Challenger Society for Marine Sciences 2014 Conference
Sophie-Berenice Wilmes
School of Ocean Sciences
Challenger Society for Marine Sciences 2014 Conference
The travel grant from the Challenger Society enabled me to take part in the Challenger Meeting in Plymouth in September 2014 and present my work on ‘The impact of a collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet on the global tides’ to scientists from all around the world. The conference was held in Plymouth University and brought together scientists from a number of large amount of different fields ranging from ocean dynamics all the way through to the biology of the deep ocean.
Sessions with short talks were interspaced with very interesting plenary talks in which speakers delved into the depths of specific fields. I especially enjoyed Emily Shuckburgh’s talk on mixing in the Southern Ocean and Adrian Glover’s insight into deep sea mining.
My talk was part of the Tuesday session Observation and Modelling and set in the Southern Ocean section which dealt with some very interesting aspects of the oceanography and climate science of the Southern Ocean region. From the questions posed after the talk I had some very interesting and helpful discussions with colleagues at coffee break which have already lead to some new research ideas feeding into the final stages of my PhD.
But of course a conference week does not only involve work: A highlight was the ice breaker which was held in the National Marine Aquarium on the harbour front. I was fascinated by the wealth of sea life on display in the aquarium and was glad about the opportunity to meet some very interesting fellow scientists. We spent a couple of very nice and sociable evenings in the Barbican (pictured) which hosts a number of excellent sea food restaurants and met a number of very interesting colleagues and had some inspiring discussions. On Wednesday afternoon, me and three colleagues ventured out to Wembury to go snorkelling and got to see species such as blue rayed limpets.
It was a great meeting which allowed me to create further links with the international oceanography community and sparked new research ideas. I would like to thank the Challenger Society for providing the funding for this rewarding experience.
Profile:
Sophie-Berenice is a physical oceanography at Bangor University looking at the impact of sea level changes on the tides in the past, present and future. She focusses on the impact changes ice sheet configuration have on sea level and analyses the resulting changes in tidal dynamics. Sophie is currently finishing her PhD at Bangor University. She completed an MSc in Climate Science in Bern, Switzerland, after graduating with a BSc (Hons) in Ocean Sciences at Bangor.
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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.
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