We would like to inform you that you are invited to take part in a public review of the draft of the 2021 Status Report on the Global Climate Observing System. This report provides an overview of the adequacy of the observing system as a whole and considers the status of observations of each Essential Climate Variable (ECV).  It covers atmospheric, oceanic, terrestrial, cryospheric and hydrological variables.  Its publication will be followed by an implementation plan in 2022 that will address gaps and new and developing needs.  The report, aimed to be published in July 2021, will be considered by the UNFCCC, sponsors of GCOS and other international observing systems. 

The public review of the 2021 GCOS Status Report is open to all and we look forward to your comments.  Your input will help shape the global climate observing system in the next 6 years.  Follow this link if you're interested in registering as an expert reviewer: https://apps.ipcc.ch/comments/gcos/pd/register.php . The deadline for submitting comments is 2 April 2021. Comments will be considered by the GCOS expert panels (atmosphere, ocean and terrestrial as appropriate) who will adjust the document accordingly. IOCCP as GOOS Biogeochemistry Panel of Experts also contributes to the process.

We would like to let you know that the U.S. Interagency Working Group on Ocean Acidification is organizing a webinar "CO₂-in-seawater reference materials: yesterday, today, and tomorrow." The webinar, presented by Prof. Andrew Dickson (Scripps  Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, USA), will take place on March 16, 2021, at 16:00 UTC. To register please follow this link.

The organizers welcome all who work on ocean acidification and ocean carbonate chemistry studies to attend. This is the first community engagement in a larger effort to increase the resilience of the production and distribution of ocean carbonate chemistry reference materials.

We are happy to inform you that the report of the XV Session of the IOCCP Scientific Steering Group & Global Ocean Observing System Biogeochemistry Panel of Experts (IOCCP-SSG-15) has been published. You can access the report from our site HERE.

The report summarises the current status and future plans related to IOCCP's coordination activities for each of our themes, including the new "Particulate matter" and "Observations-modelling interface" themes. We hope that you will find the report informative and many of you will become involved in the activities that the SSG planned for the months to come. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions and comments.

On top of the change in leadership which we informed about recently, the 2020-2021 period is and will be marked with big changes for the IOCCP SSG. In the second part of 2020 we were lucky to be joined by two new SSG members: Emmanuel Boss (University of Maine, USA) taking responsibility for the new Particulate Matter theme; and Fei Chai (Second Institute of Oceanography, China) taking responsibility for the new Observations-Modelling Interface theme. In January 2021 we also welcomed Dariia Atamanchuk (Dalhousie University, Canada) as a new SSG member to take over the responsibility for the Instruments and Sensors theme. Please see below for more information on the themes led by our new SSG members, or visit their profiles. 

In addition, we are in the process of selecting another group of new SSG members based on many fantastic applications we received in response to the recent open call which closed on 31 January 2021. New SSG members are expected to join the Panel around April-May this year.

We are excited to let you know that since January 2021 Véronique Garçon (LEGOS, France) has joined Kim Currie (NIWA, New Zealand) at the helm of IOCCP as Co-Chair. Véronique joined IOCCP SSG in 2018 and has been engaged in several IOCCP activities related to the Oxygen theme, for which she is responsible, and beyond. We are convinced that under the combined leadership of Kim and Véronique, IOCCP will continue its gradual expansion of coordination and communication activities beyond carbon and onto all marine biogeochemistry Essential Ocean Variables, according to its mandate as GOOS Biogeochemistry Panel. 

At the same time we want to sincerely thank Masao Ishii for his long-term and outstanding commitment to IOCCP. Masao has served on IOCCP SSG for a decade, including four years as Co-Chair, first alongside Toste Tanhua and then Kim Currie. We are indebted to Masao for his guidance, devotion and hard work for the entire marine biogeochemistry community, and look forward to continued interactions in the future.

We would like to let you know that the draft Final Report of Tropical Pacific Observing System (TPOS) 2020 is available for community review until February 19, 2021. This draft report builds upon the First and Second Reports, released in 2016 and 2019. This will be the only round for reviewer comments. The Final Report sets the stage for future evolution of the arrays; describing remaining unresolved issues and a governance structure that will provide the necessary scientific advice and coordination among the implementing agencies. You can access the full report as PDF and download a spreadsheet template for comments from here: https://tpos2020.org/project-reports/final-report/

We would like to let you know about the publication of eight cheat sheets for users of Biogeochemical Argo data, available from the Ocean Best Practices repository (see citation below). The sheets describe data distribution, quality control in the Global Data Acquisition Center and the six core Biogeochemical Argo variables (chlorophyll-a, optical backscatter, pH, Irradiance, oxygen and nitrate) which account for five GOOS EOVs. The cheat sheets aim to guide users by displaying information on data processing, quality control and sensor performance for education purposes. They also provide links to peer-reviewed publications addressing the scientific details. Among the co-authors of the cheat sheets are Kim Baldry (IMAS, Australia) and Marin Cornec (LOV, France) who attended the 2019 IOCCP & BONUS INTEGRAL Training Course on a Suite of Biogeochemical Sensors. 

Baldry, K. (ed.) (2021) Biogeochemical Argo Cheat Sheets: Data distribution; Quality control and GDAC; Chlorophyll-a; Optical backscatter; pH; Irradiance; Oxygen; Nitrate. Hobart, Tasmania, Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, 8pp. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.25607/OBP-981

We would like to let you know that SCOR Secretariat will accept proposals for new working groups from now until 12:00 p.m. UTC on 30 April 2021. The guidelines, a template, and word limits are available at http://www.scor-int.org/SCOR_WGs_Proposal_Instructions.htm, including a PowerPoint presentation explaining the proposal process. SCOR probably will be able to support two new working groups for a start in late 2021, pending availability of funds and that the proposals pass SCOR review. Each new group will be provided US$45,000 over a 3-4 year period to conduct its work. The full call text can be found at https://scor-int.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/2021-Call-for-Proposals.pdf. 

The 2021 SCOR Annual Meeting is scheduled to take place in Busan, Korea on the week of the 25-29 October 2021. Details about the meeting will be posted at the SCOR website https://scor-int.org/ as they become available.

We would like to let you know about the launch of new Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON) Webinar Series. Webinars will take place every 4-6 weeks at a time that is convenient to the speaker and the speaker's primary audience. All webinars will be recorded and shared on the GOA-ON Youtube Channel. The first presentation in the GOA-ON Webinar Series will be shared by Dr. Sam Dupont and Dr. Steve Widdicombe. Their talk is entitled, "Unifying biological field observations to detect and compare ocean acidification impacts across marine species and ecosystems".

The webinar will take place already this Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at 16:00–17:00 CET (UTC +1). Please register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/2927494101675604495 See below for a brief description of the upcoming webinar.

We would like to inform you of the upcoming Tropical Pacific Observing Needs Workshop, which will be held virtually May 24-26, 2021. The primary aim of the Tropical Pacific Observing Needs Workshop is to build upon the recommendations put forth by the TPOS2020, OceanPredict’19, and other workshops to bring together the observational, modeling, and data-assimilation communities to determine the observing needs to advance process understanding of the tropical Pacific Ocean and its representation in models with a goal to improve ocean-atmosphere prediction.

More details about the workshop and how to register/submit an abstract can be found online at https://usclivar.org/meetings/TPON-2021. Registration is free of charge but required in order to participate. Abstract submissions are due March 5, 2021.