View this Newsletter in your web browser

Submit abstracts by 20 March 2025!

Don’t miss attending IMBeR Future Oceans3

Sincerely invite you to apply for the 2025 Excellent Young Scientists Fund Program (Overseas) via SKLEC. More information here.

Developing capacity for transdisciplinary studies of

changing ocean systems

Authors: P. E. Renaud , A. Belgrano, S. Dupont, P. W. Boyd, S. Collins, T. Blenckner,

M. Drexler, J. M. Hall-Spencer, C. Robinson, C. T. Weber, and C. A. Vargas 

Journal: Oceanography

Addressing global challenges such as climate change requires large-scale collective actions, but such actions are hindered by the complexity and scale of the problem and the uncertainty in the long-term benefit of short-term actions (Jagers et al., 2019). In addition to climate change, socio-ecological systems face the cumulative pressures associated with resource needs, technology development, industrial expansion, and area conflicts. In marine systems, this has been called “the blue acceleration” (Jouffray et al., 2020) and is referred to as “socio-ecological pressures” in this paper. These socio-ecological pressures reduce our ability to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals and meet the challenges of the UN Ocean Decade, and require integrating knowledge within a shared conceptual framework. For example, achieving sustainable growth must integrate ecological, socioeconomic, and governance perspectives on a larger scale by considering ecological impacts, ecosystem carrying capacities, economic trade-offs, social acceptability, and policy realities. This requires capacity development whereby actors unite to bridge disciplinary boundaries to meet challenges of complex systems.

Click to read the full paper

Fig. 1: Conceptual diagram showing how interdisciplinary research and capacity development can be transformative in overcoming challenges and fostering sustainable socio-ecological systems. Infographic created with Canva; Image: flaticon.com. 

The IAEA Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre

Capacity Building Program: Empowering member states to

address and minimize the impacts of ocean acidification

Authors: S. Dupont, C. Edworthy, C. Sánchez-Noguera, M. Metian, J. Friedrich, S. Flickinger, A. Bantelman, C. Galdino, F. Graba, O. Anghelici, and L. Hansson 

Journal: Oceanography

Ocean acidification (OA) is broadly recognized as a major problem for marine ecosystems worldwide, with follow-on effects to the economies of ocean-dependent communities. The urgent need to mitigate and minimize the impacts of OA is a scientific and political priority, as highlighted by the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report (IPCC, 2022) and by the inclusion of OA as a target in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). In addition, over 20 years of strong scientific evidence on the impacts of OA provides compelling arguments for urgent CO2 mitigation. Reducing CO2 emissions will require ambitious regulatory and economic instruments, as well as effective systemic changes across governments and societies. It is critical to implement adaptation measures to minimize the impact of OA, among other key environmental stressors, as the mitigation process takes time, and the impacts of OA are already felt globally. Assessing the impacts of solutions and their potential implementations requires information at local scales, considering the variabilities in marine ecosystem responses to OA (e.g., local adaptation, species redundancies).

Click to read the full paper

Fig. 2: (a) Results from a gap analysis survey of in-country researchers to assess African institutions’ ability to study ocean acidification (OA). (b) Host countries of the Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre (OA-ICC) training since 2014. (c) Locations and numbers of participants involved in OA-ICC training workshops from 2014 to 2024.

This month’s Editor Picks highlight diverse studies on marine ecosystems, biogeochemical processes, and ocean dynamics. Research reveals how hidden “comet tails” of marine snow influence carbon sequestration, the role of species interactions in amplifying ecosystem stress, and improved satellite-based monitoring of algal blooms. Other studies explore the effects of iron limitation on bacterial lipid synthesis, the complexity of three-dimensional wave breaking, and the potential consequences of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation weakening on marine life. Additionally, new findings assess trace element risks from offshore wind farms, provide insights into past oceanic deoxygenation events, and examine how different carbon flux pathways shape Arctic Ocean ecosystems.

Hidden comet tails of marine snow 

impede ocean-based carbon sequestration

Authors: R. Chajwa, E. Flaum, K. D. Bidle, B. V. Mooy, and M. Prakash

Journal: Science

Gravity-driven sinking of “marine snow” sequesters carbon in the ocean, constituting a key biological pump that regulates Earth’s climate. A mechanistic understanding of this phenomenon is obscured by the biological richness of these aggregates and a lack of direct observation of their sedimentation physics. Utilizing a scale-free vertical tracking microscopy in a field setting, we present microhydrodynamic measurements of freshly collected marine snow aggregates from sediment traps. Our observations reveal hitherto-unknown comet-like morphology arising from fluid-structure interactions of transparent exopolymer halos around sinking aggregates. These invisible comet tails slow down individual particles, greatly increasing their residence time. Based on these findings, we constructed a reduced-order model for the Stokesian sedimentation of these mucus-embedded two-phase particles, paving the way toward a predictive understanding of marine snow.

