2nd Ocean Carbon from Space workshop

Background

Quantifying the ocean carbon budget and its response to anthropogenic forcing is a major goal in climate research. The ocean has absorbed about a quarter of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions while the proportion of carbon uptake has increased relative to emissions. However, our understanding of ocean carbon pools, processes that modulate them, and interactions with land and atmosphere limits our ability to predict future changes. A more integrated, holistic approach – supported by robust monitoring systems – is essential, and satellite observations can play a vital role in closing these knowledge gaps.

The 2^nd Ocean Carbon from Space workshop will support progress towards an integrated approach for characterising the ocean carbon cycle using satellite observations and will advance our understanding of its variability across space and time. Outcomes will provide insight into how satellite observations can inform ocean carbon assessments in the Earth System in a climate context, support the evaluation and improvement of climate models, and provide advice and guidance to high-level policy activities.

This workshop is organised in the frame of the ESA SCOPE Project, for further information, please visit the website HERE

Objectives

The main objective of the workshop is to bring together the scientific community to address key gaps, challenges, and opportunities in ocean carbon research. The workshop will support progress towards an integrated approach for characterising the ocean carbon cycle using field and satellite observations as well as ecosystem models and will look towards advancing our understanding of its variability across space and time.

Workshop structure

The workshop consists of two components:

1. Online workshop from 24-26 November 2025, consisting of keynote presentations, oral presentations and breakout poster and discussion sessions, with the intention to cover a wide range of topics related to ocean carbon cycle research.
2. In-person sessions at the International Ocean Colour Symposium from 2 – 3 December 2025 in Darmstadt, Germany, including a half-day plenary session and a 2.5-hour breakout session, focused on actionable recommendations for the international research community and space agencies.

Participants can choose to join the online or in-person sessions, or both.

For more information regarding the themes, submissions, deadlines and contacts, we invite you to access the website https://oceancarbonfromspace2025.esa.int/