About the Workshop
How can we maximize current and future opportunities in marine microbial observation? The microbial world, though invisible to the naked eye, is central to human sustenance and the health of our planet, underpinning critical ecosystem services and contributing to climate stability. As we look to the future, omics-powered marine microbial observatories are poised to further increase in importance for understanding the complex dynamics of ocean ecosystems, offering insights that can, inter alia, help track ocean heatlth and biodiversity loss, detect early signals of ecosystem tipping points, support biotechnical innovation, inform sustainable environmental management, and guide marine policy and conservation. However, to fully realize this potential, key aspects of the current observing system must strategically evolve.
Marine Microbial Observatories for the Future: From Samples to Data to Legacy Using Integrated ‘Omics Strategies is a two-day workshop, aimed at laying the groundwork for a lasting legacy of microbial observations in the ocean.
As part of ongoing international efforts to advance ‘omics-based observing of marine biodiversity, this workshop responds to a growing need to ensure that microbial observations, samples, and data are not only scientifically robust but also sustainable, reusable, and policy-relevant over time.
The workshop brings together a multidisciplinary group of experts in:
- Environmental metagenomics
- Time-series & ship-based ocean observations
- Global coordination networks
- Data users
- Data and sample management
- Policy and governance
- Publishing
Together, we will:
- Identify key challenges in observing marine microbes using ‘omics approaches
- Facilitate the exchange of lessons learned across observing efforts
- Develop strategies and solutions for long-term coordination and impact
An expected outcome of the workshop is a synthesis paper that distills these discussions and outlines a collective vision for the future of microbial ocean observing.
Logistics
Workshop
Tue, 30 Sept - Wed, 01 Oct 2025
Symposium
Thu, 02 Oct 2025
Location
Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg (HIFMB) Im Technologiepark 5, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany https://hifmb.de
Here is a map for you:
Programme
TBD
Participants
The current list of participants (in alphabetical order, with flags representing country of residence) includes
- 🇺🇸 Adam Martini University of California, Irvine
- 🇲🇽 Alejandra Prieto-Davó National Autonomous University of Mexico
- 🇫🇷 Chris Bowler Insitut de Biologie de l’École Normale Supérieure (IBENS)
- 🇩🇪 David Needham GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR)
- 🇺🇸 Elisha Wood-Charlson Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- 🇺🇸 Enrique Montes U. Miami Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS)
- 🇬🇷 Ioulia Santi European Marine Biological Resource Centre (EMBRC)
- 🇺🇸 Jed Fuhrman University of Southern California (USC)
- 🇨🇦 Jesse McNichol St. Francis Xavier University
- 🇦🇺 Jodie van de Kamp Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
- 🇬🇧 Julie Robidart National Oceanography Centre (NOC)
- 🇺🇸 Katie Pitz Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)
- 🇺🇸 Luke Thompson Mississippi State University
- 🇩🇪 Meren Helmholtz Insitute for Marine Functional Biodiversity (HIFMB)
- 🇺🇸 Michael S. Rappé Hawaiʻi Marine Biology Institute
- 🇺🇸 Samantha Setta University of Washington, Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, & Ecosystem Studies (UW/CICOES)
- 🇺🇸 Sarah Tucker Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL)
- 🇧🇬 Teodor Georgiev Pensoft Publishers
- 🇩🇰 Thomas Stjernegaard-Jeppesen Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- 🇩🇰 Tobias Guldberg Frøslev Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- 🇮🇩 Yosmina Tapilatu Indonesian Institute of Sciences
Contact
For questions contact Raïssa Meyer raissa.meyer@awi.de
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the HIFMB (Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity), the AWI (Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz-Centre for Polar and Marine Research), and the DynaCom project at the University of Oldenburg for financially supporting this workshop.