Click to read the full paper

Fig. 3: Hidden comet tails of marine snow. (A) A simplified depiction of carbon sequestration in the biological pump through marine snow. (B) Experimental data: (Left) Image of sinking marine snow visualized with tracer beads in the background and (right) fluid flow corresponding to the same particle showing the invisible mucus tail (yellow region) that falls along with the particle, greatly increasing the particle’s effective size. (C) Impact of mucus on sedimentation: Mucus greatly increases the time marine snow can spend in the upper layers of the ocean, presenting a natural knob in this carbon flux. ρm, mucus density; ρsw, sea water density; ρp, particulate density; a, semiminor axis of the mucus comet tail; b, semimajor axis of the mucus comet tail; l, size of the visible aggregate.

Ecological interactions amplify cumulative effects in marine ecosystems

Authors: D. Beauchesne, K. Cazelles, R. M. Daigle, D. Gravel, and P. Archambault

Journal: Science Advances

Biodiversity encompasses not only species diversity but also the complex interactions that drive ecological dynamics and ecosystem functioning. Still, these critical interactions remain overwhelmingly overlooked in environmental management. In this study, we introduce an ecosystem-based approach that assesses the cumulative effects of climate change and human activities on species in the St. Lawrence marine ecosystem, eastern Canada, by explicitly accounting for the effects arising from species interactions within a multiple stressors framework. Our findings reveal previously unrecognized threats to exploited and endangered fishes and marine mammals, exposing noteworthy gaps in existing management and recovery strategies. By integrating the less obvious yet no less substantial effects arising from species interactions into cumulative effects assessments, our approach provides a robust tool to guide more comprehensive and effective management and conservation efforts for marine species.

Click to read the full paper

Fig. 4: Network-scale cumulative effects assessment method. The assessment relies on data-based knowledge on the distribution and relative intensity of environmental stressors (A), the distribution of species (B), the relative sensitivity of species to the effects of stressors (C), the metaweb of ecological interactions, i.e., who eats whom, and the susceptibility of species to the propagation of the effects of stressors through their interactions, i.e., their trophic sensitivity. For a particular cell in a grid dividing an area of interest, the local food web and the intensity of stressors (D) are extracted. This focal cell includes three stressors (climate change-induced temperature anomalies, commercial shipping, and trawl fishing) affecting five species: krill (Euphausiacea), copepods (Copepoda), capelin (Mallotus villosus), Atlantic cod (G. morhua), and beluga whales (D. leucas). For each, cumulative effects are predicted across their collection of three-species interactions, i.e., their motif census. Here, the beluga is involved in three motifs: one omnivory interaction (beluga-cod-capelin) and two tri-trophic food chains [beluga-capelin-krill; beluga-capelin-copepod (E)]. For each three-species interaction (“M” for motifs), direct (“D”), and indirect (“I”) effects are those affecting the focal species and those affecting the species it interacts with, respectively. Effects are predicted independently for each motif as the sum of the product of the intensity of stressors, the sensitivity of species to the effects of stressors, and the trophic sensitivity of the focal species. A weight of relative importance is used to combine direct and indirect effects. The total effect is the combination of all predicted effects (F). Net effects on species are evaluated as the average of total effects predicted across three-species interactions (G). This process is performed for every grid cell to obtain a map of predicted cumulative effects for all species (H). The sum of all species assessments provides the network-scale cumulative effects predictions (I).



Three-dimensional wave breaking

Authors: M. L. McAllister, S. Draycott, R. Calvert, T. Davey, F. Dias, and T. S. van den Bremer

Journal: Nature

Although a ubiquitous natural phenomenon, the onset and subsequent process of surface wave breaking are not fully understood. Breaking affects how steep waves become and drives air–sea exchanges1. Most seminal and state-of-the-art research on breaking is underpinned by the assumption of two-dimensionality, although ocean waves are three dimensional. We present experimental results that assess how three-dimensionality affects breaking, without putting limits on the direction of travel of the waves. We show that the breaking-onset steepness of the most directionally spread case is double that of its unidirectional counterpart. We identify three breaking regimes. As directional spreading increases, horizontally overturning ‘travelling-wave breaking’ (I), which forms the basis of two-dimensional breaking, is replaced by vertically jetting ‘standing-wave breaking’ (II). In between, ‘travelling-standing-wave breaking’ (III) is characterized by the formation of vertical jets along a fast-moving crest. The mechanisms in each regime determine how breaking limits steepness and affects subsequent air–sea exchanges. Unlike in two dimensions, three-dimensional wave-breaking onset does not limit how steep waves may become, and we produce directionally spread waves 80% steeper than at breaking onset and four times steeper than equivalent two-dimensional waves at their breaking onset. Our observations challenge the validity of state-of-the-art methods used to calculate energy dissipation and to design offshore structures in highly directionally spread seas.

