Thursday, December 29, 2011

Effects of climate change on advective fluxes in high latitude regions, May, 2012

IMBER workshop sponsored by ESSAS and ICED on "Effects of climate change on advective fluxes in high latitude regions" (W4, 14 May 2012)

Convenors:
Ken Drinkwater (Institute of marine Research, Norway)
George Hunt (University of Washington, USA)
Eugene Murphy (British Antarctic Survey, UK)
Jinping Zhao (Ocean University of China, PR China)
This 1-day workshop will briefly review the advection of water masses within and between polar and sub-polar regions and their driving mechanisms. It will also review the role of advection on the ecology of these high latitude regions, including heat and nutrient fluxes as well as the advection of flora and fauna (Click here for more details about workshop's background). The major objective of the workshop, however, is to develop likely scenarios of these advective fluxes under climate change. Comparative studies of the responses in the Arctic and Antarctic regions are also of interest. To achieve these objectives we plan to bring together atmospheric scientists, climatologists, biogeochemists, physical and biological oceanographers, ecologists, and fisheries scientists who will use a combination of conceptual, statistical and numerical models studies. The workshop will also receive input from the ESSAS-sponsored Theme Session on “Arctic-Subarctic Interaction” to be held at the Ocean Sciences Meeting in Salt Lake City in February 2012 and the ICED Sentinel meeting on “Southern Ocean Ecosystem Change and Future Projections” to be held in Hobart in early May 2012. The workshop will consist of a few focused invited talks with significant discussion time to address the main topic, the expected future high latitude circulation patterns and their ecological effects.
The primary outcomes of the workshop aim to be:
  1. a paper on the future physical, chemical and biological fluxes in high latitude regions under climate change;
  2. identification of the gaps in our knowledge about these advective processes and development of recommendations for future research to address these gaps;
  3. discussions on the formation of a Working Group under IMBER to compare the structure and function of sub-polar and polar ecosystems for the Arctic and Antarctic.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

World Oceans Summit, Cepella, Singapore

The world’s oceans are the setting for increasing economic activity and will continue to be so for years to come. Only in recent years have scientists begun to understand the significant impact of this growing industrialisation on the ecosystems of the seas and, by extension, on the broader biosphere we all inhabit. Now is the time to engage the global business community and change the nature of the debate...

Further information here

2012 Ocean Sciences Meeting, USA

2012 Ocean Sciences Meeting

20-24 February 2012
Salt Lake City · Utah · USA

This joint meeting is an international gathering of more than 4,000 attendees and is being sponsored by The Oceanography Society, the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography and the American Geophysical Union.


Further information here

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Second International Symposium: Effects of Climate Change of the Word's Oceans

Second international symposium on "Effects of Climate Change on the World's Oceans" (co-sponsored by IMBER)
ESSAS and ICED workshop on "Effects of climate change on advective fluxes in high latitude regions" (W4, 14 May 2012)
Early registration and abstract submission deadline: 15 December 2011
More info...

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

POGO-SCOR Visiting Fellowships

This programme is jointly funded by POGO and the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) and is designed to promote training and capacity building leading towards a global observation scheme for the oceans. The Programme has been a success for ten years, with a total of 125 fellowships awarded since 2001.  The fellowship program is open to scientists, technicians, graduate students (PhD) and post-doctoral fellows involved in oceanographic work at centres in developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Its main purpose is to advance sustained ocean observations and their applications.  Priority is given to applicants in early stages of career development. The fellowship is not intended for pure, "blue skies" research; it offers the opportunity to visit other oceanographic centres for a short period (1 to 3 months) for training on any aspect of oceanographic observations, analyses, and interpretation.

The Selection Criteria involve a number of factors including:
  1. Quality of the application;
  2. Relevance of the application to the priority areas identified in the Fellowship Announcement (Argo Floats; Fixed-Point Time-Series Observations; Large-scale, Operational Biological Observations including Biodiversity; Emerging Technologies for Ocean Observations; Data management; Coastal observations/ Coastal Zone Management; Ocean and coastal modelling)
  3. Evidence that the training will lead to capacity-building with potential lasting impact on regional observations; and,
  4. The need to maximise regional distribution of the awards....

