Climatological mean monthly distributions of pH in the total H+ scale, total CO₂ concentration (TCO₂), and the degree of CaCO₃ saturation for the global surface ocean waters (excluding coastal areas) are calculated using a data set for pCO₂, alkalinity and nutrient concentrations in surface waters (depths less than 50 m), which is built upon the GLODAP, CARINA and LDEO database.

The Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling (SOCCOM website) program will commence in September 2014 with an initial commitment of $3.5 million per year over 6 years ($21 million dollars total). SOCCOM program is a six‐year initiative funded by the US NSF to drive a transformative shift in the scientific and public understanding of the role of the Southern Ocean in climate change and biogeochemistry.

An interesting compilation of the state of ocean acidification research and understanding has just been published and can be downloaded here.

With the advent of new sensors and platforms to measure surface water CO₂ levels, the dataset quality control criteria are updated in SOCAT to accommodate surface water fugacity of CO₂ (fCO₂) data from these sensors.

This year’s OCB summer workshop will take place July 22-25, 2013 at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Please visit the workshop website at http://www.whoi.edu/workshops/ocbworkshop2013/  for more information and to register to attend. The registration deadline is June 19, 2013.

POGO is pleased to announce that it will once again offer a special POGO Visiting Fellowship for training on-board an Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) cruise in 2013.  

The purpose of this message is to invite you to propose members for the new Ocean Acidification international Reference User Group (OA iRUG). Please forward this message as appropriate to your contacts.

The SCOR Secretariat will accept proposals for new working groups from now until 15 May 2013. The 41^st SCOR Executive Committee Meeting will take place in Wellington, New Zealand on 25-27 November 2013. 

We are pleased to announce that the organizers of the 2010 OCB scoping workshop on biogeochemical ocean time-series have recently published a paper that summarizes the outcomes and community recommendations from the workshop. 

The workshop took place November 28-30, 2012 at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS). The workshop was jointly convened by the IOCCP and the Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry (OCB) Program, and focused on biogeochemical time-series methods and data intercomparison.

Workshop Reports

The full workshop report distributed in June 2013 is available here.

The EOS meeting report published on 23 April 2013 is available here or from the AGU online library.

An international biogeochemical time-series network

An important outcome of the November 2012 workshop was an establishment of an international network of ship-based biogeocemical time series. This is part of a continually growing need for coordination and collaboration between PI's working at ship-based time series worldwide. A permanent WEB PORTAL was initiated to improve communication (eg. through en email list allowing the community to exchange information directly), provide a hub for relevant documents and more based on your feedback which is always welcome!

Workshop Rationale and Objectives

Ocean time-series represent one of the most valuable tools scientists have to characterize and quantify ocean carbon fluxes and biogeochemical processes and their links to changing climate. In order to acquire a more thorough understanding of natural cycles and human-driven changes in the global oceans, it is important that time-series methodologies (sampling and analytical protocols) be transparent and consistent. This workshop provided an opportunity to convene representatives from global marine biogeochemical time-series sites to review current methodologies being used at the sites, with the aim of standardizing sampling and analytical protocols for key biogeochemical parameters being measured across sites. The workshop goals and outcomes included the following:

• Review current oceanographic time-series core sampling and analytical methodologies and rationale behind protocol differences
• To the extent possible, attempt to define standardized methods applicable across time-series
• Attempt to reconcile differences in variable nomenclature
• Examine new techniques available for more accurate and simplified measurements
• Generate a list of suggestions on how automated sensors may improve the type and accuracy of core measurements taken at time-series sites
• Coordinate a best practices publication on sampling and measurement protocols to facilitate data inter-comparison across time-series sites

Workshop Sponsors

IOCCP and OCB gratefully acknowledge the support of IOC-UNESCO, SCOR, NSF, NASA, NOAA, and BIOS for this workshop.