The Biogeochemical-Argo program, co-chaired by Hervé Claustre and Ken Johnson, have just launched the first Biogeochemical-Argo Newsletter announcing the publication of the science and implementation plan of the Biogeochemical-Argo program as well as the release of the program web site (http://biogeochemical-argo.org/). On the web site you will find a wealth of information relevant to our community: current network status and interactive float maps, a list of measured variables and relevant scientific questions these measurements help address, data management and quality control protocols and manuals, and much more. Also be sure to check out the 'Adopt a Float' outreach initiative which could become a fantastic resource for all those involved in teaching.

To continue receiving the Biogeochemical Argo newsletters please subscribe here.

We are pleased to inform you that the 3^rd Blue Planet Symposium will be held in College Park, MD, USA, May 31-June 2, 2017. The Symposium will serve as a forum for discussion of societal information needs resulting from the important role the oceans play in Earth's life-support system and the challenge of minimizing the impacts of human activities on the oceans while utilizing the resources of the oceans to meet our needs. The symposium will also be a platform for the participating communities to exchange information on their activities and identify potential pilot and prototype projects for Blue Planet to focus on in the coming years.

Registration will open in January 2017.

Tuesday, October 25, at 6:30 pm GMT, the leading oceanographers from the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling (SOCCOM) project will be discussing the latest, and sometimes surprising, findings coming from their research during a Google Hangout 'Southern Ocean: Eearly clues to answers'. The Hangout is targeted to a general audience, could be of particular interest to instructors/students of climate/oceanography courses. The Hangout will be recorded and livestreamed on YouTube HERE.

SCOR has issued a call for applications for the 2017 SCOR Visiting Scholars Program . The purpose of the program is to encourage ocean scientists to share their expertise through teaching and mentoring in developing countries. SCOR will support three Visiting Scholars in 2017. Applications are welcomed from potential Visiting Scholars as well as institutions wishing to host a Visiting Scholar.

Applications are due by 30 November 2016.

We would like to inform you that the International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans (IAPSO), the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), and SCOR--three groups of the International Council for Science (ICSU)--prepared a document entitled "Future of the Ocean and its Seas: a non-governmental scientific perspective on seven marine research issues of G7 interest". There are several key issues of interest to the marine carbon and biogeochemistry observing community discussed in separate chapters of the document, in particular devoted to: ocean acidification, de-oxygenation, and plastic pollution of the marine environment.

We would like to let you know that the Year 3 Fixed point Open Ocean Observatory network (FixO3) Project Newsletter has now been published. FixO3 seeks to integrate European open ocean fixed point observatories and to improve access to these key installations for the broader community. The newsletter focuses on data products and other key information about the FixO3 project, including relevant carbon cycle and ocean acidification measurements. 

We would like to let you know about the publication of the SOCAT version 3 article in the Earth System Science Data (ESSD, open-access journal) entitled: “A multi-decade record of high-quality fCO₂ data in version 3 of the Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas (SOCAT).” This "living data" publication documents the methods and data sets used for the assembly of SOCATv3 data collection and compares these with those used for earlier versions. Moreover, the paper discusses the importance of SOCAT by highlighting its citation in three categories of high-impact reports, as well as the use of SOCAT for a variety of scientific applications. 

A group of 20 early-career scientists representing 11 nations in Latin-America and the Caribbean had the chance to attend a training course on ocean acidification, held on 5-10 September 2016 in Ensenada, Mexico. Led by an international group of highly experienced lecturers, the participants entering the field of ocean acidification obtained a solid theoretical framework and practical hands-on experience needed to set up coherent experiments. Moreover, this capacity building exercise offered the participants networking opportunities for future collaborative projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, including through the LAOCA (Latin American Ocean Acidification) network.

We would like to let you know that registration and abstract submission is now open for the 10^th International Carbon Dioxide Conference (ICDC10), to be held on 21-25 August 2017, in Interlaken, Switzerland. Please visit the Conference website to check out the program, see the list of invited keynote speakers, submit your abstract and registration, and to note down the important deadlines for this event.

Abstract submission deadline: 28 February 2017

The Global Ocean Oxygen Network (GO2NE), a new working group of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, met recently on 7-9 September 2016 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. GO2NE, which assembles coastal and open ocean scientists, modelers, and biological, chemical and physical oceanographers, seeks to integrate worldwide research efforts on deoxygenation in the open ocean and coastal areas. In the coming years GO2NE plans a number of actions to raise awareness on current and future impacts of declining oxygen concentrations on ocean and human health. For more information about the meeting please follow this LINK, and to read more about GO2NE in general see the IOC page HERE.