Click to read the full paper

Fig. 6: Three wave-breaking regimes are identified for 3D waves. Illustrations of the three different wave-breaking phenomena: type I overturning ‘travelling-wave breaking’, type II vertical-jet forming ‘standing-wave breaking’ and type III ‘travelling-standing-wave breaking’. In type III, a near-vertical-jet emanates from a fast-moving ridge that forms as the crossing wave crests constructively interfere. Corresponding images were captured during experiments.



Global marine ecosystem response to a strong AMOC weakening

under low and high future emission scenarios

Authors: A. A. Boot, J. Steenbeek, M. Coll, A. S. von der Heydt, and H. A. Dijkstra

Journal: Earth's Future

Marine ecosystems provide essential services to the Earth System and society. These ecosystems are threatened by anthropogenic activities and climate change. Climate change increases the risk of passing tipping points; for example, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) might tip under future global warming leading to additional changes in the climate system. Here, we look at the effect of an AMOC weakening on marine ecosystems by forcing the Community Earth System Model v2 (CESM2) with low (SSP1-2.6) and high (SSP5-8.5) emission scenarios from 2015 to 2100. An additional freshwater flux is added in the North Atlantic to induce an extra weakening of the AMOC. In CESM2, the AMOC weakening has a large impact on phytoplankton biomass and temperature fields through various mechanisms that change the supply of nutrients to the surface ocean. We drive a marine ecosystem model, EcoOcean, with phytoplankton biomass and temperature fields from CESM2. In EcoOcean, we see negative impacts in Total System Biomass (TSB), which are larger for high trophic level organisms. On top of anthropogenic climate change, TSB decreases by −3.78% and −2.03% in SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5, respectively due to the AMOC weakening. However, regionally and for individual groups, the decrease can be as large as −30%, showing that an AMOC weakening can be very detrimental for local ecosystems. These results show that marine ecosystems will be under increased threat if the AMOC weakens which might put additional stresses on socio-economic systems that are dependent on marine biodiversity as a food and income source.

Click to read the full paper



Fig. 7: Summarizing figure showing in a simplified way how an AMOC weakening influences the climate system, ocean biogeochemistry and marine ecosystems. The diagrams at the bottom represent part of the food web in EcoOcean showing the response of the food web to a phytoplankton composition shift. The colors represent a decrease in biomass (red), an increase in biomass (green), and an unknown response (blue) in the mesozooplankton group.



Offshore wind energy: assessing trace element inputs and

the risks for co-location of aquaculture

Authors: G. J. Watson, G. Banfield, S. C. L. Watson, N. J. Beaumont, and A. Hodkin 

Journal: npj Ocean Sustainability

Co-locating aquaculture with Offshore Wind Farms (OWFs) is a novel global energy sustainability policy driver. However, trace elements (TEs) from turbine corrosion-protection systems could generate significant ecosystem, economic, and human health risks. We calculate annual inputs for current European OWF capacity (30 GW) as: 3219 t aluminium, 1148 t zinc and 1.9 t indium, but these will increase ~12× by 2050, eclipsing known discharges. However, a paucity of industry data makes it impossible to compare water and sediment TE concentrations at operational OWFs against toxicity thresholds, therefore, ecotoxicological risks are under assessed. TE accumulation in seafood is a major human exposure route. Accumulated high tissue concentrations in oysters, mussels and kelp during co-location culture would contribute significantly to or greatly exceed (e.g. oyster zinc accumulation) an adult’s Tolerable Weekly Intake. We provide an industry/regulator ‘road map’ for implementing key policy changes to minimise unintended risks of rapid global OWF expansion.

