The OCEAN:ICE Annual Project Meeting was held in conjunction with the International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans (IAPSO) joint event, which took place at the Danish Meteorological Institute in Copenhagen and virtually via Zoom from September 23 to 25, 2024. The joint event included OCEAN:ICE’s Annual Project Meeting (September 23–24) and a Joint OCEAN:ICE, IAPSO, Joint Commission on Ice-Ocean Interactions (JCIOI), and Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) Workshop, ‘Reconciling Cross-Platform Observations of Ice-Shelf Melt (RECOIL),’ on September 25. The collaborative event fostered knowledge sharing, partnership, and networking opportunities.
The event brought together Southern Ocean and cryosphere scientists from various projects, associations, commissions, including OCEAN:ICE, IAPSO, JCIOI, and SOOS, as well as researchers from other projects funded by the European Union and UK Research and Innovation. Participants included oceanographers, climate scientists, cryosphere researchers, modelers, data management experts, and outreach specialists, fostering a diverse and interdisciplinary dialogue. Collaborators from related projects within the EU Polar Cluster and beyond also attended, contributing to a rich exchange of expertise across multiple fields.
The OCEAN:ICE Annual Project Meeting No. 2 (year 2024) showcased the extensive scientific progress made across all work packages, offering a platform for partners to present detailed results, discuss key achievements, and outline future goals. The meeting highlighted the substantial amount of research conducted over the past year, from advancements in subpolar circulation and ice-ocean interactions to significant insights into ice sheet mass balance and deep uncertainties in freshwater fluxes. Despite the impressive work already completed, the project still has time remaining, and discussions focused on refining the trajectory for the coming year, ensuring continued momentum. The meeting also fostered collaboration between work packages, setting the stage for further breakthroughs and reinforcing the commitment to fulfilling the project’s long-term objectives.
Representatives from all participants and partners were invited to the OCEAN:ICE annual project meeting to participate either in person or virtually. Partners represented were the following: DMI, NORCE, AWI, CNRS, UU, ETT, ULB, ENS-LMD, PIK, UGOT, NPI, EPB, NASC, UKRI-BAS, UNN, UoS, ULIVERPOOL, UREAD. There were around 50 in-person and 10 virtual attendees at the OCEAN:ICE annual project meeting, and around 40 attending in-person and 5 virtually the joint workshop with IAPSO, JCIOI, and SOOS.
The day 1 of the OCEAN:ICE annual project meeting (23 September 2024, in the afternoon) started with an opening session with the welcome from the director of the DMI and the welcome from the OCEAN:ICE project coordinator, Ruth Mottram (DMI), and UK project coordinator, Andrew Meijers (UKRI-BAS). The presentations by the individual work package leaders, co-leaders and representatives followed, revolving around the advancement of the work package activities, the outcomes achieved, and the planning for the next 12 months. The scientific talks were given by the representatives of the work packages: 1 and 10, 2, 3 and 11, 4, and 5.
The day 2 of the OCEAN:ICE annual project meeting (24 September 2024) began with an overview and key points arising from the day 1, and then the presentations by the individual work package leaders, co-leaders and representatives followed, revolving around the advancement of the work package activities, the outcomes achieved, and the planning for the next 12 months continued. The scientific talks were given by the representatives of the work packages: 6, 7, 8, 9 and 12. After that, the cross-cutting theme leaders delivered the reports from the cross-cutting theme meetings that took place virtually to maximise the engagement of the project partners just before the annual project meeting. Then the presentations from the partnered projects, EPOC, TipESM, and ISOTIPIC followed. The day was concluded with the plans for the coming year, science and art discussion, as well as a poster session.
The day 3 began with a breakfast dedicated to Early Career Researchers (ECRs). This session created a relaxed environment where ECRs had the opportunity to engage. The Joint OCEAN:ICE, IAPSO, JCIOI, and SOOS Workshop ‘Reconciling Cross-Platform Observations of Ice-Shelf Melt (RECOIL)’ (25 September 2024) was opened by Dan Goldberg (University of Edinburgh), who provided an overview of the scope and objectives. He outlined the primary focus areas and actions for the day, setting the tone for productive knowledge exchange. The morning session featured an overview of the various methodologies used to measure ice-shelf melt rates, presented by the experts. Following the presentations, the session concluded with a discussion chaired by the session moderator, allowing for questions and a broader conversation on these methodologies. The second main session focused on theoretical frameworks and modelling approaches to studying ice-ocean interactions. An open discussion session followed, providing time for questions and debate on the presented topics. The afternoon session highlighted current and future initiatives related to ice-ocean interaction research. Afterwards, the participants were divided into smaller groups to engage in in-depth discussions. These discussions aimed to address challenges in the field and guide future research directions. The workshop concluded with a plenary discussion, where the results of the breakout groups were presented and discussed.
The proceedings of the OCEAN:ICE and IAPSO, JCIOI, and SOOS Workshop ‘Reconciling Cross-Platform Observations of Ice-Shelf Melt (RECOIL)’ are going to be made available in the OCEAN:ICE Zenodo community Ocean-Cryosphere Exchanges in Antarctica: Impacts on Climate and the Earth System as well as the OCEAN:ICE Annual Project Meeting report.
The author of the article – Ruta Hamilton (UKRI-BAS)