Theme 1 The making of models
Are our models theoretically fit for purpose?

Keynote Speaker: Per J Hansen, University of Copenhagen

In this session we welcome submissions describing new (or re-energising old) approaches to representing marine biogeochemical and ecological processes including emerging paradigms as well as novel approaches to constructing models.

Relevant but not exclusive topics are:

• Theoretical evaluation, expert witnesses – are our process descriptions theoretically defensible?
• Incorporating adaption and acclimation and  evolution
• Implementing stoichiometry
• Parameterisation of trophic interactions
• Survivorship, mortality rates and fates in ecosystems.
• Traits, PFTs and mixotrophy
• IBMs and/or implementing individual variability realistically
• Complexity and emergent properties of models
• What can we still accomplish with simpler models?
• Old dogs, new tricks – insights from “Historical Models".
• Computational challenges stemming from exascale architectures, cloud computing, the demise of Moore’s law  and ever increasing model resolution
• Non-deterministic modelling including statistical and stochastic approaches
  

Convenors
Kevin Flynn – University of Swansea, UK
Wendy Gentleman – Dalhouise University, Canada
Luca Polimene - Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK

Theme 2 Connected Systems
Integrating the marine system across space, time, scales and environments

Keynote Speaker: Moritz Mathis, Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology

This session will emphasize the connectivity and heterogeneity within and between marine systems, their communities and interactions with adjacent systems such as the land, atmosphere and marine sediments. This session will also consider the influence of smaller scale physical processes such as waves and re-suspension as well as approaches to integrating the coastal, shelf and global domains.

Convenors
Momme Butenschon - Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici, Italy
Johannes Pätsch - Universität Hamburg, Germany
Eun Young Kwon - IBS Center for Climate Physics, Republic of Korea

This session will include (but is not limited to):

• Metapopulations and metacommunities
• Impact of terrigenous carbon, alkalinity and nutrients on oceanic systems
• Transferring information from the ocean scale to scales of coastal services
• Biochemical cycles and dynamics along the land to ocean transition zones
• Macro and micronutrient exchange between shelf and open seas
• Air-sea interactions including radiative transfer and gas fluxes
• Sediment- water column coupling including biophysical, chemical and ecologically mediated exchanges
• Polar systems and sea-ice
• Physics to fish – the trophic continuum
• Spatial patterns and regional connectivity.

Theme 3 Science and society
How can we maximize the utility of our models to inform societal challenges?

Keynote Speaker: Shelia Heymans, European Marine Board

This session addresses how our model based understanding of marine systems can impact human wellbeing and society. We welcome talks/posters covering marine responses to drivers and stressors and marine use for economical and societal purposes in the broadest sense (from food to climate).

This session will cover topics such as:

• Supporting the blue economy
• Aquaculture and Fisheries
• Offshore energy (renewables and mitigation of oil and gas infrastructures)
• Coastal developments pollution and remediation
• Carbon sequestration and climate mitigation
• Microplastics and other pollutants
• HABs and nuisance blooms
• Mutiple stressors on marine ecosystem.
• Modelling (tradeoffs between) diverse marine ecosystem services in support of MSFD etc.
  
• Spatial planning and good environmental status
• Assessing and managing climate and associated change
• Communication and interaction with stakeholders

Convenors
Scott Condie - CSIRO, Australia
Bettina Fach - Middle East Technical University, Turkey
Lynne Shannon - University of Cape Town, South Africa

Theme 4 Connecting Models, Data and Analyses
Using computational techniques to improve the extraction of knowledge from our models

Keynote Speaker: TBC

This theme considers the interactions of models (and their output) with real world data, including data  assimilation and model evaluation,  as well as techniques to automate analysis and other methods to interpret results from of simulations.  Both examples of applications and instructional submissions are welcome. Additionally, we are interested in work that uses data (field, laboratory) to help develop and parameterize models. 

Suggested topics are:

• Machine learning and A.I.
• Optimising and applying ensembles
• Neural networks to predict responses to pressures.
• Model evaluation
• Time series analyses
• Data assimilation
• Data mining
• Embracing data Uncertainty in model evaluation and analyses
• Statistical and stochastic approaches
• Data for model development and parameter estimates?

Convenors
Jerry Blackford - Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK
Stefanie Dutkiewicz, MIT, USA

Theme 5 Wildchild
For mavericks, free thinkers, and work that refuses to be categorized.

In order not to exclude any interesting novel work we are convening a wild card session. If you cannot see an obvious place for your work within the current themes please submit an abstract under the Wildchild theme. We reserve the right to move such presentations into one of the other sessions if we consider that that is most appropriate.

Convenors
Jerry Blackford - Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK
Jessica Heard - Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK