The JGOFS Global Synthesis Working Group (GSWG),
the JGOFS/GAIM Task Team (JGTT) on 3D Ocean Carbon Modelling and Analysis and
the Institute for Environment & Sustainability, EC Joint Research Centre (Ispra)
hold a Workshop on
"Global Ocean Productivity and the Fluxes of Carbon and Nutrients: Combining Observations and Models",
on 24 – 27 June 2002, in Ispra, Italy.

Introduction: The JGOFS project has employed a large variety of different approaches to determine marine productivity and the fluxes of carbon and nutrients. The methods range from satellite observations, shipboard measurements, sediment traps, benthic flux up to numerical modeling at regional and global scales. A tremendous effort was accomplished along all these years to reduce the uncertainties in our understanding of the global ocean biogeochemical cycles. Now with JGOFS at its final phase, there is a pressing need to compile and compare the results from the various methods and to investigate whether a consistent picture emerges. The first meeting of the JGOFS Global Synthesis Working Group (GSWG) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands (July 2001) indicated that significant discrepancies between different techniques and models still exist, addressing the need to conduct multi-disciplinary exercises / projects to bridge the gaps between physics and biogeochemistry, between process analyses, observations and modeling. To foster the interaction and cooperation between scientists from different research fields, the GSWG together with the JGTT/OCMIP organised a workshop on: Global Ocean Productivity and the Fluxes of Carbon and Nutrients: combining Observations and Models, hosted in late June 2002 by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, Institute for Environment and Sustainability (Ispra, Italy).

Objectives: The workshop involve about 70 scientists from around the world representing all aspects of the marine carbon and nutrient cycles – modeling, process studies and experiments, as well as in situ and remote sensing observations. Specific objectives were: 
-- To obtain an overview of the present state of research on global ocean productivity and fluxes of carbon and nutrients with special emphasis on comparisons between observations and models.
-- To address remaining challenges in ocean biogeochemistry and new trends in our understanding of the marine processes and their variability over time and space
-- To explore new research strategies in ocean biogeochemistry for the next decade and foster constructive trans-disciplinary actions within the global change arena.

Agenda: The workshop was structured with half-day session on various themes. Each theme was presented in two equally important parts, a plenary session (with keynote presentations) and a poster session. Both were extensively discussed, giving an opportunity for all participants to comment on the present and future strategic research within each thematic. Slightly different in scope than a formal conference, the purpose of presentations and/or posters in this workshop was to fuel and stimulate discussion. The participants were thus encouraged to present synthesis material, and/or their own perception, including provocative ideas, on oceanic biogeochemistry. The list of topics for discussion included:

You can access Abstracts and even some Presentations, when available (marked )

Monday 24 June (morning) -- Session topic A: "Observing ocean productivity from space" -- Chairperson: Trevor Platt (Comment)

Keynote presentations:
"Seasonal and ENSO variability in global ocean phytoplankton chlorophyll" (James A. Yoder and Maureen A. Kennelly) - Abstract
"Marine primary production estimates from ocean color: a comparative study of algorithms" (Mary-Elena Carr and Marjorie Friedrichs) - Abstract 
"A recipe for ocean productivity, and variations" (John Marra) - Abstract

Posters
"Sea-air CO₂ flux determined from in situ and remotely sensed data: its variability in the Southern Ocean" (Yvan Rangama, J. Boutin, J. Etcheto and L. Merlivat) - Abstract
"How productive is the Southern Ocean? Results from inverse modeling compared with satellite based estimates" (Reiner Schlitzer) - Abstract 
"Dynamic ecological provinces: a biogeochemical and physiological template for the global ocean" (Mark D. Dowell, Janet W. Campbell and Timothy S. Moore) - Abstract 
"Remote sensing of phytoplankton photosynthetic rates and production from measurements of ocean colour" 
(Jim Aiken, Gerald Moore, James Fishwick, Tim Smyth, Claudia Omachi & Kathryn Woods) - Abstract 
"Seasonal and interannual variability of chlorophyll a and primary productivity in the subarctic North Pacific during 1997-2000 using multi-sensor remote sensing" (Kosei Sasaoka, Sei-ichi Saitoh, Toshiro Saino) - Abstract 

Monday 24 June (afternoon) -- Session topic B: "From primary production to export flux: factors controlling the export efficiency" -- Chairperson: Edward Laws

