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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that, by 2050, societies may need to remove atmospheric CO2 on a gigaton scale to limit climate warming to 2°C. Marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) is gaining increased attention as a potential climate mitigation strategy, yet its large-scale deployment remains uncertain due to critical knowledge gaps. The Eastern Pacific Ocean, particularly the California Current System, has become a focal point for emerging mCDR startups, making it a key region for research and innovation. This session will explore the observational and modeling requirements necessary to assess the feasibility, effectiveness, and ecological impacts of mCDR in this dynamic system. Discussions will span physical oceanographic processes that influences carbon sequestration, biogeochemical feedbacks, and ecosystem responses—from microbial communities to fisheries. We invite contributions addressing field observations, remote sensing, numerical modeling, and integrated assessment frameworks that inform responsible mCDR implementation. By bridging disciplines from physics to biology, this session aims to advance a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with mCDR in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The mesopelagic or "twilight" zone spans the water column from 200-1000 m. This comprises 20% of ocean's volume but holds 90% of fish biomass. There is increasing interest in the mesopelagic due to its large fish biomass and thus economic potential via commercial fishing. If exploitation becomes a reality, we need to establish a baseline and better understand ecological processes in the mesopelagic and its connections to the epipelagic ocean. Furthermore, the mesopelagic zone plays a critical role in the global carbon cycle and other biochemical processes via "marine snow" and food web interactions. There are many gaps in our understanding of this hard-to-study system. Mesopelagic organisms and their behaviors are diverse and the complexities of their behaviors, such as diel vertical migration, are still being revealed. This session welcomes contributions that address ecological or biological processes relevant to the mesopelagic zone. Examples include physical or biogeochemical influences on mesopelagic organisms, trophic interactions between mesopelagic organisms, and links between the mesopelagic and epipelagic systems.
Nearshore processes play a fundamental role in shaping coastal evolution, influencing hazards that threaten coastal populations, ecosystems, and infrastructure. These dynamic processes impact sediment transport, wave transformation, storm-driven flooding, and shoreline stability, making them critical to coastal management and adaptation strategies. Recent advances in observational techniques and numerical modeling have significantly improved our ability to study the underlying physics governing nearshore dynamics. By using field data, remote sensing, and high-resolution simulations, we can enhance our understanding of nearshore variability, improve predictive capabilities, and develop more effective mitigation and adaptation solutions in the face of coastal hazards. This session invites contributions investigating nearshore hydrodynamics, sediment transport, storm impacts, and nature-based solutions for coastal resilience. We welcome studies leveraging in situ measurements and/or numerical models.
Climate change is impacting ecosystems but the impact is not uniform across space and spatial scales. Habitat refugia can buffer the effects of climate change, potentially mitigating the effects of climate change on populations through lower exposure and/or by promoting local adaptation. This session will include talks on diverse topics ranging from identifying habitat refugia from climate change and the implications of local habitat refugia on populations persistence and management in the Eastern Pacific.
Marine stations have been regional hubs for research, teaching, and outreach along the Pacific coast for over a century. In light of a growing need for place-based, but also highly integrative knowledge of the biological, physical, and social dimensions of climate change and other environmental stressors, the dozen or so extant marine stations of the Northeast Pacific remain uniquely well-positioned to leverage their historical datasets, refine and expand their ongoing data collection efforts, and work to make these data as inclusive and meaningful as possible for policymakers, tribal partners, and surrounding communities. This session aims to bring together scientists and educators from a number of marine stations to discuss the pitfalls and promises of implementing interdisciplinary, community-minded science programs at the appropriate scales-in effect, to brainstorm actionable ways to turn the "seaside laboratories" of the past into the ocean observatories of the future.
Machine Learning continues to gain traction as a powerful tool for oceanographic analysis. ML methods can facilitate both interpretation of field data (e.g. to identify plankton species) and the estimation of 3D biogeochemical fields (e.g. for reanalyses and prediction). One such application entails their use in developing compact (hence computationally rapid) emulators of dynamically downscaling models of the Northeast Pacific. While practically useful in management settings, the ultimate contribution of emulators to *scientific* understanding is less certain. This session invites contributions regarding the application and/or effectiveness of AI/ML techniques in identifying the physical and biological dynamics of the Eastern Pacific, as well as their potential impact on marine science and resource management.
Presentations on any topic related to the oceanography and ecology of the Eastern Pacific Ocean or related settings.
Past EPOC programs are available in the EPOC Archive.