From 13 to 15 May 2025, the Arctic-Subarctic Ocean Fluxes (ASOF) Workshop 2025 will be held in Barcelona, Spain. The Workshop has been funded by the IASC Cryosphere WG and the IASC Marine WG as part of the 2025 IASC Cross-Cutting activities. IASC aims to facilitate international and interdisciplinary Arctic science. To meet this aim, it allocates funds each year for Cross-Cutting Activities – activities that are supported by at least two of the five IASC Working Groups (WGs). The objective of this WG-spanning program is to promote system-scale activities within IASC and to encourage the WGs to explore interdisciplinary activities, in particular across the natural and social sciences.
The Arctic-Subarctic Ocean Fluxes (ASOF) workshop is an annual meeting for physical and biogeochemical oceanographers and sea-ice scientists (both observationalists and modelers) researching oceanic/sea-ice connections between the Arctic and the global oceans. Given that the Arctic is one of the fastest changing marine environments, quantifying the variations and trends in oceanic heat- and freshwater exchanges (and the drivers of those) are vital to improve our understanding of the impact of ongoing climate change on the Arctic, and the role of the Arctic in influencing global climate systems. In 2025, the ASOF workshop will be held at the Institute of Marine Science, ICM-CSIC, in Barcelona on the 13- 15th May.
This year’s workshop will have an additional focus on building bridges between observations made in the field (in-situ) and data obtained through satellites. While in-situ observations are still difficult and expensive to obtain from the remote Arctic Ocean, the availability and quality of satellite products is increasingly improving and hence allowing for new ways of observing and quantifying Arctic Ocean change.
The ASOF workshop is a friendly, open meeting, where early career scientists can present their results and interact with established scientists within Arctic oceanography and sea ice research. We also envision it as a welcoming meeting to increase engagement between researchers and indigenous groups in the Arctic region. We promote participation in person to stimulate as much interaction as possible but, recognizing the challenges of travel, also provide the option to join remotely. The IASC cross-cutting workshop funding allows for up to 5 early career scientists or indigenous researchers to join the 2025 ASOF workshop in person.
Project Lead
Laura de Steur (Norwegian Polar Institute, Norway)