Keynote presentations
"Incorporating respiration into the ocean carbon budget: lifting the lid off Pandora's box" (Peter J. Le B. Williams) - Abstract
"Role of zooplankton in the transformation, remineralization, and export of particulate organic matter in the sea" (Deborah K. Steinberg) - Abstract
"Magnitude, variability and controls on the ratio of particle export to primary production in the upper ocean" (Ken O. Buesseler) - Abstract

Posters
"A nitrogen-, phosphorus-, and silicon-based model of primary production and export applied to station ALOHA: can we get the model to agree with the data for primary production, DOM concentrations and POM flux ?" (S. Lan Smith, Yasuhiro Yamanaka and Michio J. Kishi) - Abstract
"Maximum resiliency as a food web organizing construct: heterotrophic bacteria and phytoplankton biomass across a trophic gradient" (E. Laws) - Abstract 
"Translating net production to export: biological impacts on efficiency" (R. Sambrotto and S. Green) - Abstract 

Tuesday 25 June (morning) -- Session Topic C: "The flux of particulate matter in the water column: magnitude and depth dependence" -- Chairperson: Gerhard Fischer

Keynote presentations
"Global export flux and regional functionality of biological pump: a result from JGOFS sediment trap programs since 1982" (Susumu Honjo, Roger Francois, Richard Krishfield and Steve Manganini) - Abstract
"Factors controlling the flux of organic carbon to the bathypelagic zone of the ocean" (Roger Francois, Susumu Honjo, Richard Krishfield and Steve Manganini) - Abstract
"How POC export, curvature in the Martin function, biogenic Si content and particle settling velocity are related" (Will M. Berelson) - Abstract
"Global distribution of downward particle flux from models and measurements: do we believe any of them?" (Richard S. Lampitt, E.E. Popova and I.J. Totterdell) - Abstract

Posters
"Coccolithophorids from the eastern Mediterranean: linking surface and export production. Preliminary results" (E. Malinverno, C. Corselli, P. Ziveri and G.J. De Lange) - Abstract
"Quantifying phytoplankton contributions to carbon export using ¹³C" (Tom Trull) - Abstract
"Spatial pattern of opal and CaCO₃ fluxes in sediment traps: application to the LGM carbon cycle" (C. Klaas and D.E. Archer) - Abstract
"The effective carbon flux in the Atlantic Ocean" (W. Koeve) - Abstract

Tuesday 25 June (afternoon) -- Session Topic D: "Benthic fluxes along ocean margins and in the open ocean" -- Chairperson: Richard Lampitt

Keynote presentations
"Global distribution and magnitude of deep particulate organic carbon fluxes estimated by benthic flux measurements" 
 (Richard A. Jahnke) - Abstract
"Cross-boundary exchanges of carbon and nitrogen in the marginal seas"  (Chen-Tung Arthur Chen) - Abstract
"Decoupling surface production from deep remineralization and benthic deposition: empirical evidence and modeling challenges" (R. Armstrong) - Abstract

Posters
"Considering the coastal ocean in global ocean biogeochemical models" (X. Giraud and C. Le Quéré) - Abstract
"The role of eddies in controlling export production in coastal upwelling regime" (Nicolas Gruber) - Abstract

Wednesday 26 June (morning) -- Session Topic E: "Recent evidence for changes in marine biogeochemical cycles" -- Chairperson: John Steele

Keynote presentations
"Responses of marine organisms and ecosystems to hydro-meteorological forcing" (Grégory Beaugrand) - Abstract 
"An ecosystem models response to North Atlantic Oscillation like forcing" (Martin Visbeck, Marina Lévy, Naomi Naik and Jessie Cherry ) - Abstract 
"Increased stratification and decreased primary productivity in the western subarctic North Pacific - a 30 years retrospective study" (S. Chiba, K. Tadokoro, T. Ono and T. Saino) - Abstract

Posters
"Seasonal variation of export ratio in the Arabian Sea predicted by an ecosystem-circulation model with particle aggregation" (Michio Kawamiya and Iris Kriest) - Abstract
"Potential responses of lower trophic levels to climate variability and climate change over the industrial era" (Patrick Monfray, L.Bopp, O.Aumont, C.Le Quéré and J.Orr) - Abstract
"Simulated temporal variability of biogeochemical processes at the subarctic North Pacific time-series stations" (M. Fujii, Y. Yamanaka, Y. Nojiri and M. J. Kishi) - Abstract

Wednesday 26 June (afternoon) -- Session Topic F: "Hind- and forecasting biogeochemical fluxes with models" -- Chairperson: Steve Spall

