Establishment of a topical subcommittee for ocean time series meant to serve as conduit between data generators (time series programs), users (OCB community), and funders (NSF)

OCB scoping workshop Sea change: Charting the course for ecological and biogeochemical ocean time-series research (report = special journal volume) that brings together scientists to compare data/science across time series sites, incl 3 US NSF-funded time series BATS, HOT, CARIACO - a key point raised at this workshop was that methodological inconsistencies limit our capacity to compare data/ocean trends across time series
https://www.us-ocb.org/scoping-workshops/sea-change-charting-the-course-for-ecological-and-biogeochemical-ocean-time-series-research/
Report: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967064513000556

OCB (with help of partner programs IOCCP and IOC UNESCO) supports an international time series methods workshop at BIOS, Bermuda; this is the first gathering of its kind for ocean time series and brings in participation from 33 time series programs from 17 countries, the beginnings of the formation of an international network of ocean time series; born at this meeting were the seeds of the International Group for Marine Ecological Time Series (IGMETS); product was a best practices manual providing road map for intercomparability, including tiered methodological and capacity building recommendations (submitted to Ocean Best Practices System repository)
https://web.whoi.edu/ocb/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2017/01/TS_Workshop_report_FINAL-1.pdf

IGMETS led by Laura Lorenzoni and Todd O’Brien (final report in 2017) - effort included >300 globally distributed time series programs (https://igmets.net/discover-map)
Final report: https://igmets.net/report

Benway works with members of Ocean Time Series Committee to produce a decadal vision paper on ocean time series for the OceanObs19 meeting (special volume in Frontiers) - Ocean time series observations of changing marine ecosystems: An era of integration, synthesis, and societal applications (paper presented at the OceanObs19 meeting in Hawai’i):
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00393/full

OCB Ocean Time Series Committee produces article for broader earth science community to highlight importance of ocean time series for providing sustained observations to monitor changing marine ecosystems - Monitoring ocean change in the 21st Century (https://eos.org/features/monitoring-ocean-change-in-the-21st-century)

Benway and Kinkade (BCO-DMO) approached by agency managers (funders of keystone US time series HOT and BATS) to co-develop (with time series data generators, data scientists, data managers) protocols and solutions that streamline data access - this requires a proposal to NSF EarthCube ($58,627) for a small workshop to gather data managers and time series representatives to discuss FAIR data solutions; OCB convenes this workshop in conjunction with the OceanObs19 meeting in Hawai’i (report) - the short 3-day meeting enabled us to scratch the surface of key issues impacting/inhibiting FAIR - participants called for a more sustained effort that would engage a broader faction of the time series community, as well as more data/informatics expertise to explore more elegant semantic solutions for ocean time series data; they also call for a pilot effort bringing together multiple time series focused on a core set of biogeochemical parameters as a data use case

Report: https://www.us-ocb.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2020/03/EarthCube-workshop-report-5March2020.pdf

Benway and Kinkade and White (HOT time series PI) submit a proposal to NSF EarthCube for a 3-year Marine Ecological Time Series Research Coordination Network (https://www2.whoi.edu/site/mets-rcn/), which is funded at the level of ~$300K; collaborators Bjoern Fiedler and Nico Lange (GEOMAR, involved in the OceanObs19 vision paper) submit a proposal to EuroSea to develop a time series data product, which is also funded - this becomes Lange’s PhD project

Benway assembles a METS RCN leadership group w/representation from ship based ocean time series, data science/informatics, data managers, and also analogous observing networks (LTERs, OOI, etc.) to oversee the work and activities of the RCN, which meets virtually in its first 2-3 years

Lange develops the biogeochemical time series data product SPOTS (Synthesis Product for Ocean Time Series) using 12 globally distributed time series stations; in doing this, he grapples with many data intercomparison issues, providing the initial use case for FAIR ocean time series data - in this process, he develops metadata templates for a core set of bgc parameters (SPOTS manuscript submitted)
https://www2.whoi.edu/site/mets-rcn/ts-data-product/

Small 3-day hybrid meeting in Boston that brings together data/informatics experts, ocean time series scientists, and data managers to develop preliminary use cases for biological variables - this largely leverages the work done by Lange on the bgc variables.

Larger international time series FAIR DATA workshop planned at BIOS/Bermuda (same site as 2012) bringing a lot of the same time series programs (and additional ones) together to vet (and hopefully adopt at their home time series programs) the bgc and bio data use cases the METS RCN team has been working on

OCB scoping workshop focused on: https://www.us-ocb.org/scoping-workshops/ocb-scoping-workshop-april-28-30-2009/
Report: https://web.whoi.edu/ocb/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2017/02/Johnson_Oceanography.pdf

OCB workshop participants contribute to OceanObs’09 (decadal meeting focused on new developments in ocean observing) white papers focused on adding biogeochemical sensors (dissolved oxygen, bio-optical) to Argo profiling floats

Autonomous sensor capacity building investment - OCB co-sponsors autonomous biogeochemical sensor training activities in 2014, 2015, and 2019:

• Workshop on autonomous pH sensor best practices – August 4-8, 2014, La Jolla, CA, see article in Fall 2014 OCB newsletter: https://www.us-ocb.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2016/12/OCB_NEWS_FALL14.pdf
• IOCCP/EU BONUS INTEGRAL course Instrumenting our ocean for better observation: a training course on a suite of biogeochemical sensors – June 10-19, 2019 at the Sven Lovén Center for Marine Sciences (Kristineberg, Sweden): http://www.ioccp.org/index.php/more/451-training-course-on-a-suite-of-biogeochemical-sensors-10-21-june-2019-kristineberg-sweden
• IOCCP course Instrumenting our oceans for better observation: A training course on autonomous biogeochemical sensors – June 22-July 1, 2015 at the Sven Lovén Center for Marine Sciences (Kristineberg, Sweden): http://www.ioccp.org/index.php/technical-training-workshops/14-trainingcourse/72-sensors-summer-course-2015