    More information here

POGO Visiting Professorship Programme

Introduction

In collaboration with the Nippon foundation, POGO established the NF-POGO Visiting Professorship Programme, which ran for 3 years (2004-2007). This initiative metamorphosed into the Centre of Excellence Programme, which allows scholars from developing countries to receive training from world-class scientists for ten months at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.

POGO continues to run a Visiting Professorship programme, which generally funds one Professor every year. The Professorship allows short visits (2 weeks to 3 months) of distinguished scientists from advanced oceanographic institutes to institutes in developing countries and economies in transition, to provide training and mentoring, to develop collaborations and enhance networking. Follow this link to read about past POGO Visiting Professorships.

The goal of the visiting professorship is capacity building in the host institution, leading to enhanced sustained ocean observations to address societal issues of the day. Development of highly-trained scientific professionals is the priority. Promoting contacts, collaborations and networking among institutions of developing and developed countries is another goal.

This programme is seen as a complement to the POGO-SCOR Visiting Fellowship Programme.

More information here

Friday, October 21, 2011

Oceanology International 2012, London

Call for Papers

Oceanology International is the global forum where industry, academia and government share knowledge and connect with marine technology and ocean science, improving their strategies for measuring, exploiting, protecting and operating in the world's oceans. As the premier event of its type, Oceanology International attracts more engineers, technical specialists and senior industry figures than any other marine science and ocean technology event in the world.
 
The conference will comprise 6 one day sessions running throughout the event (two per day) 
 
Conference Chairman: Professor Ralph Rayner
 
Session Chairs:
Marine Survey: Andy Hill, BP
Maritime Security: Rob Balloch, Sonardyne
Navigation and Positioning: Ed Danson, C & C Technologies
Ocean Observation and Forecasting: Zdenka Willis, NOAA
Oil and Gas: Colin Grant, BP
 
Offshore Renewables session is organised in association with Renewables UK 
 
Absracts are invited on the following topic areas:
 
 
More information here

Explanation for glowing seas suggested

Proposed bioluminescence mechanism: When a dinoflagellate is mechanically agitated, an electrical impulse travels around its vacuole membrane. This impulse opens up proton channels that allow protons to flow from the vacuole into the scintillons, where they activate light-emitting luciferase proteins. The result: A flash of light. Credit: Zina Deretsky, National Science Foundation
It has long been known that distinctive blue flashes -- a type of bioluminescence -- that are visible at night in some marine environments are caused by tiny, unicellular plankton known as dinoflagellates. However, a new study has, for the first time, detailed the potential mechanism for this bioluminesence.

The study, which was partially funded by the National Science Foundation, is reported by Susan Smith of Emery School of Medicine, Thomas DeCoursey of Harvard University and colleagues in the Oct. 17, 2011 issue of the (PNAS).
A key aspect of the potential mechanism for in dinoflagellates proposed in the PNAS study involves voltage-gated proton channels--channels in membranes that can be opened or closed by chemical or electrical events.
J. Woodland Hastings, a member of the Smith and DeCoursey research team and an author of the PNAS article, suggested the presence of voltage-gated proton channels in dinoflagellates almost forty years ago. But the Smith and Decoursey team only recently confirmed them by the identification and subsequent testing of dinoflagellate genes that are similar to genes for voltage-gated proton channels that had previously been identified in humans, mice and .
According to the study, here is how the light-generating process in dinoflagellates may work: As dinoflagellates float, generated by the movement of surrounding water sends around an internal compartment within the organism, called a vacuole--which holds an abundance of protons. (See accompanying illustration.) These electrical impulses open so-called voltage-sensitive proton channels that connect the vacuole to tiny pockets dotting the vacuole membrane, known as scintillons.
Once opened, the voltage-sensitive proton channels may funnel protons from the vacuole into the scintillons. entering the scintillons then activate luciferase--a protein, which produces flashes of light, that is stored in scintillons. Flashes of light produced by resulting luciferase activation would be most visible during blooms of dinoflagellates.
This research illuminates the novel mechanisms underlying a beautiful natural phenomenon in our oceans, and enhances our understanding of dinoflagellates--some of which can produce toxins that are harmful to the environment.
Provided by National Science Foundation (news : web)
 

