GEOTRACES sessions and related event at AGU2024

Please find below the information on two GEOTRACES sessions and a related event at  AGU2024 Annual Meeting  (9-13 December 2024, Washington, DC., USA and online):

GEOTRACES sessions:

*OS23H – Trace Element Distributions and Cycling Across Ocean Basins
https://agu.confex.com/agu/agu24/meetingapp.cgi/Session/236929
Tuesday, 10 December 2024

Marine trace elements and their isotopes regulate primary production and provide tracers of past and present oceanic processes, including circulation and particle export. The influence of trace elements on productivity and the ocean carbon cycle is particularly notable in the remote Southern Ocean, where distant or ice-covered continents provide reduced inputs and water mass circulation impacts global transfer of heat and nutrients. A number of recent expeditions have sampled these waters, providing new data on tracing external elemental fluxes to the region, constraining complex biogeochemical processes, and measuring their imprint on subsurface water masses. This session invites presentations addressing the sources, sinks, and cycling of trace elements in the ocean, particularly as studied using ocean basin sections. Results from fieldwork and/or modeling studies in the Southern Ocean, Antarctic Circumpolar Current, and Antarctic coastal waters are particularly encouraged, though results from all ocean basins are welcome.

Primary Convener
Benjamin S Twining, Bigelow Lab for Ocean Sciences

Conveners
Jessica N Fitzsimmons, Texas A&M University College Station
Gregory A Cutter, Old Dominion University

*OS41H – Disentangling Hydrothermal Impacts on Ocean Biogeochemistry
https://agu.confex.com/agu/agu24/meetingapp.cgi/Session/237098
Thursday, 12 December 2024

Exciting new research reveals the significant impact of submarine hydrothermal venting on ocean biogeochemistry at both basin and global scales. Understanding this impact requires examining processes across various scales and integrating multiple disciplines, including observations, experiments, data synthesis, and modeling. This session invites submissions on hydrothermal biogeochemistry research across all venting styles and scales. It aims to connect drivers of hydrothermal processes from marine geoscience, organic geochemistry, ocean circulation, carbon and biogeochemical cycles, and marine microbiology. We especially welcome contributions from international programs like GEOTRACES and InterRidge, and novel research on diverse seafloor fluid flow systems worldwide, such as mid-ocean ridges, intraplate seamounts, convergent margins, and transform faults. Field, laboratory, and theoretical studies on the roles of hydrothermal systems in the cycling and transformation of organic matter and nutrients in the oceans are also encouraged.

Primary Convener
Christopher R German, WHOI

Conveners
Christopher R German, WHOI
Randelle M Bundy, University of Washington Seattle Campus
Alessandro Tagliabue, University of Liverpool

Student/Early Career Convener
Alexandria Aspin, Oakland University

Relevant event (that the organisers asked the IPO to share):

Community Meeting – UNOLS Arctic Marine Research Capabilities Committee (AMRCC)
December 10, 2024
12:30-13:30
Westin DC Downtown, 9th St NW, Washington, DC

The AMRCC is a UNOLS Special Committee established in June 2024 by the UNOLS Chair and Council at the request of the NSF, ONR, and USARC. The purpose of the Committee is to review and refresh science missions and affiliated science mission requirements (SMRs) of future Federal icebreakers operating in the Arctic Ocean and other northern polar regions. To do so, the Committee is assessing if the existing science missions and SMRs for such missions meet current and emerging needs for Arctic research on Federal icebreakers and is identifying any additional SMRs required to ensure that Federal icebreakers will meet the needs of the Arctic marine research community for the next 30 years. Specifically, the Committee is reviewing and refreshing SMRs for (a) any commercially available polar icebreaker that may be acquired or procured and refit for operation by the Federal government; and (b) the conceptual design of future “medium” or “heavy” Federal-flagged and owned icebreakers.

At this meeting, Committee members will review the charge to the Committee and the Committee’s activities to date and will welcome comments and input on envisioned science directions and research cruises in the Arctic Ocean for the next 30 years, on existing and future gaps in our ability to address these questions, and on critically needed science enabling capabilities of federal vessels in the Arctic Ocean.

Please contact Carin Ashjian (cashjian@whoi.edu), AMRCC Chair, or Doug Russell (doug@unols.org), UNOLS Executive Secretary, with any questions. The Westin DC Downtown is an ~5-minute walk from the Convention Center.

See: https://www.unols.org/committee/special-committee-arctic-marine-research-capabilities-committee-amrcc for more information on the Committee.