Biogeochemical Argo Science & Implementation plan published, formally establishing this as an international program: https://biogeochemical-argo.org

OCB forms US BGC-Argo topical subcommittee of its Scientific Steering Committee to help advise US contributions to BGC-Argo: https://www.us-ocb.org/about/ocb-subcommittees/us-biogeochemical-argo-subcommittee/

OCB supports Biogeochemical Profiling Float Workshop to grow the user community and discuss science applications: https://web.whoi.edu/floats-workshop/

Birth of US NSF-funded GO-BGC (Global Ocean Biogeochemical Array) – members of the topical subcommittee get an NSF mid-scale research infrastructure (MSRI) award of $53M to deploy 500 BGC-Argo floats world wide (including Southern Ocean) via ships/cruises of opportunity over 5 years
https://www.go-bgc.org

OCB hosts a virtual workshop on the New Global Ocean Biogeochemistry (GO-BGC) Array Building a Community of Biogeochemistry Float Data Users to introduce GO-BGC to the community - workshop includes data access and processing tutorials; since GO-BGC has an external advisory committee, the OCB US BGC-Argo topical subcommittee is sunsetted
https://www.us-ocb.org/joint-gobgc-workshop/

GO-BGC and OCB launch a GO-BGC webinar series (still ongoing with quarterly topical webinars): https://www.us-ocb.org/welcome-to-the-bgc-argo-webinar-series/

OCB provides travel support for BGC-Argo/GO-BGC float data workshop at UMass Boston to build data analysis capacity, develop new collaborations, and discuss novel scientific applications: https://www.go-bgc.org/event/go-bgc-science-workshop

Key antecedents:
https://fondationtaraocean.org/en/expedition/tara-oceans/
GEOMICS and other pilot cruises championed by members of the GEOTRACES and OCB communities

Key antecedents:
https://www.geotraces.org

The molecular biology of biogeochemistry: Using molecular methods to link ocean chemistry with biological activity (November 2010, report)

https://www.us-ocb.org/scoping-workshops/molecular-biology-of-biogeochemistry-scoping-workshop/
Report: https://web.whoi.edu/ocb/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2017/02/Molec_bio_report.pdf

Workshop participants obtain funds from NSF and bring together members of the community to participate in a pilot cruise GEOMICS along Line P that pairs geochemical and biological/molecular measurements

OCB supports a post-cruise data synthesis workshop for GEOMICS participants; in the meantime, other similar pilot cruises are taking place around the globe and it’s becoming evident that the novel molecular biology analytical tools (the ‘omics methods like genomics proteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, etc.) will require intercalibration and intercomparison efforts like the trace metal intercal efforts that GEOTRACES has executed
https://www.us-ocb.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2017/03/Armbrust_OCB_2013_160184.pdf

OCB and GEOTRACES co-organize a scoping workshop Biogeochemical cycling of trace elements within the ocean - at this workshop, we brought together the geochemistry and biological expertise to explore trace metal biogeochemistry and cycling and the organisms that are mediating these processes - conversations at this workshop really increased the momentum for a sectional program like GEOTRACES that includes biological sampling (i.e. “BioGEOTRACES – what is now called BioGeoSCAPES)
https://web.whoi.edu/geotraces-synthesis/

OCB cosponsors small international workshop to develop a draft vision for BioGeoSCAPES, which launches national planning workshops around the world to share new vision and assess national science priorities and potential contributions to an international BioGeoSCAPES program
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EjIE4Fz2edd_hmusaaio-JHQQaDazGYn/view

OCB supports Ocean Metaproteomics Intercomparison activity and virtual workshop for intercomparison participants (2021)
https://www.us-ocb.org/intercomparison-and-intercalibration-metaproteomics/

OCB hosts community workshop Ocean nucleic acids 'omics intercalibration and standardization - this small workshop brings together omics practitioners to carefully examine the omics workflow from sample collection to analysis (incl sequencing) all the way to data generation/bioinformatics to identify areas that will require focused intercomp/intercal efforts
https://www.us-ocb.org/ocean-nucleic-acids-omics-workshop/

OCB supports virtual US national planning workshop Laying the foundation for a potential future BioGeoSCAPES program
https://www.us-ocb.org/ocb-scoping-workshop-laying-the-foundation-for-a-potential-future-biogeoscapes-program/

OCB provides $10K of travel support for C-CoMP STC-led (Center for Chemical Currencies of a Microbial Planet Science & Technology Center) ocean metabolomics workshop

US BioGeoSCAPES investigators and Benway/OCB obtain 5-year award from NSF Accelnet program ($1,918,341) to enable international collaboration and planning for a BioGeoSCAPES Program (learn more about Accelnet award: https://biogeoscapes.org/faqs/)

OCB helps BioGeoSCAPES Accelnet team launch a Fellows program (https://biogeoscapes.org/nsf-accelnet-to-support-a-new-biogeoscapes-fellows-program/) and an international science planning workshop (https://biogeoscapes.org/international-science-planning-meeting-november-6-9th-woods-hole-massachusetts-usa/); also using some of the leftover funds from the ocean metaproteomics intercomparison activity to support sample shipping for a fledgling metatranscriptomics intercomparison/intercalibration activity

Collaboration initiated with North American Carbon Program; OCB sponsors scoping workshop on Terrestrial and Coastal Carbon Fluxes in the Gulf of Mexico.
https://www.us-ocb.org/scoping-workshops/terrestrial-and-coastal-carbon-fluxes-in-the-gulf-of-mexico-scoping-workshop/

Additional CCARS funding obtained from NSF ($48K to OCB/WHOI) and NASA (2010-2013, $381,862 split between OCB/WHOI and other coPI institutions) to pay for CCARS activities (workshops, data rescue and synthesis efforts)

https://www.us-ocb.org/coastal-carbon-synthesis-ccars/coastal-synthesis-workshop-december-11-12-2010/

Regional synthesis activities and outcomes (reports, peer reviewed publications, etc. listed on CCARS site)

Culminating workshop to bring together all of the updated regional coastal carbon budgets and identify research/obs/modeling gaps by both process/flux and region; this is where we identified champions to help co-author a science plan for NSF and NASA

https://www.us-ocb.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2017/05/CCARS_Sci_Plan_FINAL.pdf

US Carbon Cycle Science Program (interagency effort) coordinates process of writing the Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR-2) - the CCARS science plan and activities provide baseline and feed into coastal chapters of SOCCR-2 (important to note that coastal regions and tidal wetlands were not well characterized/constrained in SOCCR-1, so the community made a lot of strides between the first and second SOCCR and CCARS really contributed to that!)

Subset of CCARS contributors lead a plenary session on Carbon fluxes in coastal wetlands at the 2017 OCB summer workshop and then submit activity proposal to OCB to address one of the gaps highlighted in the CCARS science plan and convene a small community workshop in 2018 on Lateral carbon flux in tidal wetlands: Filling a key knowledge gap through a methods intercomparison and data synthesis (publications and outcomes on website)
https://www.us-ocb.org/lateral-c-flux-tidal-wetlands/

Upon publication of SOCCR-2, OCB initiates formation of an aquatic continuum science focus group in partnership with NACP and US Carbon Cycle Science Program. https://www.us-ocb.org/ocb-nacp-science-focus-group/

Plenary session on Approaches and challenges to understanding biogeochemical cycling across the land-ocean aquatic continuum at 2019 OCB summer workshop

Benway and members of the science focus group propose and lead a breakout session on extreme event impacts along the aquatic continuum at the 2021 NACP All Investigators Meeting (virtual) - leading up to this, OCB organizes webinar mini series on extreme events, original napkin sketch of the C-saw from that breakout session.
https://nacarbon.org/meeting_2021/bo_sessions.html#four
https://www.us-ocb.org/ocb-nacp-webinar-series-on-extreme-events/

One of the champions of that NACP breakout session Chris Osburn submits followup OCB activity proposal for a community workshop C-saw Time domain controls on carbon storage, release, and transformation in coastal and estuarine waters following extreme events
https://www.us-ocb.org/c-saw-extreme-events-workshop/

C-saw participants submit recommendations Carbon as Currency for Extreme Events in a Changing Climate to the Ocean Climate Action Plan
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YhZdsEMR7vXIm4eEquWKkoXik7CRpb7BRDz94sG0oZ8/edit

C-saw participants are partnering with the HERS (Hurricane Ecosystem Response Synthesis) Research Coordination Network to host a community gathering and networking event at the annual CERF (Coastal & Estuarine Research Federation) meeting to continue building this community

In early 2021, NOAA and NASA funding enabled a pilot “bio” addition to the U.S. Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program (GO-SHIP) project.
“Over the next two years, a team of researchers will incorporate biological measurements on three U.S. GO-SHIP hydrographic cruises....Specifically, this project will quantify the molecular diversity, size spectrum, chemical composition, and abundances of plankton communities across large spatial, vertical, and eventually temporal scales through systematic, high quality, and calibrated sampling of genomics, transcriptomics, plankton imaging and cytometry, pigments (in situ and also used for calibration/validation of ocean color satellite sensors), particle chemistry, and optical techniques as operational oceanographic tools.”
Key link: https://www.us-ocb.org/piloting-bio-go-ship-on-us-cruises-to-study-plankton-and-ocean-processes/

“The Integrated Ocean Carbon Research (IOC-R) programme is a formal working group of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) that was formed in 2018.”

In 2021, they published a vision paper for ocean carbon research in 2021-2030.
Key Link: https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/32350

“The Surface Ocean – Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) (http://www.solas-int.org/) is an international research initiative focused on understanding the key biogeochemical-physical interactions and feedbacks between the ocean and atmosphere that are critical elements of climate and global biogeochemical cycles...the Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction Committee (OAIC) was formed as a subcommittee of the Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) Scientific Steering Committee....In October 2019, with support from OCB, the OAIC convened an open community workshop, Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions....Based on presentations and discussions at the workshop, the OAIC and workshop participants have developed this US SOLAS Science Plan.”
Key Link: https://www.us-ocb.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2021/12/SOLAS-REPORT-OAIC.pdf

“On April 22, 2021, the EXPORTS North Atlantic Expedition began with two research vessels named the RRS Discovery and RRS James Cook. The ships also deployed gliders, drifters, moorings; other edge-cutting oceanographic instrumentation began field preparations.”
Key link: https://blogs.nasa.gov/earthexpeditions/tag/exports/

OCB2021:
Bridging the divide between ocean biology and geochemistry
Optical biogeochemistry: Above and below the waterline
Ocean-based negative emissions technologies
Ocean Worlds
Opportunities and challenges in ecological forecasting

https://www.us-ocb.org/summer-workshops/

“The Global Ocean Biogeochemistry (GO-BGC) array is a 5-year effort funded by the US National Science Foundation to produce and deploy 500 profiling floats equipped with biogeochemical sensors in the world ocean. Deployments will begin in the first quarter of 2021. To inform and engage a broad oceanographic user community, the Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry (OCB) and the US Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR) Programs are working with GO-BGC leadership to plan a virtual GO-BGC Scientific Workshop from June 28-30, 2021.”
https://www.us-ocb.org/joint-gobgc-workshop/

The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Biogeochemical (BGC) Sensor Data Working Group was formed in July 2021 at a three-day virtual workshop. They completed the first version of an OOI BGC Sensor Data Best Practices and User Guide by February 2023.
Key Link: https://www.us-ocb.org/ooi-dataset-community/

“The Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis was released on 9 August 2021.”
Key link: https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/

This virtual workshop took place in November 2021.

