Breakout Workshops
The IOCS-2025 Programme includes 9 breakout workshops for active discussion of specific topics of interest, that lead to consensus recommendations, as well as review and update of existing recommendations made on the topic. All recommendations from breakout sessions should be Specific; Measurable; Assigned to either the space agencies, the ocean colour scientific community, or the IOCCG Committee; Realistic/Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART).
- Ocean Carbon from Space
- Priority list of marine biodiversity metrics to observe from space: synthesis and planning for next steps
- Challenges on Optical Remote Sensing for Marine Litter and Floating Matter
- Merged, long-term ocean-colour products for climate analyses
- Blueprint for large-scale, operational, Earth Observation-based systems for Harmful Algal Blooms monitoring
- Water Quality Demonstration
- Inland and coastal water remote sensing: current status and future directions in the correction of adjacency effects
- Ocean Colour Satellite Sensor Calibration
- SI-Traceable In-Situ Aquatic Radiometry
Breakout Session Chair Responsibilities
Chairs of Breakout Workshops will steer the discussion within the session around the key questions/scientific areas of focus. Chairs will work with a workshop rapporteur to ensure a workshop report is completed for their session, which captures the discussion, needs, and the consensus recommendations. The primary workshop chair will present, in 5 minutes, the main discussion points and recommendations emerging from their session during the meeting plenary on the day following the conclusion of their breakout workshop. The written report of the workshop is expected to be ready for sharing on the IOCS meeting website within one week of the conclusion of the IOCS meeting, and will be incorporated into the IOCS meeting report.
Activities within the IOCS-2025 programme are expected to run from 8 am to 5:30 pm, from 1 – 4 December 2025. This may include side meetings and additional meetings on Thursday 4 December in the afternoon. A few social events may be included in the evenings. The IOCS training sessions will run between 9 am and 5 pm on Friday, 5 December 2025.
The IOCS-2025 main meeting programme will consist of invited talks by keynote speakers; panel discussions; presentations from space agencies on emerging applications and science from current and planned missions and past recommendations; 10 breakout workshops to address current critical issues in ocean colour science, designed to provide feedback to the space agencies; and poster sessions (including poster lightning sessions) for participants to share and discuss their own research.
A few side meetings and an additional training session are also being planned in conjunction with the event. Current side meetings include:
- WATERHYPERNETS Data Users Meeting, Thursday 4 December, 2 – 5 pm
- IOCCG Capacity Building Forum, Thursday 4 December, 2 – 3 pm
- Multi-sensor satellite ocean colour course, Sunday 7 – Thursday 11 December, 9 – 5 pm
To host a side meeting, please contact the IOCCG Project Office at raisha@ioccg.org.