Working group to develop standards and best practices for the collection and assessment of Operational Phytoplankton Observations (OPO) using particle imaging instruments (PII).
Objective: The OPO Working Group members will create a set of best practices for different PIIs, water types, and sampling approaches. This activity is a follow-up to the Phytoplankton Taxonomy Working Group, which developed standards and practices for image data management and interoperability. The ultimate goal is to have these best practices endorsed by the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and used in large scale ocean observing programs, such as repeat hydrographic programs and ocean observatories, long term ecological time series, as well as funded process study research cruises. The resulting standards and practices will be archived at Ocean Best Practices and in a Limnology and Oceanography Methods-type manuscript.
Justification: The number of particle imaging instruments (PII) for quantifying and identifying phytoplankton in aquatic environments has grown over the last decade, with several instruments now considered to be “mature technologies” with a Technological Readiness Level (TRL) between 7 and 9. Such methods are greatly advancing our capacity to measure Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) and Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) such as phytoplankton biomass, community composition, functional group, and size distribution, which have traditionally required labor-intensive collection and analysis methods. By enabling automated and high throughput quantification of phytoplankton cell biomass (cell counts, biovolume) and taxonomic diversity over both ocean space and time, PIIs are poised to revolutionize our understanding of planktonic ecosystems and will allow us to effectively monitor global changes over time.
Given that the number of PII currently being used in, or soon to be incorporated into, a variety of ocean observing networks and platforms has grown substantially, now is the time to establish best practices for using these instruments in a quantitative way that can be used to derive robust and sustained measurements of biological and ecological EOVs. Different PIIs have different limitations and commonly-used imaging flow cytometers differ in their data outputs as well as recommended sampling procedures. Each aquatic sampling technique and the volume of water measured will impact the quantitative rigor of the measurements.
Applications are open for the new OCB Working Group on Operational Phytoplankton Observations
Deadline March 27 (scroll down for details)
OPO WG Organizing Committee
Sophie Clayton (sclayton@odu.edu)
Aimee Neeley (aimee.neeley@nasa.gov)
Nicole Poulton (npoulton@bigelow.org)
Applications are open for the new OCB Working Group on Operational Phytoplankton Observations
Participate in a working group to develop standards and best practices for the collection and assessment of Operational Phytoplankton Observations (OPO) using particle imaging instruments (PII). As PII technology has matured in recent years, it is becoming a more routine sampling component of ocean observing programs and networks (e.g., Bio-GO-SHIP). We are looking to gather a broad range of subject matter experts that include phytoplankton image data producers, image and data analysts, and data users to form the core membership of the OPO Working Group.
The goal of this activity is to develop a set of standards and best practices for both the collection and downstream processing of phytoplankton images produced by PIIs. These best practices will result in consistent, quantitative observations of phytoplankton taxonomy and biomass.
The OPO Working Group will identify challenges associated with quantitative sampling of phytoplankton due to:
1) Different oceanic provinces and biomass levels (e.g., coastal, open ocean)
2) Aquatic sampling techniques (e.g., bottle, underway), profiling or towed technologies, ocean observatories (moorings)
3) Operational differences between current phytoplankton imaging instruments (PIIs) and analysis tools.
The OPO Working Group will develop recommendations for specific instruments and sampling techniques to ensure that phytoplankton measurements are consistent, robust, and quantitative. These guidelines will be published as a peer-reviewed paper for distribution to the broader community, and our goal will be to seek endorsement from the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) for the best practices recommendations that emerge from this activity. Additionally, the best practices recommendations will be archived as a document in the Ocean Best Practices System repository.
We will convene two in-person working group meetings August 2-4, 2023, and early 2024, along with asynchronous online activities in preparation for the in-person meetings. OPO Working Group members will also participate in regular synchronous virtual meetings occurring between the in-person meetings. Our intention is to create a working group that is inclusive of participants from all backgrounds and a range of career stages.
More detailed information about planned working group activities and the application form to participate in the working group are now available here. Apply by March 27th, 2023.
Application form can be accessed here.
For those who are interested in this activity and its outcomes but who are not able to commit the time to participate in this working group, we will continue to provide updates to the full community about working group progress and products, including at the in-person meeting associated with the 2024 Ocean Science meeting, and the 2024 OCB summer workshop.
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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.