New Ocean Metaproteomics paper published (web link and pdf link) to help promote proteomics in environmental settings. The study is open access. This paper is a product of OCB’s Intercomparison of Ocean Metaproteomic Analyses.
New Ocean Metaproteomics paper published (web link and pdf link) to help promote proteomics in environmental settings. The study is open access. This paper is a product of OCB’s Intercomparison of Ocean Metaproteomic Analyses.
Earlier this year, we conducted an online survey and consultation with the broader ocean science community to assess what we perceive as emerging skills gaps in basic physical chemistry training and expertise in several areas of chemical oceanography, especially (but not exclusively) including the ocean carbonate system. In the survey, we asked just for this information:
We received well over 100 responses, with very many insightful observations and answers to our questions. We invite you to read the brief summary report describing the skill gap survey results and associated community feedback on recommended paths forward. Read the report.
Join us for a virtual community discussion at OA Week in November
To follow up on this survey, we are convening an online community discussion on Tuesday 19 November at 1600-1730 GMT/1100-1230 ET as part of the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON)’s Ocean Acidification (OA) Week 2024. The purpose of this discussion will be to discuss next steps for a community activity (most likely a workshop), including its focus, content, participants, and outcomes to help address the emerging skills gap identified in the survey. Register to participate in this community discussion HERE. If you would like further information, or you represent an organization that would like to participate in this effort, please get in touch with either Heather Benway (hbenway@whoi.edu) or Simon Clegg (s.clegg@uea.ac.uk).
26-31 March 2025 · Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
https://www.aslo.org/charlotte-2025/
DEADLINE EXTENDED!! Abstracts due Oct. 28!
Share your OCB-relevent special session via this OCB form.
Are you looking to submit an abstract to present? View the session compilation with descriptions, deadlines and more information here: https://tinyurl.com/OCB-related-sessions
One of the longest running open ocean time-series on our planet, the Hawaii Ocean Time-series (HOT) can now be accessed using webODV at https://hot.webodv.awi.de.
webODV [Mieruch and Schlitzer, 2023]) is the online version of the Ocean Data View (ODV) software. It is developed at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany with the aim to provide clients with user-friendly interfaces in their web-browser and access datasets that are centrally maintained and administered on a server using the full capacity of ODV.
This platform has recently been adapted to serve physical, biochemical, and ecological data from the HOT program. Dr. Sebastian Mieruch has generated an automated processing chain to aggregate, harmonize, and convert HOT data to the ODV format. Video tutorials for use of webODV to access, plot, and download HOT data can be found at https://hot.webodv.awi.de/docs.
BGC Argo Webinar #8: Comparing BGC-Argo observations with models
October 16, 2024, 11am Pacific/2pm Eastern
Please join us for the quarterly GO-BGC webinar, hosted by the US Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Project Office. This webinar will be focused on comparisons between BGC-Argo observations and ocean model simulations focusing on bbp and particulate forms of carbon. The webinar will begin with an update on the status of the GO-BGC float array, followed by two short presentations. We’ll then close with a community discussion and Q&A session. Recordings will be available on the OCB and GO-BGC websites.
1) Yui Takeshita (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, USA, yui@mbari.org): An update on the GO-BGC program
2) Camila Serra-Pompei (Technical University of Denmark): Assessing the potential of backscattering as a proxy for phytoplankton carbon biomass
The particulate backscattering coefficient (bbp) has often been used as an optical proxy to estimate phytoplankton carbon biomass (Cphy). However, total observed bbp is impacted by phytoplankton size, cell composition, and non-algal particles. The scarcity of phytoplankton carbon field data has prevented the quantification of uncertainties driven by these factors. Here, we first review and discuss existing bbp algorithms by applying them to bbp data from the BGC-Argo array in surface waters (<10m) and show that errors can be large when the bbp signal is low. Next, we use a global ocean circulation model (the MITgcm Biogeochemical and Optical model) that simulates plankton dynamics and associated inherent optical properties to quantify and understand uncertainties from bbp-based algorithms in surface waters. In an ideal world where field data has no methodological uncertainties, the model shows that bbp algorithms could estimate phytoplankton carbon biomass with an absolute error close to 20% in most regions.
