Viruses are an integral component of marine microbial communities and mediate carbon cycling and export processes. Despite their known prevalence and activity in marine systems, fundamental knowledge gaps prevent the inclusion of viruses in current carbon cycling models.

The overall goal of the scoping workshop is to determine how we can fill the “black box” that is viruses in global geochemical models. We will unite microbiologists working on cultivated virus-host models, viral ecologists working in field systems, organic geochemists, and ecosystem and biogeochemical modelers. Initial discussions will focus on current and emerging methodologies to study carbon exchange mediated by viruses. This will be followed by discussions about current uncertainties in ecosystem models, the impact of excluding viruses, and the research required for robust integration of marine viruses into geochemical models.

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