“Laying the foundation for a potential future BioGeoSCAPES program: Assessing needs and capabilities for studying controls on ocean metabolism through integrated omics and biogeochemistry.”
Key Link: https://www.us-ocb.org/ocb-scoping-workshop-laying-the-foundation-for-a-potential-future-biogeoscapes-program/

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine completed “A Research Strategy for Ocean-based Carbon Dioxide Removal and Sequestration" in December 2021.
“This report builds on previous work from the National Academies to assess what is currently known about the benefits, risks, and potential for responsible scale-up of six specific ocean-based CDR strategies as identified by the sponsor, ClimateWorks Foundation. It describes the research needed to advance understanding of those approaches and address knowledge gaps. The resulting research agenda is meant to provide an improved and unbiased knowledge base for the public, stakeholders, and policymakers to make informed decisions on the next steps for ocean CDR, as part of a larger climate mitigation strategy; it is not meant to lock in or advocate for any particular approach.”
Key link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35533244/

“The Global Ocean Biogeochemistry Array (GO-BGC) is a NSF Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure project that is funded to deploy 500 BGC floats globally over the next 5 years. We expect additional significant contributions from other US and international institutions, which will build towards a sustained global array of BGC-Argo floats.
The quality-controlled, freely available data from these floats are transforming our capacity to observe, quantify, and understand ocean biogeochemical processes and how they are responding to anthropogenic pressures (e.g., acidification and deoxygenation). With improved constraints on the biological carbon pump and air-sea CO2 exchange, these data sets will also inform marine ecosystem management and decision making.
This quarterly webinar series, hosted by GO-BGC and the OCB Project Office, aims to build and support a growing community of biogeochemical float data users.”
Key Link: https://www.us-ocb.org/welcome-to-the-bgc-argo-webinar-series/

https://usclivar.org/meetings/ecological-forecasting

OCB2022:
Filling the gaps in observation-based estimates of air–sea carbon fluxes
Tidal Carbon Exports from Coastal Wetlands as a Significant Component of Blue Carbon Sequestration
Extreme Ocean Events
Coastal Observing Systems to Understand and Predict Ecosystem Changes
Our Evolving Understanding of Biologically Mediated Carbon Export

https://www.us-ocb.org/summer-workshops/#

An NSF AccelNet award to WHOI, announced in July 2022, is funding a new BioGeoSCAPES “Fellows” program.
“BioGeoSCAPES is launching a Fellows program funded by the NSF AccelNet award Development of an International Network for the Study of Ocean Metabolism and Nutrient Cycles on a Changing Planet (BioGeoSCAPES). This new program will bring together an international, interdisciplinary cohort of early career (postdocs and senior graduate students) researchers working in the areas of ocean metabolism, biogeochemical cycling, biological oceanography, chemical oceanography, and marine microbiology. We encourage applicants from both experimental and modeling backgrounds.”
Key Link: https://scor-int.org/2023/05/04/announcing-the-biogeoscapes-fellows-program/

“The NASA PACE Project and Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) Project Office are excited to announce the upcoming summer class “What’s behind the curtain of the NASA Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission?” This one-week graduate-level course will provide in-depth insight into the upcoming PACE mission that is scheduled for launch in January 2024.”
Key Link: https://www.us-ocb.org/pace-training-summer-course-apply-by-march-11/

The OCB workshop on marine carbon removal (“marine CDR” or “mCDR") identified five major approaches currently being developed: nutrient fertilization, artificial upwelling, seaweed cultivation and sinking, alkalinity enhancement, and direct electrochemical carbon removal.

OCB researchers noted that there are currently almost no monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) standards to evaluate whether marine CDR approaches are effective, and that existing MRV standards for terrestrial CDR efforts (like afforestation) were often deeply flawed.

The workshop summary noted “The most emphatic point of agreement among workshop participants is that we now are within a fleeting window of opportunity to fill the MRV void for mCDR.”
Key link: https://www.us-ocb.org/marine-co2-removal-workshop/

“Weather or weather-influenced events—fires and storms—are altering carbon movement in the coastal zone: the “C-saw.” Sixty scientists gathered at North Carolina State University in October 2022 for an OCB scoping workshop funded by NSF and NASA to push forward our knowledge of extreme weather on coastal carbon cycling.”
Key Link: https://www.us-ocb.org/c-saw-extreme-events-workshop/

NASA launched its Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite in December 2022.
“The satellite will measure the height of water in freshwater bodies and the ocean on more than 90% of Earth’s surface. This information will provide insights into how the ocean influences climate change; how a warming world affects lakes, rivers, and reservoirs; and how communities can better prepare for disasters, such as floods.”
Key link: https://swot.jpl.nasa.gov/news/81/nasa-launches-international-mission-to-survey-earths-water/

[https://www.us-ocb.org/coastal-bgc-obs-network-with-fishing-community/]

“A key outcome of the OCB mCDR workshop in Sept. 2022 will be a topical working group. Working Group members will facilitate the connection of scientists with industry representatives, entrepreneurs, foundations, nonprofits and other scientists across disciplines and career stages through the establishment ofregional node mCDR activities around the US.”

Applications for the mCDR Working Group closed in April 2023.
Key Link: https://www.us-ocb.org/apply-mcdr-wg/

https://www.us-ocb.org/fish-fisheries-and-carbon/

The Biden Administration released a “first-ever, whole-of-government" Ocean Climate Action Plan in March 2023.