No simultaneous warming of Northern and Southern hemispheres as a result of climate change for 20,000 years

Svante Björck's study thus goes 14 000 years further back in time than previous studies have done.
"What is happening today is unique from a historical geological perspective", he says.
Svante Björck has gone through the global climate archives, which are presented in a large number of research publications, and looked for evidence that any of the climate events that have occurred since the end of the last Ice Age 20 000 years ago could have generated similar effects on both the northern and southern hemispheres simultaneously.
It has not, however, been possible to verify this. Instead, he has found that when, for example, the temperature rises in one hemisphere, it falls or remains unchanged in the other.
"My study shows that, apart from the larger-scale developments, such as the general change into warm periods and ice ages, climate change has previously only produced similar effects on local or regional level", says Svante Björck.
As an example, let us take the last clear , which took place between the years 1600 and 1900 and which many know as the Little Ice Age. Europe experienced some of its coldest centuries. While the extreme cold had serious consequences for agriculture, state economies and transport in the north, there is no evidence of corresponding simultaneous temperature changes and effects in the southern hemisphere.
The climate archives, in the form of core samples taken from marine and lake sediments and glacier ice, serve as a record of how temperature, precipitation and concentration of atmospheric gases and particles have varied over the course of history, and are full of similar examples.
Instead it is during 'calmer' climatic periods, when the climate system is influenced by external processes, that the researchers can see that the climate signals in the archives show similar trends in both the northern and southern hemispheres.
"This could be, for example, at the time of a meteorite crash, when an asteroid hits the earth or after a violent volcanic eruption when ash is spread across the globe. In these cases we can see similar effects around the world simultaneously", says Svante Björck.
Professor Björck draws parallels to today's situation. The levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are currently changing very rapidly. At the same time, global warming is occurring.
"As long as we don't find any evidence for earlier changes leading to similar simultaneous effects on a global scale, we must see today's as an exception caused by human influence on the earth's carbon cycle", says Svante Björck, continuing:
"this is a good example of how geological knowledge can be used to understand our world. It offers perspectives on how the earth functions without our direct influence and thus how and to what extent human activity affects the system."
Svante Björck's results were published this summer in the scientific journal Climate Research.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

International Conference on Marine Ecosystem (Upcoming event, 2012)



INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MARINE ECOSYSTEM 2012
(INCOMES 2012)
"Moving Toward Multi-Scientific Knowledge for Sustainable Future"
13-15 March 2012
Persada Johor International Convention Centre
Jointly organized by
Marine Ecosystem Research Centre, Faculty of Science and Technology, UNIVERSITI KEBANGSAAN MALAYSIA
   In collaboration with
 
   


More information here

Friday, September 9, 2011

The Ocean Carbon Cycle at the time of change: Synthesis and Vulnerabilities, France


Agenda
The final programme is now available. The meeting starts on Wednesday morning 9AM and ends on Friday at noon (download agenda).


More information here

Mechanisms of Marine Ecosystem Reorganization in the North Pacific Ocean, Russia






PICES 2011 Annual Meeting
October 14-23, 2011, Khabarovsk, Russia
 
More information here

Ocean deoxygenation and implications for marine biogechemical cycles and ecosystems, France

More information here

ICES Annual Science Conference 2011

2011 Book of Abstracts
The abstracts submitted to the 2011 Annual Science Conference by the deadline 15 April 2011 are available here.
The book of Book of Abstracts will also be included on the conference USB sticks.

