๐ค Machine learning is helping us explore Antarctic ecosystems!
A new review by Gorry et al. shows how satellite, drone data, and curated resources like SOOS enable modeling of ice, ocean, and life in the Southern Ocean ๐๐doi.org/10.3390/rs18030459
๐ข Reminder: Abstract submissions for the 12th SCAR Open Science Conference (10โ14 Aug 2026, Oslo ๐ณ๐ด) close 28 February 2026.
Find our sessions below!
Planning to submit something related to SOOS ? Please get in touch so we can coordinate efforts. ๐โ๏ธ
#OSM26 kicks off 22 Feb in Glasgow! ๐
At the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2026, the Southern Ocean Observing System community is leading & contributing to sessions on airโsea fluxes, carbon, tech & open polar data.
Attending? Join us!
๐ soos.aq/events/osm26-sessions
๐โ๏ธ Polar science meeting season is here!
With OSM, EGU & SCAR approaching, many of us are preparing to travel. Conferences drive collaboration, but they also carry a real carbon footprint.
๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ: Leadership in climate science = leadership in climate responsibility.
Small choices add up:
๐ SOFLUX Newsletter is out!
Highlights:
๐ ECR spotlight: Lรฉa Olivier (Alfred Wegener Institute) on the Southern Ocean COโ sink
๐ New papers on Southern Ocean Air-Sea Fluxes
๐ Project updates: ATMOS2 & TRICUSO
โ๏ธ Tips for reducing your conference carbon footprint
๐ More: go.soos.aq/SOFLUX_Feb_2026
๐ฅ New #SOFLUX_Webinar recording!
โInsights from 13 years of Southern Ocean Flux Station (SOFS) observationsโ by Haifeng Zhang (Australian Bureau of Meteorology)
A valuable long-term perspective on airโsea exchange processes in the Southern Ocean.
๐ Watch the recording here: youtu.be/uN-pPES2YaA
๐๐ Southern Ocean biodiversity under the spotlight!
SOOS, @scar-antarctic.bsky.social & AAD workshop defined region-specific Essential Biodiversity Variables to track changes in sea ice, plankton, benthic, & predator systems.
๐ doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2025.00038
๐งต Part of #SOOSSymposium2023 issue
For our 12th edition of our monthly International Day of Women and Girls in Science post (#IDWGS2025), weโre featuring Alyce Hancock, Executive Officer of @soosocean.bsky.social!
โฐReminder: #SOFLUX_webinar on air-sea heat flux coming up on Monday! Registerโก๏ธ go.soos.aq/Register_SOFLUX_Webinar
โ๏ธ-covered SO Key Gaps :
โข Year-round under-ice data missing
โข Sparse ice shelf & continental shelf observations
โข Few direct airโsea heat & COโ flux measurements
โข Limited ecosystem & biogeochemical data
โข Fragmented data standards & stewardship
Feedback open until 15 Feb: scar.org/scar-news/in...
๐งโ ๏ธ Rapid change. Limited observations. Big consequences.
SOOS & @oceaniceeu.bsky.social defined ๐ณ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ฏ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป ๐ข๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป.
Built by ~30 international experts. Timed for #AntarcticaInSync & #IPY5
Read: go.soos.aq/White_Paper_Priorities&Harmonisation
๐ฆ๐ถ What concerns you most about Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, and why? ๐ฆ๐ถ
SCAR is updating its Horizon Scan and we invite you to contribute.
๐ท Submit your response by 1 March 2026 and help focus international research where it is most needed: bit.ly/scar-horizon...
๐ Open Letter to World Leaders โ post-COP30 update
"Without sustained observations, stable financing,(...), we risk governing for a climate that effectively no longer exists"
๐ฅ Recording: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hnI...
๐ Post-COP30 analysis (Nat. Comm.): eartharxiv.org/repository/v...
๐ Recent paper: Zhang & Schulz (2025), J. Southern Hemisphere Earth Systems Science: doi.org/10.1071/ES25...
Come & hear about it at our next #SOFLUX_webinar: soos.aq/events/soflux-webinars
๐ #SOFLUX_Webinar: 13 Yrs of Heat Flux Insights from the Southern Ocean
๐๏ธ Feb 9, 9:00 UTC
๐ค Haifeng Zhang (Australian Bureau of Meteorology)
Explore over a decade of Southern Ocean Flux Station (SOFS) data revealing how the Southern Ocean absorbs heat
๐ป Register: buff.ly/xVcXFjK
๐ Ross Sea MPA Research Coordination Network โ Annual Meeting
Join the global scienceโpolicy community supporting the Ross Sea region MPA review.
