Short History
Ocean Challenge was first thought of in 1987. It resulted from a 'meeting of minds' between certain Challenger Council members (notably Martin Angel, Peter Foxton and Anthony Laughton, then Challenger Society President), who were considering the possibility of a Challenger Society publication, and Angela Colling and John Wright, who were wondering how to set up an accessible, multidisciplinary oceanography publication. The Council were keen to use the experience gained by the Open University Oceanography Course Team in making complex scientific material understandable for their students; and informing the scientifically literate layperson about ocean science remains one of the aims of Ocean Challenge. Ocean Challenge also aims to bring together scientists in various disciplines of oceanography by making different subject areas of marine science accessible to as many readers as possible.
Peter Foxton became the first Editorial Board Chair. He was followed by Bill Prior-Jones, Rachel Mills, Tim Jickells and Mark Brandon. The Editorial Board has evolved over the years, although some stalwarts of the first Board still remain.
Ocean Challenge strives to have a European outlook, and several issues have been published in cooperation with the European Foundation of Marine Science and Technology Societies (EFMS). Until recently, the Editorial Board benefitted from the input of Hjalmar Thiel (Hamburg), who for many years acted as the Board's European representative.
Latest News
Applications for AGU Vice Chair for 2026 Ocean Sciences Meeting
The AGU is currently inviting applications for a Vice Chair to help lead the Organising Committee for the 2026 Ocean Sciences Meeting, to be hosted in Glasgow in 2026. Applications consist of a CV and expression of interest, to be received by 18 October 2024.
The biennial Ocean Sciences Meeting (OSM) is jointly convened by the American Geophysical Union (AGU), Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) and The Oceanography Society (TOS). The OSM is overseen by a Program Committee responsible for the scientific content of the meeting as well as ancillary events, plenary speakers, and award ceremonies. The Program Committee is composed of a Chair and Vice Chair selected by each of the three participating societies. This advertisement is for the AGU Vice Chair position.
https://www.agu.org/plan-for-a-meeting/agumeetings#vicechairosm26
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 2nd - 6th of September 2024.
How the UK stores marine rock samples—and how you can help
Marine rock samples collected by dredge or remotely operated vehicles (ROV) are an exceptional resource of immense scientific value which help inform geoscience research and contribute to the Natural Environment Research Council’s (NERC) research areas including Earth resources, mantle and core processes, physics & chemistry of Earth materials and volcanic processes.