More information here

Global ocean ecosystem dynamics, integrated marine biogeochemistry and ecosystem research, China


Dates
Symposium: 22-24 November 2011
Training course: 25 November 2011
Venue
East China Normal University
3663 Zhongshan Road North
Shanghai, China

Download flyer

More information here

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Water Cycle (Notes in spanish)

Los deshielos que se producen en los Andes Sudamericanos; Los Apalaches de Norteamérica; Los Alpes Europeos; Montañas Africanas como las Drakensberg y el Monte Kilimanjaro; El Himalaya y otros, pueden deberse a eventos cíclicos. Recordemos que la Edad de Hielo -en el Pleistoceno- terminó apenas 10 000 años atrás aproximadamente y en ése tiempo el hielo cubría casi el 30 % de la superficie de la tierra, desde entonces la tierra inició un muy lento, pero progresivo, calentamiento que llevó al clima y los océanos a una etapa que no es precisamente rara para nuestro planeta, porque existen evidencias paleoestratigráficas y paleoecológicas que consignan a El Niño (cuyo aumento en frecuencia e intensidad está asociado, según muchos, con el Calentamiento Global) como un evento que se ha presentado en múltiples oportunidades desde hace mucho tiempo atrás, situándose en el Mesozoico incluso (entre 200 y 135 millones de años atrás), en ésta Era la temperatura terrestre se mantenía alta, con intensas lluvias. Empero, el curso general del ciclo hidrológico nunca fue seriamente dañado por no existir el excesivo consumo y mal uso del elemento (visto desde una perspectiva humana). Más aún, el estado químico del agua debió permanecer más o menos estable y cuando sufrió alteraciones por polución tectónica o de otro origen tuvo los rangos adecuados de tiempo para reestablecerse.



Pero claro, desde La Primera Revolución Industrial (mitad del Siglo XVIII), el hombre ha tenido una progresiva y sistemática influencia en el estado del clima y los océanos. Hay suficiente evidencia para afirmar que el CG ha sido acelerado por la actividad industrial humana; pero, no hay sificiente evidencia que indique que sólo el ser humano haya provocado el CG, éste ha acelerado el evento,pero el curso natural igual se hubiera presentado porque el calentamiento de aire y océano no es algo nuevo en la Tierra y tampoco lo es el deterioro de la Capa de Ozono porque la emanación de HCl, F, CO, CO2, N, H2S, etc., por la actividad volcánica submarina y terrestre también afectaba esta capa natural del planeta.

En este contexto, el agua como recurso universal para la vida es, a la vez, el más afectado y el peor usado de todos los recursos, en general, los grandes establecimientos humanos se han formado sin tener una planificación en relación al agua, la explosión demográfica ha generado una necesidad de productos artificiales que han dañado seriamente (e irremediablemente en algunos puntos del planeta), los compuestos artificiales elavorados que actualmente fabrica el hombre son muy eficientes en este sentido, más aún porque son usados constantemente por millones de personas y en cualquier parte del planeta multiplicando los efectos dañinos.




El Calentamiento Global ha casi obligado a muchos científicos a generar ajustes en las fórmulas que permiten estimar impactos en el ecosistema Los últimos modelamientos propuestos para el Cambio Global (Kondratyev, 2003) toman en cuenta -de manera muy adecuada- ciclos biogeoquímicos, ciclos hidrológicos, climas, océanos, procesos demográficos y cambios antropogénicos.

___________________________________________________
Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONCYTEC)
Foro Regional del Agua (Marzo 2005)
Artículo Resumen
Autor: Víctor Aramayo