Keynote presentations
"The impact of climate change on the marine biogeochemical cycling: detecting change with biogeochemical tracers" (Richard J. Matear) - Abstract 
"Implications of various depth levels used to compute export production" (Andreas Oschlies) - Abstract  
"Controls on global particle export and remineralization: model development and calibration" (John P. Dunne, Robert A. Armstrong, Curtis A. Deutsch, Anand Gnanadesikan, Jorge L. Sarmiento, Panangady S. Swathi and Nicolas Gruber ) - Abstract

Posters
"Preliminary results with CFC-11 in a high resolution general circulation model" (Akio Ishida, Yoshikazu Sasai and Yasuhiro Yamanaka) - Abstract
"Preliminary results of a marine ecosystem model with Ocean General Circulation model" (Yasuhiro Yamanaka, Maki N. Aita, S. Lan Smith and Michio J. Kishi) - Abstract
"One more 3D global biogeochemical model: are we doing a better job?" (E.E. Popova, A.C. Coward) - Abstract
"Analysis of marine productivity and chlorophyll a with inverse techniques" (A. Winguth, M. Dobbel and B. Kirby) - Abstract
"Dust impact on marine biota and atmospheric CO₂ during glacial periods" (L. Bopp, K. E. Kohfeld, C. Le Quéré and O. Aumont) - Abstract   

Thursday 27 June (morning) -- Session Topic G: "The next generation of biogeochemical models: what level of complexity is needed ? -- Chairperson: Marina Lévy

Keynote presentations
"What's missing in the ocean that the land already has?" (C. Le Quéré, I.C. Prentice, E.T.Buitenhuis) - Abstract 
"Ecological rules for managing complexity" (John H. Steele) - Abstract 
"Modelling the response of the ocean carbon cycle to climate change: is DOM necessary?" (I.J. Totterdell) - Abstract

Posters
"The role of atmospheric dust deposition in supplying Fe to oceanic surface waters and the limitations of current modeling approaches" (Chris Measures) - Abstract
v"A study of ocean circulation using a tracer in a high resolution model" (Yoshikazu Sasai, Akio Ishida and Yasuhiro Yamanaka) - Abstract
"Ocean carbon modelling: world perspective" (Ragasakthi S. Sundarvel) - Abstract
"How may primary production be influenced by ocean DMS emissions: a climate modelling study of the CLAW hypothesis" (Steve A. Spall, A. Jones, D. L. Roberts, M. J. Woodage, T. R. Anderson and S. Woodward) - Abstract  
"The Dynamic Green Ocean Model: plankton functional groups in an Ocean Global Circulation Model" (E.T. Buitenhuis, C. Le Quéré and O. Aumont) - Abstract

Thursday 27 June (afternoon) -- Session Topic H: "Future observations of biogeochemical systems: new technologies and Networks" -- Chairperson: Nicolas Gruber

Keynote presentations
"Robotic observations of carbon cycle processes in remote and very stormy oceans" (Jim K. B. Bishop) - Abstract
"Large scale estimates of primary production and export production: the JGOFS legacy" (Shubha Sathyendranath and Trevor Platt) - Abstract
"Current JGOFS DMTT activities, and data management requirements for future marine biogeochemical projects - insights for modelers" (Margarita Conkright and Bernard Avril) - Abstract

Posters
"Interannual variability of ocean mixing and biogeochemistry in the North Atlantic Ocean" (Michael J. Follows, J.C. Marschall, G.A. McKinley, S. Dutkiewicz, R. G. Williams and A.J. McLaren) - Abstract
"Global transmissometer database as a tool for basin-wide POC assessment" (W.D. Gardner, A.V. Mishonov and M.J. Richardson) - Abstract  
"Recent JGOFS DMTT activities: what do we have achieved so far? What are our plans?" (B. Avril and M. Conkright) - Abstract  
"PANGAEA and the World Data Center for Marine Environmental Sciences – facilities for the final global data synthesis of JGOFS data" (M. Diepenbroek, H. Grobe and R. Sieger) - Abstract
"Modelling the ocean with the aid of compiled data" (Jan R. Andersen and H. Sagen) - Abstract

Organizing Committee:  For any additional information or comments, please contact: 

Location: The Ispra site of the EC Joint Research Centre includes the Institute for Environment & Sustainability (IES) in charge of the scientific and technical support to EU strategies for environment protection and sustainable development. Its integrated approach combines expertise in experimental sciences, modelling, geomatics and remote sensing, regrouped under various thematics or Units, e.g. the Inland & Marine Unit . The JRC Ispra is located in northern Italy on the east coast of the Lake Maggiore (see JRC map).