“The plan outlines the ocean climate actions needed to meet three goals:
(1) Create a carbon-neutral future without harmful emissions that cause climate change,
(2) Accelerate nature-based solutions to protect and support natural coastal and ocean systems that
store greenhouse gases, reduce the climate threat, and protect communities and ecosystems against
unavoidable changes, and
(3) Enhance community resilience to ocean change by developing ocean-based solutions that help
communities adapt and thrive in our changing climate.”
Key Link: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Ocean-Climate-Action-Plan_Final.pdf

OCB2023:
Marginal sea biogeochemical cycling in the Anthropocene
Role of deltaic sediments in regulating biogeochemical cycles
Marine biodiversity and ecosystem resilience
Sustained observations of global ocean biology
Quantifying mCDR efficacy and uncertainty

https://www.us-ocb.org/summer-workshops/#

“Working group to develop standards and best practices for the collection and assessment of Operational Phytoplankton Observations (OPO) using particle imaging instruments (PII).”
First meetings Summer 2023.
Key link: https://www.us-ocb.org/opo-working-group/

The Lange et al. SPOTS preprint (released July 2023) presents the first biogeochemical data product from the Ocean Time Series collaborations.
“The presented pilot for the “Synthesis Product for Ocean Time-Series” (SPOTS) includes data from 12 fixed ship-based time-series programs.“
Key Link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372805519_Synthesis_Product_for_Ocean_Time-Series_SPOTS_-_A_ship-based_biogeochemical_pilot

“The NSF-funded Accelnet Development of an International Network for the Study of Ocean Metabolism and Nutrient Cycles on a Changing Planet (BioGeoSCAPES) will convene an international BioGeoSCAPES science planning workshop on 6-9 November 2023 at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.”
https://www.us-ocb.org/biogeoscapes-2023-workshop-apply-by-june-5/

Published 2016, based on 2014 workshop. Would feed in to 2018 SOCCR-2 report.
“The Coastal CARbon Synthesis (CCARS) workshops and research activities have been conducted over the past several years as a partner activity between the Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) Program and the North American Carbon Program (NACP) to synthesize existing data and improve quantitative assessments of the North American carbon budget.”
Key link: https://www.us-ocb.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2017/05/CCARS_Sci_Plan_FINAL.pdf

“Participants of the Biology of the Biological Pump Workshop in February 2016 were charged with producing a prioritized list of research areas that hold the promise of making significant advances in our understanding of the biological processes regulating organic matter export and its consumption in the oceans. Participants ended up with an ordered list of 10 research priorities, which were further aggregated into three broad research themes:
(i) Food web regulation of export
(ii) The dissolved-particulate continuum
(iii) Variability in space and time”
Key Link: https://www.us-ocb.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2017/01/BioPump-Final.pdf

OCB2016
EXport Processes in the Ocean from RemoTe Sensing (EXPORTS)
The biology of carbon export: New processes and approaches
Recent advances in quantifying ocean carbon uptake
Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling (SOCCOM): A prototype for a global Biogeochemical-Argo array
The Indian Ocean: Monsoon-driven biogeochemical processes
Marine ecosystem thresholds and regime shifts
ARCTIC-COLORS workshop

https://www.us-ocb.org/summer-workshops/#

https://usclivar.org/meetings/2016-enso-ecosystems

https://web.whoi.edu/geotraces-synthesis/

In November 2016, following the February 2016 biological pump workshop, the NSF sent a DCL requesting more collaboration with the NASA EXPORTS program to study the oceanic “biological pump” of carbon.
“This letter describes how the Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) will consider research proposals that could potentially integrate and leverage with the planned NASA EXPORTS field program.

NASA is planning the EXPORTS program to study carbon export from the surface ocean, with research cruises tentatively scheduled to begin in 2018. More details will be available soon from NASA’s Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry Program. NASA EXPORTS provides opportunities for NSF funded scientists to participate and engage in the program.
OCE is potentially interested in projects that integrate with the NASA field program intellectually and provide substantive advances in the basic scientific understandings of the "biological pump" or any associated biological, chemical, physical, or geological processes.”
Key Link: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2017/nsf17032/nsf17032.jsp

The first IGMETS status report...presents an analysis and overview of oceanic trends through the end of 2012, based on a collection of over 340 in situ marine ecological time series, and supplemented with satellite-based spatio-temporal SST and chlorophyll background fields.
Key Link: https://igmets.net/report

The Northern Gulf of Alaska (NGA) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site, led by Russell Hopcroft at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, will focus on emergent properties of ecosystems
The Northeastern U.S. Shelf (NES) LTER, led by Heidi Sosik at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

The Beaufort Lagoon Ecosystem (BLE) LTER is led by Ken Dunton at University of Texas-Austin in collaboration with researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Oregon State University, The University of Texas at El Paso, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the University of Toronto Mississauga.
Key Link: https://lternet.edu/stories/three-new-lter-sites-announced/

“From ~2017-2021, this committee served as a focal point for US community input on the implementation of a global biogeochemical float array and associated science program development (see May 2017 Biogeochemical-Argo Subcommittee Meeting). This committee also engaged with and provided US input to the International Biogeochemical-Argo steering committee.”
"OCB network members remain heavily involved in BGC-Argo, but this subcommittee is no longer active with the establishment of the NSF-funded Global Ocean Biogeochemistry (GO-BGC) Array and its external advisory committee."
Key Link: https://www.us-ocb.org/about/ocb-subcommittees/us-biogeochemical-argo-subcommittee/