3) Martí Galí Tàpias (Institute of Marine Sciences [ICM-CSIC], Spain): Constraining stocks and fluxes of Particulate Organic Carbon (POC) through the comparison between particulate backscattering measurements and the PISCESv2 model
BGC-Argo data offers a great opportunity for model evaluation, optimization, and the development of improved parameterizations, ultimately furthering our mechanistic understanding. However, comparison between BGC-Argo observations and models requires careful consideration of the spatiotemporal scales that each of them can resolve. When using particulate backscattering (bbp) as a proxy for particulate organic carbon (POC), additional attention must be paid to the variability in the POC/bbp ratio, its uncertainty, and its underpinning biogeochemical drivers. In this talk I will present comparisons between bbp from BGC-Argo and simulated POC based on both 3D (Eulerian) and 1D (pseudo-Lagrangian) frameworks. I will discuss the potential and limitations of model parameter optimization using BGC-Argo bbp as the observational reference. Finally, I will explore the impacts of optimized model parameters on mesopelagic POC budgets and vertical fluxes in the PISCESv2 model.
4) Discussion
Introduction to Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem (PACE) Hyperspectral Observations for Water Quality Monitoring
This online, introductory course will be cost-free and have three, 1.5-hour parts:
Part 1: Introduction to the PACE Mission for Water Quality Monitoring (September 25th)
Part 2: Overview, Access, and Analysis of PACE Ocean Color Data Products (October 2nd)
Part 3: Access and Visualization of PACE-OCI Data using Python/Jupyter Notebook Software (October 9th)
Registration is now open – course will be offered in English AND Spanish!
For more information and to register visit:
NASA’s ARSET program offers free, online training on using Earth Observations for decision making that are open to the public. Courses are designed for a broad audience, ranging from introductory to advanced. For more on ARSET and to see their wealth of upcoming and previous trainings, please visit their website.
OCB Scoping Workshop Leaky Deltas: Sources or sinks in the global carbon cycle?
March 17-20, 2025 at Louisiana State Univ. (Baton Rouge, LA)
River deltas and the adjacent coastal ocean are critical interfaces between terrestrial and oceanic environments. Deltas are the entry point of ~50% of the fresh water and 40% of all global particulate matter entering the ocean. They are major centers for particulate and dissolved organic carbon transfer between (i.e., to and from) land to ocean.
Recent evidence suggests that coastal oceans have become net sinks for atmospheric CO2 during post-industrial times and continued human pressures in coastal zones. Alterations to deltas will likely have an important impact on the future evolution of the coastal ocean’s carbon budget.
NOTE This workshop has multiple deadline options: early (if you need a visa to attend), mid (if you want to apply for travel support), and a final deadline for all applications.
Apply to attend Leaky Deltas workshop
Learn more on the workshop webpage.
Applications for a workshop on ethics and governance for (all forms of) climate interventions have just opened:
https://apply.knowinnovation.com/climateintervention/
NSF OCE will be sending out a “KandyGram” with this information soon.
The application deadline is August 23rd and we’d like to see good representation for mCDR.
Michelle Wagner is in her first year of master’s study at the City College of New York. Her research interest is in monitoring the responses of coastal systems to natural and anthropogenic stressors. After graduating from the City College of New York, Michelle joined the Tzortziou Bio-optics lab at CCNY. Her work utilized HPLC and microscopic analysis as well remote sensing data to characterize seasonal shifts in phytoplankton community composition in the Long Island Sound estuary and increasing intensity in red tide events and other HABS.
I am very happy to have been a part of the Cornell 2024 Satellite Remote Sensing Training Program this summer. As someone who is new to the world of satellite data processing, I could not have asked for a better introduction. Dr. Monger’s strong expertise as well as his guidance and encouragement gave me the confidence to tackle hard problems. The course not only introduced me to Python programming but also provided a range of tools for handling satellite data. It significantly broadened my perspective and deepened my understanding of satellite remote sensing. I really enjoyed this course and would recommend it to anyone pursuing satellite remote sensing and ocean color analysis. I would like to say thank you to Dr. Bruce Monger and OCB for this amazing experience!
