarily intended for organizations or individuals with scientific and technical expertise, but interested parties from all sectors or backgrounds are invited and encouraged to respond.

Survey responses will be compiled and analyzed by the California Ocean Science Trust. All information received through survey analyses will be shared in an aggregated format; no information shared publicly will be traceable to any individual respondent or institution.

This survey should take 5-15 minutes to complete. If you have questions about this survey or the regional science exchange/network, please reach out to us at: mCDR@oceansciencetrust.org.

Your input is valuable to us. Thank you!

NEW Report: Pathways Connecting Climate Changes to the Deep Ocean

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Thursday, August 28th, 2025 

Now published – workshop report from the Pathways Connecting Climate Changes to the Deep Ocean: Tracing physical, biogeochemical, and ecological signals from the surface to the deep sea
A joint OCB-US CLIVAR scoping workshop

This workshop will brought together observational oceanographers and modelers across physical, biogeochemical, and ecological communities to assess our understanding of pathways connecting the surface to the seafloor and to develop recommendations for improved detection and attribution of change in the global deep ocean system.

Workshop goals:

  1. Provide an updated comprehensive assessment of the deep ocean’s state and changes across disciplines, of key quantities in which these changes are expressed, and of pathways and timescales connecting the surface to the seafloor.
  2. Review existing observation and modeling tools and their adequacy for constraining, understanding, and attributing changes in the deep ocean system. Identify critical knowledge and observational data gaps and model deficiencies.
  3. Develop a collective set of recommendations for improved detection and attribution of change in the global deep ocean system, with a focus on better serving and supporting deep ocean science across disciplines.
  4. Build an interdisciplinary network of ocean modelers and observers across disciplines. Our aim is to open communication channels and facilitate collaborative exchange of data, knowledge, and tools across communities.

Scientific Organizing Committee
Xinfeng Liang (Univ. Delaware), Monique Messié (MBARI), Leslie Smith (Your Ocean Consulting LLC, DOOS), Isabela Le Bras (WHOI), Patrick Heimbach (Univ. Texas, Austin), Helen Pillar (Univ. Texas, Austin), Zachary Erickson (NOAA/PMEL), Charlie Stock (NOAA/GFDL)

Get the report

Workshop website

 

METS RCN workshop recordings

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Tuesday, August 19th, 2025 

Watch recordings from the METS RCN workshop held in April on the OCB YouTube Channel.

International Workshop: FAIR Data Practices for Ship-based Marine Ecological Time Series
April 22-25, 2025 (ASU/BIOS, Bermuda)

Workshop report: https://www.us-ocb.org/fair-data-practices-for-marine-ecological-time-series/

More on METS RCN Workshop: https://www2.whoi.edu/site/mets-rcn/projects/fair-ship-based-ocean-time-series-international-workshop/

Migrating zooplankton increase N2 production in Oxygen Deficient Zones

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Friday, August 15th, 2025 

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 as a proxy for zooplankton and forage fish, corresponded to quantitative PCR maxima in zooplankton and forage fish (metazoan) DNA and to the maximum in biological N2 gas, and a shoulder of the nitrite maximum. At the same time, the C:N ratio of both suspended and sinking organic matter were reduced, indicating less degraded organic matter. These data strongly suggest that N2 production in the core of the Oxygen Deficient Zone is stimulated by the daily migration of zooplankton and forage fish in the Oxygen Deficient Zone.  These results decouple N2 production from sinking organic matter fluxes. This work indicates that multicellular animals can affect key ocean biogeochemical cycles, and can cause hot spots of microbial activity well below the sunlit ocean.

Figure caption: Offshore Eastern Tropical North Pacific Oxygen Deficient Zone. The dashed black line indicates the top of the ODZ, the gray lines indicate the boundaries of the deep vertical migration maximum. A) Concentrations of nitrite and oxygen, B) C:N of suspended and of sinking (sediment trap) organic matter, C) Day and night backscattering, a proxy for zooplankton and forage fish, and D) Biological N2 gas concentrations and day and night quantitative PCR data for zooplankton and forage fish (metazoans).

 

Authors
Clara Fuchsman (UMCES Horn Point Laboratory)
Megan Duffy (Univ Vermont)
Jacob Cram (UMCES Horn Point Laboratory)
Paulina Huanca-Valenzuela (UMCES Horn Point Laboratory)
Louis Plough (UMCES Horn Point Laboratory)
James Pierson (UMCES Horn Point Laboratory)
Catherine Fitzgerald (UMCES Horn Point Laboratory)
Allan Devol (U. of Washington)
Richard Keil (U. of Washington)

 

Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2024GB008365

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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.