OCB2017:
Ecological and biogeochemical impacts of natural climate perturbations
Stoichiometry and higher trophic levels
Our autonomous future
Mesoscale and submesoscale physical-biological-biogeochemical interactions
Carbon fluxes in coastal wetlands

https://www.us-ocb.org/summer-workshops/#

“The OCB Phytoplankton Taxonomy Working Group has been working to establish standards and best practices for submitting taxonomic and morphological information for plankton and other particles from images collected by imaging instruments...The working group, which combined expertise in phytoplankton ecology and taxonomy, data systems, and informatics, has just published a new Technical Manual entitled "Standards and practices for reporting plankton and other particle observations from images"
Key Link: https://www.us-ocb.org/phytoplankton-taxonomy-working-group/

In September 2017, Eos (the AGU science magazine) published the landmark article “Monitoring Ocean Change in the 21st Century,” highlighting the importance of time series data sets. It was written by the Ocean Time-series Subcommittee of the OCB program.
Key Link: https://eos.org/features/monitoring-ocean-change-in-the-21st-century

“To harness growing interest among US scientists in Indian Ocean research, the US IIOE-2 Steering Committee held an Indian Ocean community workshop September 11-13, 2017 in La Jolla, CA. Through a combination of plenary sessions and smaller group discussions, participants in this workshop worked across disciplines of biological, chemical, physical, and geological oceanography, as well as climate dynamics and atmospheric science to generate integrated observing and process experiment strategies to address some of the leading, multidisciplinary science questions in the Indian Ocean basin.”
Key Link: https://web.whoi.edu/iioe2/2017-workshop/

Western Boundary Current regions have the most carbon dioxide exchange between the atmospheric and the ocean of anywhere in the world, and are thus major hot spots for ocean carbon research and the Earth system response to climate change. These key regions include the Kuroshio Extension (KE), Gulf Stream (GS), Agulhas Return Current (ARC), East Australian Current (EAC), and Brazil-Malvinas Confluence (BMC).

The joint OCB/US Climate Variability and Predictability Program (CLIVAR) workshop on these Ocean Carbon Hot Spots was noted for its highly interdisciplinary character. The event "brought together the physical, chemical, and biological oceanographic observing community with the climate modeling community," and fostered "community building, expansion of cross-disciplinary vocabularies, and facilitation of new collaborations," finally synthesizing "the workshop presentations and discussion to generate a report , jointly published by US CLIVAR and OCB."

Key link: https://usclivar.org/meetings/ocean-carbon-hot-spots-workshop

“Ocean metaproteomics is an exciting new datatype that has the potential to provide valuable new insights into the metabolic functions of marine microbes and their impact on ecological and biogeochemical processes...We propose to initiate an intercomparison effort whereby an ocean metaproteome sample from the Bermuda Atlantic Time Series is collected, divided and shared among multiple laboratories for global and targeted metaproteomic analyses.”
Key Link: https://www.us-ocb.org/intercomparison-and-intercalibration-metaproteomics/

“The Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction (OAIC) Committee was formed in 2018 as a topical subcommittee of the OCB Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) to strengthen communication and collaboration between ocean and atmospheric scientists within the U.S.”
“The scientific focus of this subcommittee is on ocean-atmosphere interactions and their role in marine biogeochemical cycles. There is a substantial overlap between the scientific goals of the OCB and SOLAS (Surface Ocean and Lower Atmosphere) communities, and this subcommittee seeks to strengthen communication and collaboration between ocean and atmospheric scientists to create a thriving, collaborative air-sea interaction research community in the US.”
Key Link: https://www.us-ocb.org/about/ocb-subcommittees/subcommittee-on-ocean-atmosphere-interactions/

OCB2018:
Phytoplankton physiological engines of biogeochemical models
Polar perspectives on ocean change
The world of microzooplankton: Ocean carbon movers and shakers
It's about time - Insights from long-term marine ecological monitoring programs
Evolutionary insights on marine organisms' response to climate change and links to biogeochemistry

https://www.us-ocb.org/summer-workshops/#

https://web.whoi.edu/floats-workshop/

https://www.us-ocb.org/lateral-c-flux-tidal-wetlands/

“EXport Processes in the Ocean from Remote Sensing (EXPORTS) is a large-scale NASA-led field campaign that will provide critical information for quantifying the export and fate of upper ocean net primary production (NPP) using satellite observations and state of the art ocean technologies.”
Critical Link: https://oceanexports.org/

“ EXPORTS became a reality in 2018 when 18 projects, dedicated to address the science plan questions, were funded by the NASA Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry and National Science Foundation.

The first phase of the EXPORTS project was a successful field campaign in the North Pacific Ocean in 2018 led by a stellar team of scientists, two University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System vessels (R/V Sally Ride and R/V Roger Revelle) and state of the art technology.”
Critical Link: https://blogs.nasa.gov/earthexpeditions/tag/exports/

https://web.whoi.edu/methane-workshop/

“BioGeoSCAPES (www.biogeoscapes.org) is an international initiative to integrate knowledge on marine microbial identity and physiology within frameworks of community ecology and global ocean biogeochemistry. The vision is an improved, predictive, and quantitative understanding of ocean metabolism on a changing planet can be achieved by combining detailed information on plankton cell status, biochemical processes, and species interactions with measurements of nutrient fluxes, concentrations, and chemical speciation (e.g., macronutrients, including inorganic and organic carbon, micronutrients and vitamins).”

“A scoping workshop held on November 8-10, 2018 (Woods Hole, MA) was a key step in the development of BioGeoSCAPES. The workshop included 28 participants from ten countries, each serving as ambassadors for their respective countries. Participants decided on the program name, mission statement, and strategic plan.”
Key Link: https://www.us-ocb.org/bgs-workshop-2021/

“The 2nd State of the Carbon Cycle Report was completed in November 2018. SOCCR2 provides a current state-of-the-science assessment of the carbon cycle in North America and its connection to climate and society.”

