During 5-10 March 2023, the 13th Gordon Research Conference on Polar Marine Science (GRC) was held in Ventura, CA, USA. The GRC is a bi-annual international conference providing a key forum for the Arctic and Antarctic research communities to discuss marine research of international polar priority. The 2023 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) focused on “Integrating Ocean Physics and Biogeochemistry to Assess Polar Ecosystem Sensitivity to Rapid Change”. The program was composed of an international collection of world-leading, gender-diverse scientists at various career levels that are actively engaged in research on polar marine systems, both in the Arctic and the Southern Ocean. The GRC comprised 9 discussion sessions covering various topics including polar ocean and sea ice physcis, marine food webs, effects of multiple stressors on pelagic and benthic biota, as well as climate change impacts on Arctic communities (see: https://www.grc.org/polar-marine-science-conference/2023/). The GRC provided a forum to present and discuss new data, cutting-edge ideas and multidisciplinary approaches with experts from different fields of polar sciences, and participants from both the Arctic and Antarctic marine research communities. The GRC conference was attended by 115 registered participants, most of them (54%) being early career scientists (ECS).
The 2023 GRC was preceded by the Gordon Research Seminar (GRS, 52 participants), a dedicated 2-day ECS-organized and ECS-chaired forum, and comprising mentorship activities as well as scientific sessions aimed at facilitating ECS peer-to-peer interaction. The full GRS program is available at: https://www.grc.org/polar-marine-science-grs-conference/2023/.
As one of the first larger international polar marine science conferences after the pandemic, the GRC/GRS provided a wonderful opportunity for the community to meet, exchange novel ideas and develop new collaborations. The GRC and GRS formats facilitated informal exchanges during joint meals and afternoon breaks in the program, that participants used for social activities such as beach walks and sport activities. For many attendees, it was their first participation in a Polar Marine Science GRC/GRS, and many expressed an interest to attend the next meeting planned to be held in Italy in March 2025.
Highlights:
1) The Gordon Research Conference on Polar Marine Science 2023 provided a forum to discuss leading-edge interdisciplinary and international research to better understand polar regions.
2) The biennial conference helped capacity and community building, and strengthened international research collaborations between Arctic and Antarctic researchers.
3) The associated Gordon Research Seminar provided a unique training opportunity by allowing early career scientists to closely interact and network with their international peers and mentors across several disciplines.
Date and Location
March 5 - 10, 2023 I Ventura, CA, USA
IASC Working Group funding the project
- Cryosphere WG
- Marine WG
Project Lead
- Klaus Meiners (Australian Antarctic Division, Australia)
- Patricia Matrai (Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, USA)
Year funded by IASC
2022