ALBERT

Description: Understanding the enigmatic intraplate volcanism in the Tristan da Cunha region requires knowledge of the temperature of the lithosphere and asthenosphere beneath it. We measured phasevelocity curves of Rayleigh waves using cross-correlation of teleseismic seismograms from an array of ocean-bottom seismometers around Tristan, constrained a region-average, shear-velocity structure, and inferred the temperature of the lithosphere and asthenosphere beneath the hotspot. The ocean-bottom data set presented some challenges, which required data-processing and measurement approaches different from those tuned for land-based arrays of stations. Having derived a robust, phase-velocity curve for the Tristan area, we inverted it for a shear wave velocity profile using a probabilistic (Markov chain Monte Carlo) approach. The model shows a pronounced low-velocity anomaly from 70 to at least 120 km depth. VS in the low velocity zone is 4.1–4.2 km/s, not as low as reported for Hawaii (�4.0 km/s), which probably indicates a less pronounced thermal anomaly and, possibly, less partial melting. Petrological modeling shows that the seismic and bathymetry data are consistent with a moderately hot mantle (mantle potential temperature of 1,410–1,4308C, an excess of about 50–1208C compared to the global average) and a melt fraction smaller than 1%. Both purely seismic inversions and petrological modeling indicate a lithospheric thickness of 65–70 km, consistent with recent estimates from receiver functions. The presence of warmer-than-average asthenosphere beneath Tristan is consistent with a hot upwelling (plume) from the deep mantle. However, the excess temperature we determine is smaller than that reported for some other major hotspots, in particular Hawaii.

Description: Four years after the Genomic Observatories Network was formally established as a collaboration between the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network and the Genomic Standards Consortium, we review the development of the network. Considering institutional infrastructure, we note the growing role of omic observation in active and increasingly interlinked marine networks, with examples such as EMBRC/ASSEMBLE, International Long Term Ecological Research Network, AtlantOS, National Association of Marine Labs, Smithsonian MarineGEO, and Partnership on Observation of the Global Oceans. We also note some key human elements essential to meeting the networks' goals, address how the community is evolving, and why performing seemingly simple tasks within a broadly distributed community presents significant challenges even among those who have agreed to use standards. From the perspectives above, we review lessons learned from use cases that leverage Genomic Observatories Network, such as the Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS), Ocean Sampling Day (OSD) and myOSD, which included experiences with citizen science. Looking forward, we survey 1) promising new technologies for in situ biological observation (e.g., cheap 3D printed omics samplers), 2) progress towards adoption of omics methods in marine policy and conservation programs, and 3) opportunities that a Genomic Observatory brings, alone or embedded in a network, to address novel scientific questions and support Essential Biodiversity Variables, Essential Ocean Variables, and indices such as the Ocean Health Index. Given the data intensive nature of omics investigation, we note emerging cyberinfrastructure solutions, such as the Genomic Observatories Metadatabase (GeOMe), an open-access repository for geographic and ecological metadata associated with biosamples, and predictive modeling efforts, such as those of the Island Digital Ecosystem Avatar (IDEA) Consortium. Finally, we explore the potential of Genomic Observatories as components of high-resolution calibration sites. Such observatories would provide super-contextualized "data trusts" for machine learning and artificial intelligence applications that draw on multi-omic observation.

Description: Target audience: All ocean scientists who wish to share or discover best practice documents in their domain. Background: A working group convened under the AtlantOS project and including partners from ODIP, IODE, JCOMM, IEEE, and AWI is currently developing new technologies and approaches for handling best practices (BPs) across ocean science. The goal of the working group is to create a sustained repository for BPs, to ease their propagation and adoption. Goals: After briefly describing its work, the BP working group will engage town hall participants in a discussion on 1) how best to find and centrally archive BPs in participants' disciplines and 2) what capacities a central archive of BPs would need to help participants create, discover, share, and archive their BPs. The participant input gathered will be used to further the development of a multidisciplinary repository for BPs and better harmonise ocean observation.