Click to read the full paper



Fig. 8: Current and future TE inputs under future electricity generating capacity. a Current and predicted (government ambition) future OWF electricity generating capacity (GW) for UK (magenta) and Europe (purple). Error bars symbolise ranges for 2030 (109–112 GW) and 2050 (281–354 GW) for Europe. TE inputs (t yr−1) of b Al (grey), c Zn (orange) and d In (blue) currently and predicted for 2030 and 2050. Current Zn OWF inputs are compared to: D + R (UK): direct + river discharges from the UK; D + R (NA): direct + river discharges into the North Atlantic, combining the North Sea (stippled), Channel (checker) and Kattegat and Skagerrak (striped) areas. Contributing OSPAR countries: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and The UK with data from OSPAR37. Atmos. (UK): UK atmospheric emissions are from Richmond et al.38. Rec. ves. (UK): inputs from recreational vessels registered in the UK (2019) from Zn-GACP (stippled) and from anti-fouling coatings (checker) are from Richir et al.39. NB: Only the maximum range is presented for future European generating capacity, D + R (UK) and D + R (NA) inputs for simplicity. Box: different categories of coatings if applied to a structure would reduce the amount of anode needed by 16, 54 or 71%, respectively, assuming the coating lasts for 25 years.

Extreme longevity may be the rule not the exception in Balaenid whales

Authors: G. A. Breed, E. Vermeulen, and P. Corkeron

Journal: Science Advances

We fit ongoing 40+-year mark-recapture databases from the thriving southern right whale (SRW), Eubalaena australis, and highly endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW), Eubalaena glacialis, to candidate survival models to estimate their life spans. Median life span for SRW was 73.4 years, with 10% of individuals surviving past 131.8 years. NARW life spans were likely anthropogenically shortened, with a median life span of just 22.3 years, and 10% of individuals living past 47.2 years. In the context of extreme longevity recently documented in other whale species, we suggest that all balaenid and perhaps most great whales have an unrecognized potential for great longevity that has been masked by the demographic disruptions of industrial whaling. This unrecognized longevity has profound implication for basic biology and conservation of whales.

Click to read the full paper



Fig. 9: Fitted SRW and NARW survival and hazard curves, and validation simulations. (A) Survival functions for each of the 10 models fitted. Colored lines with gray 95% credible interval (CI) uncertainty region show the best fitting model for each species, while gray dashed lines show the models that were not selected (except for exponential, which fit very poorly and is not shown). (B) Hazard functions for the 10 models fitted. Dashed gray lines show model fits that were not selected, while colored lines with gray uncertainty regions show the selected candidate model. (C) Validation simulations. Solid colors and gray uncertainty regions show the original best-fit models’ fit to empirical data, pastel colors show fits to 24 different simulated data realizations generated from survival parameters estimated from real data, and dashed colored lines show the average of all fits to simulated data.

NOAA's Arctic Vision and Strategy

Source: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration

The Arctic stands at a critical transition point, warming three times faster than the global average1 and triggering cascading effects that reach far beyond its boundaries. These changes challenge the Arctic’s delicate ecosystems and the communities that depend on them, while profoundly influencing weather patterns in mid-latitudes and climate systems worldwide. Arctic communities face unprecedented challenges – from coastal erosion and thawing permafrost threatening entire villages to changes in the health and migratory patterns of wildlife and fish that disrupt sustained access to food and cultural resources. The Alaska seafood industry’s 2022-2023 $1.8 billion total direct loss2, in part due to climate change effects, illustrates the social and economic stakes as fishing communities struggle to maintain social networks, well-being, and livelihoods. Furthermore, retreating sea ice opens new shipping routes, increasing concerns about marine plastics and debris and raising complex security considerations. For the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), these intertwined environmental, economic, and social challenges demand coordinated, rapid, and innovative responses.

Click to read the full paper



Fig. 10: NOAA Arctic Vision and Strategy strategic pillars and goals for achieving an equitable, resilient, and thriving Arctic.



Events, Webinars and Conferences

Information shared by our contacts:



• Call for papers – DSR II special issue “Understanding Oceanographic and Ecosystem Characteristics of the Persian Gulf: A Poorly Understood system.” Submission Deadline Extended to 20 March 2025.

• Applications open: Training Course on Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement — Assessing the Impacts on Marine Organisms - Ocean Acidification, 7-11 April 2025, Monaco. Deadline for receipt of application from the nominating national authority: 21 February 2025.

• International Workshop on Mid-latitude Atmosphere-Ocean-Ecosystem Interactions: Processes, Predictability, and Habitability, 16-18 July 2025, Japan. Submit abstracts by 31 March 2025.

• The Ecological Dissertations in Aquatic Sciences (Eco-DAS) Symposium for early career aquatic scientists returns to Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, 3-7 April 2025. If you have already applied, please mark your calendar and don’t miss the event.

• EGU General Assembly 2025, 27 April – 2 May 2025, Vienna, Austria & Online. Early registration by 31 March 2025.