Monday, May 23, 2011

Ocean Ecologies and their Physical Habitats in a Changing Climate

The goal of the workshop is to bring together biologists studying ocean and polar ecologies; oceanographers, biogeochemists, and climate scientists studying the changing physical habitats; and mathematicians with ecological and physical expertise. The two-way feedback interactions between ocean ecological systems and their physical environments have the potential to dramatically impact both marine biodiversity, and the planetary response to the changing atmosphere. The types of mathematics used to model ecological and physical processes are typically quite different. One of the exciting aspects of this workshop, and a reason to run it at MBI, is that we anticipate interesting new mathematical challenges arising from combining these different approaches to focus on modeling the feedback interactions between the ecological and physical systems.
The workshop will focus on two main themes:
  1. Polar and sea ice ecologies
  2. Phytoplankton and the carbon cycle
These themes are particularly timely in that the impact of climate change on these systems has been quite pronounced. Moreover, these areas are further tied together through the interplay of a wide range of the length scales involved, from microscopic to many kilometers over oceanic regions. As with all aspects of mathematics and climate change, this is an emerging area, and part of the reason for running the workshop is to help identify the mathematical challenges and opportunities the emerging topics present.

Scientific Advisory Board

  • Steven Ackley, Department of Earth & Environmental Science, University of Texas @San Antonio
  • Stephen Ellner, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University
  • Amala Mahadevan, Department of Earth Sciences, Boston University
  • Emily Shuckburgh, British Antarctic Survey
  • Walker Smith, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William & Mary
  • David Thomas, School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, UK

Accepted Speakers

  • Dorian Abbot (Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago)
  • Stephen Ackley (Earth & Environmental Science, University of Texas at San Antonio)
  • Robert Armstrong (School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University)
  • Bruno Delille (Astrophysics, Geophysics, and Oceanography, University of Liege)
  • Arjen Doelman (Mathematisch Instituut, Leiden University)
  • Ken Golden (Mathematics, University of Utah)
  • Alan Hastings (Environmental Science and Policy, University of California)
  • Keith Lindsay (Climate and Global Dynamics, National Center for Atmospheric Research)
  • Nicole Lovenduski (Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado)
  • Irina Marinov (Earth and Environmental Science, University of Pennsylvania)
  • Peter Molnar (Centre for Mathematical Biology, University of Alberta)
  • Emily Shuckburgh (Natural Environmental Research Council, British Antarctic Survey)
  • Walker Smith (Virginia Institute of Marine Science, The College of William and Mary)
  • Cornelius Sullivan (Biological Sciences, University of Southern California)
  • David Thomas (School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University)
  • Jean-Louis Tison (Earth and Environmental Sciences, Universite Libre de Bruxelles)
  • Martin Vancoppenolle (Georges Lemaitre Centre for Earth and Climate Research, Universite Catholique de Louvain)
  • Ariane Verdy (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles)
  • Patricia Yager (Marine Sciences, University of Georgia)
  • Antonios Zagaris (Applied Analysis & Mathematical Physics, University of Twente)



Further information here

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

14th South African Marine Science Symposium (SAMSS)/ 49th Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association (ECSA) International Conference






ESTUARINE, COASTAL AND OCEANIC ECOSYSTEMS: BREAKING DOWN THE BOUNDARIES
Academic Programme 4 - 7  April 2011
Rhodes University, South Africa

SUGGESTED THEMES
  1. Ecosystem structure and functioning
  2. Biotic responses to abiotic drivers
  3. Global change and coastal ecosystems
  4. Biogeochemistry in coastal and oceanic systems
  5. Role of the coastal zone in the global carbon cycle
  6. Remote sensing in coastal and oceanic environments
  7. Ecological risk assessment and monitoring
  8. Moving from research to management use
  9. Stable isotope and lipid analysis in coastal and marine ecosystems
  10. Biodiversity and invasion biology
  11. Large ocean circulation
  12. Marine and coastal conservation
  13. Fisheries management
  14. Mariculture
  15. Operational oceanography
Venues will be available for breakaway workshops.
Participants will be encouraged to submit additional themes that will be considered by the conference Scientific Committee.

More information here

International Workshop: Exploring the Role of MPAs in Reconciling Fisheries Management with Conservation, Norway














The Challenge:There is now wide consensus that management of human activities using natural resources must take into account direct and indirect impacts they may have...

