The Ocean Sciences session will immerse participants in the study of the world’s largest, most vital ecosystem, which acts as the engine of our global climate. This session begins by exploring the fundamental mechanics of the marine environment through the lens of physical oceanography. We invite contributions examining the dynamics of ocean currents, waves, and tides, as well as the distribution of key physical properties like temperature and salinity. Building on this foundation, we will investigate the global ocean circulation and climate, focusing on large-scale processes such as the thermohaline circulation, basin-wide gyres, and critical ocean-atmosphere interactions that transport heat around the globe and govern long-term climate patterns and variability.
Bringing our focus from the vast open ocean to the critical interface between land and sea, the session will then navigate the complexities of coastal and marginal seas. This segment will address the unique physical and ecological processes in these highly productive and vulnerable regions, including sediment transport, estuarine dynamics, and coastal resilience in the face of sea-level rise. Complementing this, discussions on environmental oceanography will confront the pressing challenges of anthropogenic impacts on marine environments. We welcome research on the fate and effects of marine pollution—from microplastics to chemical contaminants—as well as studies on hypoxia, eutrophication, and the development of innovative strategies for the sustainable management and restoration of marine habitats.
Finally, this session delves into the intricate web of life that the ocean supports, examining it from molecules to entire ecosystems. Presentations on ocean biogeochemistry will trace the pathways of essential elements like carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, exploring the critical role of the biological carbon pump and the growing threats of ocean acidification and deoxygenation. These chemical processes provide the stage for understanding the dynamics of the marine ecosystem. This segment invites contributions on food web structures, biodiversity, the health of coral reefs and other critical habitats, and the response of marine life to a changing ocean. Together, these topics will foster a holistic understanding of the ocean’s function and the urgent need to protect its integrity.
To wrap up, the topics in Ocean Sciences are but not limited to:
- Physical oceanography
- Global ocean circulation and climate
- Coastal and marginal seas
- Ocean biogeochemistry
- Marine ecosystem
- Environmental oceanography