deep ocean task team
Photo credit: Richard Barnden / Ocean Image Bank
Deep Ocean Task Team
Mission
The deep ocean, defined as waters below 200 meters, is a vital component of global ecosystems. It represents 93% of the world’s living space by volume, supports immense biodiversity and biomass, offers unique genetic resources, and plays a key role in ecosystem services and climate regulation. However, its vast and remote nature poses significant challenges for sampling and research, which can particularly limit early career ocean professionals (ECOPs) from engaging in deep ocean science. A survey conducted by the Deep Ocean Observing Strategy (DOOS), a UN Ocean Decade endorsed programme, in 2023 highlighted that (1) many early career researchers are eager to engage in deep ocean science and policy, and (2) there is a need for a dedicated early career deep ocean program to provide training and entry points into the deep ocean decade community. In response, we created the Deep Ocean ECOP Programme Task Team.
Broad Objectives
- Facilitate Entry and Engagement with the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development for early career deep ocean researchers.
- Connect Deep Ocean ECOPs with Decade Actions Focused on the Deep Ocean
- Enhance Collaboration and Partnerships Among Deep Ocean ECOPs
- Cultivate a New Generation of Leadership in Deep Ocean Observing and Research
Approaches to Achieve These Objectives
- Professional Development Training, e.g., provide targeted workshops and training sessions to enhance skills and expertise in deep ocean science and policy.
- Targeted Mentoring, e.g., Connecting ECOPs with experienced mentors in the field.
- Networking Opportunities, e.g., Organize remote events and in-person gatherings at conferences to facilitate networking and collaboration among deep ocean ECOPs.
- Resource Compilation, e.g., gather and disseminate information about funding, research, and job opportunities
- Community-Led Working Group Structure, e.g., Establish working groups focused on specific themes or challenges within deep ocean research, and work towards publications and/or other products (e.g., sessions at conferences, side events).
Contact
Are you an ECOP interested in joining the Deep Ocean Task Team?
If so, please fill out this google form: https://forms.gle/vHmib37Eks6A6Fao7
Leadership Team
Dr. Liz Hetherington is a marine ecologist specializing in pelagic food webs and the science-policy interface. She earned her Ph.D. in Biology from UC San Diego in 2018. Following this, she conducted postdoctoral research in Anela Choy’s lab at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, focusing on gelatinous zooplankton in the California Current Ecosystem. Liz is a teaching professor at Scripps and an early-career researcher with the Deep Ocean Observing Strategy. She co-leads the science-to-policy working group and serves as a liaison to the UN Ocean Decade.
Dr. Amelia Bridges is a research fellow based at the University of Plymouth in the UK. Her research interests broadly fall into two fields: spatial ecology in the deep sea, and the use of science to inform policy and marine spatial planning.
Dr. Angelee Annasawmy is a biological oceanographer with a decade of experience studying micronekton—fish, crustaceans, and squids ranging in size from 2 to 20 cm, that inhabit the ocean’s twilight zone. She uses various complementary approaches, such as acoustics, stable isotopes, trace metals, trawling, and, more recently, environmental DNA, to better understand the diversity, distribution, ecology, ecotoxicology, and role of micronekton in the ocean. She actively supports early career scientists (ECRs) in EuroMarine’s OYSTER (Orienting Young ScienTists of EuromaRine) and the ICES SIIECS’ networks (Strategic Initiative on Integration of Early Career Scientists).
Olusola Adeoye is a trained environmental conflicts analyst and deep ocean literacy expert with specific focus on the Southeastern Atlantic Ocean. He leads Coast2Deep-Sea Initiative, a citizen science based capacity development project which seeks to empower local youth by involving them in biodiversity conservation and habitat mapping and research.
Dr. Paige Maroni is a marine molecular biologist and Research Fellow from the University of Western Australia. Her research focusses on discovering biodiversity in polar and deep-sea marine systems and incorporates phylogenetics, bioinformatics and sub-sea technology to merge her biological questions with genome- and ocean-wide datasets for data visualisation and interpretation.