Key link: https://www.globalchange.gov/content/about-soccr-2

https://www.us-ocb.org/cmip6-wg/cmip6-models-workshop/

OCB2019:
Anthropogenic changes in ocean oxygen: Coastal and open ocean perspectives
Approaches and challenges to understanding biogeochemical cycling across the land-ocean aquatic continuum
Calcification and the carbon cycle
Carbon cycle feedbacks from the seafloor
The effect of size on ocean processes (allometry) and implications for export

https://www.us-ocb.org/summer-workshops/#

“This OceanObs’19 review article provides an overarching vision for sustained ocean time series observations for the next decade, focusing on the growing challenges of maintaining sustained ocean time series, including ship-based and autonomous coastal and open-ocean platforms, as well as remote sensing....This review article outlines near-term observing priorities and technology needs; explores potential mechanisms to broaden ocean time series data applications and end-user communities; and describes current tools and future requirements for managing increasingly complex multi-platform data streams and developing synthesis products that support science and society.”
Key Link: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00393/full

In September 2019, “OCB organized an NSF EarthCube-funded meeting focused on shipboard ocean time series data (meeting report). One of the key recommendations that emerged from this workshop was the need for a sustained activity such as a research coordination network (RCN) focused on developing ecological and biogeochemical data and metadata standards and broadening users of shipboard time series data sets.”
This RCN began in 2021, and focuses on developing Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) data solutions and practices for Marine Ecological Time Series (METS).
Key Link: https://www.us-ocb.org/ocb-to-lead-nsf-funded-earthcube-research-coordination-network-for-marine-ecological-time-series-mets-rcn/

“During the OceanObs19 Meeting, OCB planned and hosted a side meeting to bring together members of the oceanographic community to identify biological and ecological observing technology that could be deployed on current sustained observational programs. In order for the measurements to be accommodated in programs such as GO-SHIP they should be at the appropriate readiness level for large-scale deployment. Participants also touched upon opportunities for short-term, cost-effective deployments via other existing shipboard and autonomous programs and platforms (Argo, OOI, OceanSITES, LTER, GEOTRACES, etc.).”
“As a starting point for GO-SHIP, an ad hoc committee of scientists will develop recommendations for incorporation of biological and ecological measurements into the next phase of US GO-SHIP. These recommendations will build upon the Integration of Plankton-Observing Sensor Systems to Existing Global Sampling Programs (P-OBS) SCOR WG-154 report.”
Key link: https://www.us-ocb.org/oceanobs19-side-meeting-enhancing-biological-observing-capacity-of-ocean-programs-and-platforms/

“In October 2019, OCB convened a workshop for US-based scientists working at the air-sea interface to identify research priorities and facilitate the communication and collaboration required for future significant research advances. Leadership for this workshop was provided by the Ocean Atmosphere Interaction Committee (OAIC). Emerging from the discussions at the workshop is a new US SOLAS Science Plan.”
Key Link: https://web.whoi.edu/air-sea-workshop/

“The workshop on Ocean nucleic acids 'omics intercalibration and standardization was convened by the US Ocean Carbon Biogeochemistry (OCB) program, January 8-11, 2020. The goal of this workshop was to develop a focused marine microbial nucleic acid (na) 'omics intercomparison and intercalibration effort to enhance future field programs that integrate methods such as molecular barcoding, metagenomics and transcriptomics to understand the functioning of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes in the ocean. Initial efforts are guided, in part, by the success of the marine geochemistry community in implementing programs like GEOTRACES. “
Key Link: https://www.us-ocb.org/ocean-nucleic-acids-omics-workshop/

DIRII Article “Findings and recommendations of this workshop
were published in the peer-reviewed literature as part of a special
volume in Deep-Sea Research II on ocean time-series”

co-sponsored a re- searcher workshop Key Uncertainties in the Global Carbon-Cycle: Perspectives across terrestrial and ocean ecosystems

“The Galway Statement was signed by the European Union, the United States, and Canada, in May 2013, in Ireland.”
“The Galway Statement is a cooperation agreement to join forces on Atlantic Ocean research, increase the knowledge of the Atlantic Ocean and build a common path for sustainable management of this shared resource. This has been instrumental in fostering collaborative research and cross-disciplinary efforts, revolutionising the way we study ocean ecosystems including the deep sea and collaborate with international partners.”
“Over the past decade, the Galway Statement has garnered global recognition and catalysed a wave of initiatives, projects, and policy developments aimed at addressing the most pressing issues in ocean science...Over the last decade, the EU has invested over €300 million in projects to promote cooperation between European and international scientists from all around the Atlantic.”

Key Link: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_3663

“In April 2014, with support from the US National Science Foundation and the European Union Commission, the Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry (OCB) Program coordinated and convened an international North Atlantic-Arctic planning workshop to discuss the state of science in the North Atlantic-Arctic system and begin planning the next phase of interdisciplinary research, with an emphasis on mechanisms to facilitate international collaboration. The outcome of this planning workshop was a community-vetted international science plan that outlines a core science vision for advancing the next phase of research focused on the coupled North Atlantic-Arctic ocean-atmosphere system, including key biogeochemical and ecological processes and relevant socio-economic systems.”
Key Link: https://www.us-ocb.org/north-atlantic-arctic/

Improving predictive biogeochemical models through single cell-based analyses of marine plankton physiological plasticity, genetic diversity and evolutionary processes