Alba Guzmán Morales was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. She received her B.S. in Biology and M.S. in Biological Oceanography from the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez Campus in 2019 and 2024, respectively. Her research focused on using satellite imagery to study water clarity trends in Puerto Rico to evaluate management efforts in a watershed. As a NOAA Cooperative Science Center in Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Fellow, she evaluated the applicability of a NOAA Kd490 product by comparing it with in situ Kd490. She has also been involved in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle research to measure salinity.
Cornell's Satellite Remote Sensing course was what I expected and more. While I had previous experience processing satellite data the course provided me with tools I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to use in my work. It was amazing to process and visualize L1 to L2 ocean color, SST, wind, and altimetry data. I am deeply thankful to the great instructors Dr. Bruce Monger and Jillian Steinmetz, to the colleagues I met during the course as well as OCB for supporting this opportunity. Let the research continue!
Kiwanuka Moses: I’m a second-year Earth Systems Science PhD Student working under Dr. Sridhar Maruthi Balaji Bhaskar at Florida International University. My research uses remote sensing and machine learning to estimate water quality parameters for inland lakes (Okeechobee and Victoria). The goal is to develop monitoring algorithms based on Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel 2 MSI images. These models will be correlated with results from NASA SeaDAS software.
The Cornell Satellite Remote Sensing course was a great experience. I learned multiple ways of downloading datasets, cleaning them, and channeling them to a particular study area. I also learned how to use Python command lines for image processing using NASA SeaDAS and better understood the different components of oceanography (Physical and biological) as a field. There was a great improvement in my programming skills. I enjoyed every moment with Dr. Bruce Monger and Ms. Jillian Elaine, the TA. Their patience regarding the questions directed at them was exceptional. I recommend this course to anyone interested in remote sensing and ocean color. Special thanks to Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) for the sponsorship and for making this a reality for me.
María del Alma Concepción Rodríguez's journey into water resources began during her undergraduate studies at the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico. Earning a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and a master’s in environmental management, she immersed herself in internships and projects related to the water industry. These experiences profoundly impacted her, highlighting water's vital role as the driving force of nature and the center of life.
As she advanced to her PhD in Civil Engineering, now going into her third year, María del Alma’s passion for water conservation grew stronger. She became particularly concerned about the potential contamination from regulated wastewater disposals in the waters surrounding the Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico. This concern sparked a compelling desire to delve deeper into understanding their impacts. Her doctoral research is a testament to this dedication. It focuses on how effluent discharges affect oceanic waters and aims to develop a comprehensive evaluation methodology. María del Alma leverages innovative GIS techniques to identify contamination hotspots through spatial data analysis. Her goal is to create geospatial models that visualize current and future scenarios, providing a clearer picture of the potential impacts on our waters.
Through her work, María del Alma strives to protect and conserve our natural environment, recognizing that safeguarding water resources is not just important but essential.
Imagine learning about the intricacies of satellite remote sensing while collaborating with peers, all within the vibrant academic atmosphere of Cornell University—that was my experience in a nutshell. The 2024 Cornell Satellite Remote Sensing Summer Course was an enriching experience that deepened my technical knowledge and connected me with a network of passionate individuals in the remote sensing community. The course’s rigorous curriculum laid a strong foundation for my understanding of the field and opened my eyes to the vast remote sensing applications. We delved into the core principles of remote sensing, how the satellite data is collected, and the processing of such data using coding. Dr. Bruce Monger was an excellent instructor who guided us throughout the course while getting a better understanding of each of our investigations. Teaching assistant Jillian Steinmetz was knowledgeable and always willing to assist us. The course featured lectures and hands-on workshops where you were given exercises to work on the computer using Python and SeaDAS to understand the processing of satellite imagery. One of the most exciting moments of the course was the hands-on experience with satellite data—using advanced software to process and analyze the data and turn the raw information into meaningful insights for my PhD research. Participating in the 2024 Cornell Satellite Remote Sensing Training Program was a transformative experience that broadened my horizons and passion for using innovative technology in real-world water applications.
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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.