Más información aquí

Symposium on the variability of the North Atlantic and its Marine Ecosystems during 2000-2009, Spain






Más información en la página oficial del simposio

2nd International Symposium on Integrated Coastal Zone Management, Norway














More information here

Thursday, March 17, 2011

8th International Scientific Symposium: Ocean Climate and Marine Ecosystems in the Western Pacific
















Theme
Main Theme
Ocean Climate and Marine Ecosystems in the Western Pacific
Sub Theme


  • Ocean and Coastal Observation



  • - Innovative observational studies concerning physical or biogeochemical processes in coastal and marginal seas are needed. Development and assessment of instruments or observing systems (e.g. fixed in-situ, satellite, ferries, floats, gliders, HF Radar) which provide the data required for oceanic studies will be mentioned, too.

  • Ocean and Coastal Acidification



  • - Ocean acidification, caused by a rapid rise in anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), is rapidly changing ocean chemistry. A cooperative researches and knowledge-sharing collaborations including regional networking programs for ocean acidification beyond geopolitical boundaries are desperately needed.

  • Climate Modeling and Prediction



  • - Recent developments in the coupled climate modeling, ensemble, prediction results and the understanding of the interactions between ocean and atmosphere.

  • Air-sea Interaction and Coupled Air-wave Sea Modeling and Prediction



  • - Under the influence of climate change, it is important to predict the changing trend of air-sea interactions from the frequency and strength of storms to the response of the thermal structure of the upper layer by observing and modeling the sea state.

  • Anthropogenic Impacts and Climate Change



  • - Ecosystem changes caused by anthropogenic impacts, such as eutrophication, chemical pollution, overfishing, hypoxia and habitat modification and how climate change influences anthropogenic impacts and ecosystem

  • Marine Remote Sensing



  • - Marine remote sensing provides a window on synoptic scales. It is the sole method to take a global view of marine biosphere and monitor the ocean environments as climate change, water quality, fishery, and species at risk.

  • Adaptation to Coastal Disasters Related to Climate Change



  • - Assessment of regional as well as global impacts of natural disasters related to the climate change and developments of natural disaster reduction and mitigation systems will be covered.

  • Paleoclimatology: Corals and Monsoon



  • - The past climatic records which are monsoons evolution and effects such as linkage between terrestrial and ocean records, and other records from trees, corals, sediments, glaciers and other natural or proxy sources.

  • Dynamics of Coral Reefs and Changing Forcings



  • - It is predicted that 15% of the world’s coral reefs are under imminent threat of joining the "Effectively Lost" category within the next 10-20 years. These predictions are based on observed trends over the past decade, on demographic increases in human population pressure, and assessments of the effectiveness of current management.

  • Sediment Dynamical Processes and Coastal Erosion



  • - Most of coastal countries have been suffering from natural and man-made coastal erosions. Sound coastal management integrating various areas and considering the effects of climate change as well as development of new technology for erosion control is prerequisite for sustainable development of coastal zone.

  • Marine Biogeochemistry



  • Understanding the biogeochemical cycling of materials (salt, carbon, nutrients, trace elements etc.) requires knowledge of their diverse sources and sinks, as well as their transport and chemical form in the ocean. Without this understanding, the impact of any resulting changes due to human activity in elemental cycling on marine ecosystems and the global carbon cycle cannot be meaningfully predicted.

  • Marine Biodiversity and Conservation



  • - Marine biodiversity in the Western Pacific, especially in the coral triangle, is highest in the world ocean providing a rich source of food and biomaterials. Yet, a significant number of marine organisms remain to be discovered and identified.

  • Climate Change Impacts on Fisheries



  • - The abundance, distribution of major fish species and fisheries, species composition in ecosystem, and some social issues on economy can be altered by the climate changes. It is important to describe the climate change impacts on fish and fisheries and discuss conservation measures for mitigation and preparation in fisheries.

  • Environmentally Sustainable Aquaculture



  • - The best way to mitigate impacts for environmental sustainable aquaculture is to utilize an organic aquaculture. It will provide eco-friendly guidance to improve the environmental performance of sustainable aquaculture. 
    More information here
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