27th IUGG General Assembly

27th IUGG General Assembly
Dates: 8-18 July, 2019
Location: Palais des Congrès in Montréal, Québec, Canada

The 27th International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) General Assembly will be held July 8-18, 2019 at the Palais des Congrès in Montréal, Québec, Canada. This is a special opportunity for participants from Canada and from around the world to come together and share their science and culture. 2019 marks the 100th anniversary of IUGG; we will look back on the accomplishments of the previous century of Earth and space science research, and forward to the next century of scientific advancement. Join us for a host of scientific activities, including special public lectures, keynote Union lectures and a wide variety of themed sessions.

IAPSO is sponsoring or co-sponsoring 31 symposia covering a wide range of topics, including several two linking to biogeochemistry (see below) but also subjects such as marine plastics and ocean acidification.

The program details can be found at the Assembly’s website: http://www.iugg2019montreal.com/iugg-program.html. Deadline for abstract submission in February 18th 2019.

GEOTRACES relevant sessions:

P02 – PHYSICS AND BIOGEOCHEMISTRY OF SEMI-ENCLOSED, SHELF SEAS, AND COASTAL ZONES

Convener: Peter Zavialov (Russia)

Co-Conveners: Jianping Gan (China), Osmar Moller Jr (Brazil), Katrin Schroeder (Italy)

Description

This interdisciplinary symposium provides a joint forum for oceanographers whose research focuses on physical, chemical, and biological processes in coastal zones, semi-enclosed and shelf seas of the World, as well as their responses to climate change and anthropogenic impacts. These areas are often characterized by complex interactions between land, ocean, and atmosphere, they exhibit rich dynamics driven by a variety of feedbacks and forcing mechanisms. Marginal seas and coastal areas are particularly vulnerable to climate change effects and anthropogenic stressors. Given their limited geographical extension and their sometimes constricted connection to the open ocean, these environments often exhibit shorter timescales in their responses to external forcing: this is why they are widely recognized as natural “laboratories” for studying oceanic processes and interactions between the physical, biogeochemical and climatic spheres. They also play an exceptionally important role in ecosystem services and socio-economic issues and require careful governance measures to avoid or mitigate environmental deterioration.

Gathering experts from different regions, the symposium will give a global perspective of the topic through comparison and elucidation of similarities and differences. Contributions on different regions are invited, related to themes such as innovative observational, theoretical, experimental and modeling studies of the hydrodynamics, marine biogeochemistry (e.g., nutrient dynamics, primary production, acidification, algae blooms) and the influence these regional seas and coastal zones exert on the adjacent basins/oceans and on the global scale. Studies of past, present and future climate variability are welcome, as well as interdisciplinary studies on the bio-physical interactions in semi-enclosed and shelf seas.

P09 – MARINE BIOGEOCHEMISTRY THROUGH TIME: NUTRIENT, TRACE METAL, OXYGEN, AND CARBON CYCLING IN THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Convener: Kate Hendry (UK)

Co-Conveners: Zanna Chase (Australia), Katja Fennel (Canada), Patrick Rafter (USA)

Description

Ocean biogeochemistry is undergoing significant changes, with likely effects on primary production and ecosystem health from massive human perturbations of the global carbon and nitrogen cycles. Future projections are highly uncertain, but unlocking drivers and effects of biogeochemical reorganizations in Earth’s past may hold clues.

The aim of this symposium is to explore recent developments in our understanding of marine biogeochemistry at the interface of different disciplines. Topics could include limitation of primary production by micro-nutrients and macro-nutrients; the role of ecological interactions at the scales of populations, assemblages and ecosystems; boundary processes including sedimentary cycling, inputs from rivers, groundwater, the cryosphere and atmosphere; and physical movement that influences nutrient distribution and light availability by turbulent mixing, mesoscale eddies and large-scale ocean circulation. We welcome contributions that offer a broad perspective from a wide range of disciplines, including studies that utilise and bring together paleoclimate archives, modern oceanographic observations, and models.