• Applying the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management in ABNJ, 11-13 March 2025, Rome, Italy. Registration for general attendance is still open.

• PAGES' 7th Open Science Meeting, 21–24 May 2025, Shanghai, China & Online. Early registration by 1 March 2025.

• One Ocean Science Congress 2025, 4-6 June 2025, Nice, France. Early registration by 15 April 2025.

• 14th International Temperate Reefs Symposium 2025, 1-4 July 2025, Brest, France. Early registration by 2 March 2025.

• The 58th European Marine Biology Symposium (EMBS), 6-9 July 2025, Bodø, Norway. Submit abstracts by 28 February 2025.

• Marine Protected Areas in Marine Spatial Planning Conference, 9-12 July 2025, Bodø, Norway. Early registration by 3 April 2025.

• Busan IAMAS-IACS-IAPSO Joint Assembly 2025, 20-25 July 2025, Busan, Republic of Korea. Early registration by 30 April 2025.

• 27th Conference on Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography, 18-22 August 2025, San Diego, CA and Online. Submit abstracts by 13 March 2025.

• ICES Annual Science Conference 2025, 15-18 September 2025, Klaipeda, Lithuania. Submit abstracts by 17 March 2025.

Jobs and Opportunities

Information shared by our contacts:



• Research Associate in Oceanic Blue Carbon
• This post is funded by UKRI and is part of a large Horizon Europe consortia, SeaQUESTER, which aims to better understand marine carbon cycling and storage in polar ecosystems, and how climate change may produce new or novel blue carbon ecosystems as sea-ice melts. Looking for an enthusiastic Research Associate to join the team, and develop computational approaches to assess blue carbon transit and stocks. More information here.

• Postdoctoral Fellowship: Climate Change Impacts on Northwest Atlantic Marine Ecosystems & Fisheries, Memorial University, St. John’s, Canada.
• Position will remain open until filled.

• Postdoctoral Fellowship: Transforming Climate Action - Uncertain Seas, Memorial University, St. John’s, Canada. Open until filled. 

• Anthropocene Coasts Recruiting Position: Associate Editors
• Applications will continue until the position is filled.
• Anthropocene Coasts is a Golden Open Access journal hosted by East China Normal University, and published by Springer. The journal publishes multidisciplinary research addressing the interaction of human activities with our estuaries and coasts. To help build on the success of Anthropocene Coasts and to expand the opportunities for international collaboration and contributions to the work of the journal, the journal is seeking more international Associate Editors.

• New EMFAF call for proposals for smart specialisation and regenerative ocean farming. Apply by 18 February 2025.

• US National Science Foundation - Chemical Oceanography Program
• Supports research on ocean chemistry and the role of oceans in global geochemical cycles. Focus areas include chemical composition, speciation and transformation; internal cycling; and chemical exchanges with other Earth system components. Full proposal target date: 18 February 2025.

• Second open call for marine biodiversity (monitoring) data to DTO-BioFlow Project. Apply by 28 February 2025.

• Apply for funds to run a training school or conference series in 2026
• The EGU Topical Events programme is dedicated to the pursuit of progress in all areas of the Earth, planetary and space sciences through the co-sponsoring of a number meetings, conferences and training events. EGU provide a range f funded options to engage with these more specialised events, paying special attention to the needs of early career researchers, and aim to help organisers achieve financial stability, visibility, and/or access to a larger target community with our support. All Topical Events funding for 2026 is now open for application by 16 May 2025.

• Associate Professor or DTU Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Physical Oceanography, Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Apply by 16 March 2025.

• Research Grant in Biological Sciences, University of Aveiro, Portugal. Apply by 7 March 2025.

• Daniel Carasso Fellowship - Call for nominations 2025. Apply by 10 March 2025.

• “Interdisciplinary School for the Blue Planet” (ISblue) - Post-Doctoral Fellowship Program. Apply by 30 March 2025.

Capturing IMBeR: Share Your Photos and Memories

We invite all IMBeR participants - past and present - to contribute photos that capture the spirit of IMBeR’s activities over the years. Whether from fieldwork, meetings, workshops, summer schools, or community engagement events, your photos will help illustrate IMBeR’s impact and legacy.

Please send high-resolution images, along with a brief description and credit information, to imber@ecnu.edu.cn.

More jobs and opportunities for ECRs, please sign up for IMECaN newsletter

If you would like to put some recruitment information in the IMBeR monthly newsletter, please contact us through imber@ecnu.edu.cn.

IMBeR monthly newsletter archive - Find more

Contact us

IMBeR International Project Office

State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University

500 Dongchuan Rd., Shanghai 200241, China