Biennial Challenger Conference: Liverpool
Gianfranco Anastasi
UEA/CEFAS
First of all I would like to say thank you for the travel award; it gave the great opportunity of attending the 17th Biennial Challenger Conference held in Liverpool and presenting my poster on “Transparent Exopolymer Particles (TEPs) dynamics in the continental shelf seas”.
The first conference event I attended was the Icebreaker, held in the wonderful Victoria Gallery and Museum, which created a nice and friendly environment to meet all the conference attendees (PhD students and other scientists). The Icebreaker was an effective and informal way to meet scientists from different institutions and universities, and to find out about their current research and common research interests.
The conference was opened with a very interesting talk by Prof. Tim Lenton, and continued in the following days with a series of relevant talks from guest lecturers. All the talks were extremely interesting and with a high level of science, ranging from physical oceanography, marine biogeochemistry, observations and earth system models, up to biological processes.
Posters were displayed in the G-Flex room and main Atrium and were available for viewing during lunch breaks and at the allocated presenting slot. I presented a poster with the data collected during several cruises in the North Sea (Cefas) and Celtic Sea (SSB programme), along with some modelling work, using the European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model (ERSEM).I was also selected to give a one minute oral presentation of my poster during the lunchtime. This was a great chance to meet and interact with other PhD students interested in my research and with similar research aims.
On the Wednesday evening a social dinner was held at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral. It was another great opportunity to interact with other conference attendees and share delicious food along with a glass of good wine.
In conclusion, the conference helped me to meet other scientists from the UK and discuss my results in a nice and friendly environment.Furthermore it gave me the chance to get in touch with scientists (from the SSB programme and modelling community) and establish relationships for future scientific collaborations.
Profile:
I studied marine biology at the Marche Polytechnic University (UNIVPM), where I completed my master’s degree studying therole of local climate changes on organic matter inputs to the seafloor of the Catalan continental margin.
Following this I moved to Plymouth (UK) at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) where I worked on modelling. I used the coupled biogeochemical/hydrodynamic model(GOTM-ERSEM) to predict the seasonal evolution of biogeochemical variables and fluxes through theassimilation of in situ and remote sensed data.
In January 2014 I moved to Norwich (UK), where I started my Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia (UEA),funded by Cefas, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science. My goal is to address unknown keys in the continental shelf carbon pump (CSCP) related to the condition of “carbon overconsumption”. In particular I am investigating the role played by dissolved organic matter (DOM) and transparent exopolymer particle (TEP) production in the continental shelf seas during “carbon overconsumption”.
Latest News
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.
Workshop on the contribution of UK Arctic Ocean science to the International Polar Year 32/33
12:00 11th June – 16:00 12th June 2025: NOC Southampton (In-person with online option): Registration deadline 16th May
REGISTER HERE
Pre-meeting questionnaire (open to all)
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.
To ensure balanced community and ECR representation, and to ensure that the size of the writing groups is efficient and effective, if the number of registrations from individual institutes becomes overwhelming, we may contact individuals or teams and ask that each institute selects a smaller number of individuals to attend in-person. Please wait for confirmation of in-person attendance before finalising travel arrangements.
The workshop will be open to hybrid attendance and contributions on both days.
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