Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020

Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020

16-21 February 2020 in San Diego, Calif.

About the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020

The Ocean Sciences Meeting (OSM) is the flagship conference for the ocean sciences and the larger ocean-connected community. As we approach the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, beginning in 2021, it is increasingly important to gather as a scientific community to raise awareness of the truly global dimension of the ocean, address environmental challenges, and set forth on a path towards a resilient planet.

The Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020 is co-sponsored by AGU, the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), and The Oceanography Society (TOS). Through the combined power of these three organizations, along with the broader conservation-focused community, this meeting provides attendees the opportunity to bridge disciplines, connect communities, and make lasting partnerships.

Plan your meeting

Abstracts are no longer being accepted. Book your housing and register today to join us at the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020.

Learn more

For a Resilient Planet

This year’s theme, For a Resilient Planet, centers around the concept that scientists, in partnership with governments and communities, have the power to affect change in fostering healthier and more resilient oceans, a safer and sustainable food supply, and to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Plenary speakers

Nainoa Thompson

Sunday, 16 February 2020
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Location TBD

Nainoa Thompson is the first Native Hawaiian in 600 years to practice the ancient Polynesian art of navigation: long-distance open-ocean voyaging on a traditional double-hulled canoe without the aid of modern instruments. His work has led to a renewed understanding and revival of traditional voyaging arts lost for centuries due to the disappearance of such travel methods and the colonization and Westernization of the Polynesian archipelagoes. As the president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS), a non-profit research and educational organization, Thompson recently completed a four-year voyage around the world on the Hōkūleʻa, a traditional, double-hulled voyaging canoe. Through these travels, Thompson and his crew engaged with thousands of people, including world leaders to highlight the importance of ocean resources, cultural legacies, and protection of these critical places in the future. Read Nainoa Thompson’s full bio.

Heidi Sosik and Erik van Sebille

Tuesday, 18 February 2020
Time: 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Location TBD

Heidi Sosik is a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and currently holds the Stanley W. Watson Chair for Excellence in Oceanography. A biological oceanographer and inventor, Sosik and her co-workers have developed automated underwater analyzers that dramatically enhance scientists’ and resource managers’ ability to study microscopic organisms that fuel ocean food chains, interact with Earth’s climate, and sometimes produce harmful algal blooms that threaten ecosystem and human health. View Heidi Sosik’s full bio.

Headshot for Ocean Sciences Meeting keynote speaker Erik van Sebille

Erik van Sebille is a physical oceanographer at Utrecht University. He studies the pathways and timescales on which ocean currents transport water, nutrients, planktonic organisms and pollution such as plastic. Van Sebille is the lead of the European Research Council-funded Tracking of Plastic in our Seas (TOPIOS) project with the goal to create a 3D map of marine plastic pollution and track it back to its sources. He has a passion for science communication, having done more than 300 interviews about plastic pollution and advised UK Parliament and the European Commission on the problem’s scale. He was recently named as a 2019 James B. Macelwane Medalist. View Erik van Sebille’s full bio.

Important dates

11 September 2019: Abstract submissions close. In late September through early October, we may need to get in touch with session chairs about scheduling. We ask that at least one session chair be available.

18 September 2019: Deadline to submit a town hall, workshop, committee meeting or social event, and the deadline to submit a travel grant application

Early November 2019: Abstract acceptance letters are sent and the final scientific program is available online.

8 January 2020: Early registration deadline.

24 January 2020: Housing deadline.

Aurora borealis over the lake in the evening

Membership discounts

Members of the Ocean Sciences Meeting (OSM) partner societies receive discounted registration rates to attend the meeting. To receive the discount, your membership must be active during registration.

Additionally, active members are eligible to submit session proposals, tutorials, and abstracts. Contact the societies to join or renew your membership.

Discover San Diego

The Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020 will be held at the San Diego Convention Center located at:

111 West Harbor Drive
San Diego, CA 92101

San Diego is known for its mild and sunny weather, as well as its Spanish and Mexican heritage. Popular landmarks and neighborhoods include the San Diego Zoo, USS Midway Museum, Balboa Park, the Gaslamp Quarter, Old Town, and Coronado. We look forward to welcoming you to this diverse, coastal oasis.

Calm ocean at night overlooking the lights of the San Diego skyline.