Challenger Society Ocean Modelling SIG Meeting
Noam Vogt-Vincent
University of Oxford
Caption: An excessively hot and sunny day at NOCS!
The Ocean Modelling SIG holds its meeting every September, for ocean modellers (particularly early career scientists) across the UK. Ocean Modelling was actually the first scientific meeting I ever attended (back in 2018, presenting some undergraduate summer project work) and it has always been a great forum to learn about the status of ocean modelling research in the UK, so I wanted to make sure I was able to attend before leaving the UK later this year.
Caption: Finishing touches on my presentation on the train down from London
Ocean Modelling was hosted at NOC Southampton this year and, as always, a broad range of exciting research was presented (from the seasonality of Southern Ocean ventilation, to the practicality of ocean alkalinity enhancement by spreading olivine on beaches). One of my favourite talks this year was Julia Rulent’s assessment of pollutant dispersal from a major shipwreck off the coast of Sri Lanka, finding that the environmental impacts of this marine disaster could have been significantly worse if the accident took place during a different monsoon phase (as well as the challenges of investigating an incident under active litigation!).
I presented recent findings from my PhD research, on the connectivity of coral reefs in the southwest Indian Ocean, and how this may influence the evolutionary adaptation of corals to warming over the coming centuries. This research is very much on the biological-end of what is presented at Ocean Modelling, but I got plenty of interesting questions, and enjoyed follow-on discussions with others working on marine dispersal.
Caption: Presenting my PhD research at the Ocean Modelling SIG Meeting (image credit: Helen Johnson)
In summary, this year’s Ocean Modelling was an enjoyable and productive meeting (as always!) and I am very grateful to the Challenger Society for enabling me to attend and present my PhD work.
Profile
Noam Vogt-Vincent
I just completed my DPhil (PhD) in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford, principally supervised by Professor Helen Johnson. My DPhil thesis was titled Marine dispersal in the western Indian Ocean (focusing on the dispersal of marine plastic pollution around remote islands, and the connectivity of coral reefs) and my main research interest is the interaction between coral reef systems and the physical marine environment (past, present, and future). Later this year, I will be taking up a NOAA Climate & Global Change Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology, where I intend to continue my research into the response of our tropical coral reefs to future climate change.
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Marine Data Management, Governance and the MEDIN toolset
The Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) and OceanWise are delighted to invite you to attend our popular free online training workshop: ‘Marine Data Management, Governance and the MEDIN toolset’ on the 19th – 23rd of May 2025.
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12:00 11th June – 16:00 12th June 2025: NOC Southampton (In-person with online option): Registration deadline 16th May
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The purpose of this workshop is for the UK Ocean Science community to discuss and then draft a prospectus document outlining the priority Arctic research questions the community would like to address during the run up to, throughout and beyond the International Polar Year 32/33. Additionally, to identify what unique strengths and technologies the UK has to help fill these knowledge gaps.
The second day of the workshop will be dedicated to writing groups, one for each of the priority research questions identified - from both the pre-meeting questionnaire (HERE) and day one discussion. By the end of the meeting, each group will have produced draft text and sourced supporting figures for the prospectus.
Post meeting, the draft will be opened for comments and suggestions from everyone, regardless of whether they were able to attend the workshop or not. It will then be shared with UK funders (UKRI, FCDO, DSIT, ARIA) and potential international programmes with whom we would like to collaborate (e.g. Arctic 2050, Norway). It will form a basis from which wider integration with terrestrial, atmospheric and cryosphere communities can be built, e.g. at the UK Arctic Science Meeting in September in Northumbria.
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Challenger Society Council Position Vacancy
The Challenger Society for Marine Science (CSMS) are pleased to announce an exciting opportunity to support the next generation of ocean scientists and innovators. CSMS are looking for a new Council member to fill the Student Travel Awards and Stepping Stones Portfolio. The successful applicant will administer the travel and research grants available for Early Career Researchers.
The role involves:
- Receiving applications for the two schemes and responding to applicant inquiries
- Soliciting and compiling input from the rest of the Council for assessing the applications
- Communicating with successful and unsuccessful applicants for the two schemes
- Working with the Honorary Treasurer on allocating funds to successful applicants
- Following up with award winners on their reporting requirements
- Attending Council meetings four times a year (in person or online) and contributing to discussions and decision making for CSMS
The usual term for Council members is three years.
For more information about the CSMS Council, please follow this link: https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/The_Council
For more information about our Early Career Researcher grants and awards, please follow this link:
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Stepping_Stones
and
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Travel_awards
If you are interested in applying or have any questions regarding the role, please contact kathen@bas.ac.uk