OCB2014
The coupled North Atlantic-Arctic system: Processes and dynamics
The biological pump: Transport mechanisms and mesopelagic processes
Advances in our understanding of the role of sea ice in the glacial carbon cycle
The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI): Opportunities for the OCB community

https://www.us-ocb.org/summer-workshops/#

The August 2014 CCARS (Coastal CARbon Synthesis) workshop was “the culminating activity of a long-term U.S. coastal carbon budgeting effort, a collaborative effort between the Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry (OCB) Program and the North American Carbon Program (NACP).” It led to a Working Group to develop a CCARS Science Plan that saw publication in 2016, later feeding in to the 2018 SOCCR-2 report.
Key link: https://www.us-ocb.org/coastal-carbon-synthesis-ccars/coastal-carbon-synthesis-ccars-community-workshop/

https://usclivar.org/meetings/2014-ocean-carbon-workshop

“This North Atlantic-Arctic science plan is derived from an international workshop held in April 2014 with support from the National Science Foundation Division of Ocean Sciences and the European Union (EU). The workshop was designed to facilitate development of a core vision for advancing the next phase of research on the North Atlantic-Arctic system and strengthening international collaborations within and between the EU and North America.”
Key Link: https://www.whoi.edu/fileserver.do?id=208864&pt=2&p=192971

“The Second International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE-2) is a major global scientific program which will engage the international scientific community in collaborative oceanographic and atmospheric research from coastal environments to the deep sea....revealing new information on the Indian Ocean (i.e. its currents, its influence upon the climate, its marine ecosystems) which is fundamental for future sustainable development and expansion of the Indian Ocean's blue economy. A large number of scientists from research institutions from around the Indian Ocean and beyond are planning their involvement in IIOE-2.”
Key Link: https://iioe-2.incois.gov.in/

OCB2015
Atmospheric nutrient deposition: Impacts on marine ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles
Studying spatial and temporal variability in the ocean with shipboard and autonomous platforms
Evolving views on physical, ecological and biogeochemical underpinnings of plankton blooms
Internal cycling on trace elements: A Budding GEOTRACES/OCB collaboration
Ocean biology and biogeochemistry pre-decadal survey meeting

https://www.us-ocb.org/summer-workshops/#

“EXport Processes in the Ocean from Remote Sensing (EXPORTS) is a large-scale NASA-led field campaign that will provide critical information for quantifying the export and fate of upper ocean net primary production (NPP) using satellite observations and state of the art ocean technologies.”
Critical Link: https://oceanexports.org/
“In October 2015, NASA competed the formation of a Science Definition Team (SDT) to create an Implementation Plan that to guide EXPORTS’ execution (see NASA’s Charge to the SDT).”
Key Link: https://cce.nasa.gov/obb/exports/documents/Implementation_Plan.pdf

https://web.whoi.edu/ocb/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2017/02/OCBTraitScopingWorkshop_FinalReport.pdf

Secured additional targeted funding from NSF and NASA to support data gathering efforts, community workshops, and regional team meetings.

Ocean Fertilization Website clearinghouse of ocean fertilization news and informational resources to support the OCB community, media and policy makers. This web- site was cited as a primary informational resource by the London Convention/London Protocol’s Ocean Fertiliza- tion Correspondence Group.

Submittal of a large Science and Technology Center (STC) proposal to NSF entitled “Center for Southern Ocean Biogeochemical Observations and Modeling (SOBOM)

Sea change: Charting the course for ecological and biogeochemical ocean time-series research

The molecular biology of biogeochemistry: Using molecular methods to link ocean chemistry with biological activity

Coastal Synthesis Kickoff Workshop

“Understanding the Role of the Biological Pump in the Global Carbon Cycle: An Imperative for Ocean Science”

A Biogeochemical Flux program aligned with the Ocean Observatories Initiative

Emphasizing the importance of controlled experimentation and careful research Statement on unauthorized iron dumping off west coast of Canada

Post-cruise GEOMICS workshop to examine the cruise data sets and discuss future directions.

International time-series methods workshop that included representation from 17 countries and 33 time-series, resulting in a methodological best practices manual and the development of an international biogeochemical time-series network currently served by a website and email list. The time-series network has since grown to include >150 time-series around the globe.

Gulf Mexico scoping workshop provided a template for how we approached those synthesis activities

• Teaching Lab
• Ocean Acidification FAQs

Published vision in Oceanography magazine describing a global biogeochemical observatory based on autonomous sensors deployed on floats and gliders

White paper describing an integrated research strategy to inform future agency investments in Southern Ocean science

Observing Biogeochemical Cycles at Global Scales with Profiling Floats and Gliders

California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigation

Calibration Cruise

Geochemical Ocean Section Study

Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS)

CZCS was one of eight instruments flown on the Nimbus-7 spacecraft, which was launched on October 24th, 1978. The spacecraft was in a Sun-synchronous orbit, with an inclination of 104.9 degrees, and a nominal altitude of 955 km. It had an equatorial crossing time of noon, in an ascending orbit.

The CZCS was a cross-track scanning system using a conventional multi-channel scanning radiometer with a rotating plane mirror at a 45 degree angle to the optic axis of a Cassegrain telescope. The rotating mirror scanned 360 degrees; however, only data centered plus or minus 40 degrees of the spacecraft nadir were collected for ocean color measurements. The Instrument Field of View (IFOV) of each detector was 0.865 mrad, yielding a resolution of 825 m at the satellite subpoint (i.e. nadir view). The swath covered 1566 km in width. Data were then transmitted to a receiving station at a rate of 800 kbps, at a digital resolution of 8-bits.

Transient Tracers in the Ocean

Hawaii Ocean Time-series Study

Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study

U.S. Global Change Research Program

Joint Global Ocean Flux Study

U.S. Global Change Research Act

World Ocean Circulation Experiment

Carbon Retention in a Colored Ocean

Synthesis and Modeling Program

Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor

US Carbon Cycle Science Program

The North American Carbon Program

South California Bight Study

Fasham et al Particles Workshop, Hawaii SAR II Discovered