๐ Estes Park, Colorado (USA)
๐
27โ30 April
๐ฅ๏ธ In person & virtual
๐ Register by 19 Feb
โ๏ธ Travel๐ธ available
๐ www.rosssearesearch.org/annual-meeti...
Together, their expertise spans physical oceanography, FAIR data governance, AI & geospatial analysis, metadata standards, environmental data stewardship, and SOOSmapโstrengthening SOOSโs mission to make Southern Ocean data accessible to the global community ๐๐
Interested as well? buff.ly/OB6YQvC
๐New faces strengthen SOOS DMSC!
Weโre excited to welcome new members to the SOOS Data Management Sub-Committee (DMSC):
Itzel Ruvalcaba, Chantel Ridsdale, Rajendran Ajin, Belinda Nhesvure, and Rachele Bordoni ๐
Read more: buff.ly/CCAEsQC
๐จ CALL for Community Input ๐จ
The #AntarcticaInSync Draft White Papers are open for reviewโand your voice matters!
โณ Feedback closes 31 Jan 2026
๐ฅ Public webinar: 20โ21 Jan 2026
This is a critical opportunity to influence priorities, gaps, & directions.
www.antarctica-insync.org/antarctica-i...
๐ฅ Webinar recording now available!
Missed the recent #SOFLUX_webinar?
Explore how passing storm systems can trigger bursts of nitrous oxide (NโO) release from the Southern Ocean
โ ๐กshedding new light on atmosphereโocean gas exchange and climate-relevant feedbacks.
Watch: youtu.be/p47Fkq0_G34
!Nominations are still open! ๐ทhttps://buff.ly/Lso1wW5
If you want to see what the Weddell Sea and Dronning Maud Land working group has been up to, find their latest newsletter here: buff.ly/gVGQFTw
๐ The Amundsen & Bellingshausen Sector (ABS) RWG ended 2025 on a high note!
1โฃ New researchers join the group's leadership team: Casey Schine, Laura Cimoli, & @hildeoliver.bsky.social
๐งhttps://buff.ly/vac6JAb
2โฃ And the ABS workshop recordings are now available
๐นhttps://buff.ly/VtDa5dR
๐๐ฅ Heat Extremes Are Rewriting Southern Ocean Ecosystems
26 years of observations show marine heat waves & cold spells are disrupting phytoplankton with global implications.
SOOS-acknowledged paper by Bai et al. @natcomms.nature.com
๐ doi.org/10.1038/s414...
๐ฐ scienmag.com/extreme-heat...
๐ฆ๐ท๐ En diciembre, Irene Schloss, copresidenta de SOOS, y Martina Mascioni, representante de APECS del WAPSA, participaron en las XII Jornadas Nacionales de Ciencias del Mar โ XX Coloquio de Oceanografรญa, Puerto Madryn.
๐ฃ๏ธ Introducciรณn a SOOS en espaรฑol: buff.ly/iCqCF9T
๐ Next #SOFLUX_Webinar coming up!
"Low-pressure storms drive nitrous oxide emissions from the Southern Ocean"
๐๏ธ Colette Kelly (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
๐๏ธ 8 January 2026
๐ค 15:00 UTC
๐ go.soos.aq/Register_SOFLUX_Webinar
More: soos.aq/events/soflu...
Easing into the new year? Catch up on our latest #SOOS_Update!
This issue includes:
๐ New "Alumni in the Spotlight" Feature
โจ Welcome to new leadership members
๐ค Vibrant working group workshops & webinars
๐ฌ Research on fluxes, ecosystems & ocean acidification
& more at go.soos.aq/SOOSUpdateNo33
Welcome 2026 with a reminder from @antarctic.bsky.social's stunning pteropod films:
โ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป ๐ข๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ๐๐ฒ๐น๐๐ฒ๐โฆ ๐ฎ๐ ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด.โ
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fTl...
At SOOS, thatโs exactly what weโll continue to do. Keep looking with us in 2026!
๐ Happy Holidays from SOOS! ๐
Our office is winding down for the year! ๐
Please note that the SOOS office will be reduced and partially closed until 6 January 2026.
Looking forward to reconnect in the new year with more Southern Ocean updates & initiatives!
Wishing you a fantastic start to 2026!
๐ Southern Ocean in motion! Each dot shows where buoys, gliders, floats, and even tagged animals collected data.
This graphic by OCEAN:ICE was drawn from sources available in SOOSmap.
SOOSmap.aq brings datasets together, making them FAIR & visible, helping researchers spot gaps and track changes.
๐ฑ๐What happens to phytoplankton when Antarctic sea ice hits record lows?
๐ Schlosser & Strutton show major shifts in bloom timing & magnitude, with 2023 standing out as a uncharacteristically long & productive season
๐ doi.org/10.1525/elem...
๐งต Part of the #SOOSSymposium2023 Special Issue
