The 2010 OCB Summer Science Workshop was held July 19-22, 2010 at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, CA.

This Workshop highlighted three interdisciplinary science themes: Arctic, low oxygen regions, and benthic-pelagic coupling. Within these themes, we were especially keen to address nitrogen cycling, ecological tipping points, and strengthened connections between experimentalists and modelers.

Arctic

The Arctic is undergoing rapid changes in response to warming, accelerated melting of large ice sheets, and reductions in seasonal sea ice cover. This session will explore implications of these changes for marine ecosystems (e.g., primary production, food webs) and associated physical (e.g., salinity, stratification, deep ocean circulation, etc.) and biogeochemical (nutrient cycling, carbon fluxes, carbonate saturation state, etc.) processes.

Low Oxygen Regions

Many models are predicting a significant expansion of oxygen minimum zones under the IPCC “business-as-usual” scenario for anthropogenic CO₂ emissions, which will affect marine productivity, carbon and nutrient cycling, and food webs. This session will highlight new observations and applications of biogeochemical and ecological tools and approaches to study processes within different low oxygen systems.

Benthic-Pelagic Coupling

Benthic and pelagic ecosystems are intimately linked by way of biogeochemical cycling and transformation. Benthic-pelagic coupling along continental shelves represents a significant unknown in coastal carbon budgets, and the physical, chemical, and biological processes driving organic carbon export and burial in the open ocean remain poorly characterized. This session will focus on new observations and tools to explore benthic-pelagic processes.

2. Agenda

Monday July 19, 2010

8:30  Introductory remarks and announcements (Scott Doney, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) (Recording: Quicktime, webm, RealPlayer)
8:45  Agency updates and community questions and discussion

• National Science Foundation (NSF) (Dave Garrison, Don Rice) (Recording: Quicktime, wmv, RealPlayer)
• National Science Foundation (NSF) (Phil Taylor) (Recording: Quicktime, wmv, RealPlayer)
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (Paula Bontempi) (Recording: Quicktime, wmv, RealPlayer)
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (Chris Sabine) (Slides, Recording: Quicktime, wmv, RealPlayer)

Plenary Session 1. The Arctic
Chairs: Walker Smith (Virginia Institute of Marine Science), Jeremy Mathis (University of Alaska, Fairbanks)

9:45  Recent changes in sea surface pCO2 in the western Arctic Ocean: The consequence of
sea ice melt (Wei‐Jun Cai, University of Georgia) (Slides; Recording: Quicktime, wmv, RealPlayer)
11:00  Aragonite undersaturation in the western Arctic Ocean (Michiyo Yamamoto‐Kawai,
Fisheries and Oceans Canada) (Slides; Recording: Quicktime, wmv, RealPlayer)
11:45  Seasonal changes in primary production, phytoplankton community composition, and export during the Bering Sea Ecosystem Study (Bradley Moran, University of Rhode Island) (Slides; Recording: Quicktime, wmv, RealPlayer)
14:00  Evidence of systemic seasonal aragonite undersaturation in the continental shelf seas of Alaska (Jeremy Mathis, University of Alaska, Fairbanks)
14:45  Arctic plenary questions and community discussion (Recording: Quicktime, wmv, RealPlayer)
15:30  U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Plan update (Chris Sabine, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory) (Slides; Recording: Quicktime, wmv, RealPlayer)
16:00  Student introductions: Brendan Rae Carter (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) (Recording: Quicktime, wmv, RealPlayer)

• John Radich (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) (Recording: Quicktime, wmv, RealPlayer)
• Hugh Doyle (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) (Recording: Quicktime, wmv, RealPlayer)

Tuesday July 20, 2010