Project Report:
The key objectives of ASOF are to perform an Arctic/Subarctic synthesis of mass, heat & freshwater fluxes, create a forum where scientists and programs studying Arctic/Subarctic Ocean ecosystems and biology can interact, assist testing of ocean circulation and biophysical models of the Arctic and Subarctic.
ASOF organizes yearly workshops for 30-50 participants. These workshops have had a great impact on the international of Arctic and Subarctic oceanography community in terms of collaborations, publications, development of research proposals, programs and cruise planning. ASOF has supporting synthesis activities (https://asof.awi.de/outputs/ ) such as a book, several reports and newsletters that help to put research in a context, built a community and give visibility to Early Career Scientists work.
ASOF workshops have become great spots for Early Career Scientists to connect with senior scientists in the field. Apart from allowing some administrative worktime for an assistant from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (Germany), ASOF is not receiving any funding for organizing its yearly workshops. However, ASOF is strongly committed with the new generation of polar scientists, and to support several Early Career Scientists for their travel, each year ASOF applies for support to international programs. For 2023 the IASC the Marine Working Group has help us by supporting 5 ECS.
The ASOF workshop 2023 was took place on 10-12 May 2023, hosted by María Dolores Pérez Hernández at the IOCAG - Instituto de Oceanografía y Cambio Global - Universidad de las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The main topics of the ASOF 2023 workshop were to discuss recent progress in research projects and studies related to better understanding the Arctic/Subarctic Oceans, discuss and plan Arctic/Subarctic syntheses of mass, heat & freshwater fluxes, and their dynamics, coordinate and plan future studies of the coupled dynamics of the Arctic and Subarctic oceans, including the physical system and its connection with the marine biogeochemical system and the ecosystem, contribute to the engagement phase of the Fourth International Conference on Arctic Research Planning (ICARP IV) process and to coordinate the connection of the three Arctic DBOs (the well-established Pacific DBO, the establishment of a Davis Strait/Baffin Bay DBO and the Atlantic-Arctic DBO in development as part of the Arctic PASSION project).
Locally the ASOF workshop 2023 had a great impact, it gave the Ph.D. candidates the opportunity of presenting their work to the Arctic international scientific community and to interact and network with them in a familiar place. The meeting also benefited the students from the Master in Oceanography and from the Marine Science Degree to participate in an international workshop for free and see in firsthand how scientists discuss their results and future projects with the community. Four of these students also got offered an opportunity to join a cruise on the Arctic next summer.
OUTCOME:
In total there were a total of 74 communications, 61 in oral and in 13 poster form. We had a total of 119 (69 in person and 48 online) participants of which 69 (36 females- 33 males) were in person attendees, 48 (22 females -26 males) online participants, and 15 (9 females – 6 males) were students from either the Master in Oceanography or the Marine Science Degree from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
THREE SCIENTIFIC HIGHLIGHTS:
- The ASOF 2023 provided with an update on the most recent relevant research results on the topics of the workshops for all in-person and online participants. Also, the workshop presented the most recent developments and plannings regarding projects, project proposals and cruise planning.
- For the ECS this meeting was a mid-size forum ideal to train their skills for disseminating their results and to build an international and interdisciplinary network for their future. Furthermore, in-person connections of ECS with senior scientists, enhances their chances for new positions in their career, and a more efficient recruitment of new personnel on the senior scientist’s side.
- The long-term result of the workshop is a strong contribution to a better coordinated and better-connected research on the oceanography of the Arctic and subarctic This holds on a scientific and planning level as well as on a personal level regarding connections between scientists and teams globally who work on the meeting.
Date and Location:
10 – 12 May 2023 | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
IASC Working Group funding the Project:
- Marine WG
Project Lead
M. Dolores Perez-Hernandez (Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain)
Year funded by IASC
2023
Project Status
Completed