Publications
The Challenger Society publishes two outputs, including our monthly newsletter Challenger Wave and a biannual journal Ocean Challenge. If you would like to contribute to either periodical, please view the instructions for contributors on the relevant pages.
Publications are available as opensource documents to all members of the public.
Challenger Wave
Challenger Wave is the regular monthly newsletter of the Challenger Society for Marine Science. It brings together a wide range of material such as news items, meeting announcements, funding opportunities, meeting and cruise reports and contains an extensive listing of events and links to other regular newsletters and websites of interest. Each edition can be sponsored by a single organisation, for example providing an opportunity for the sponsor to advertise a new product or conference to the UK marine science community.
The latest edition of Challenger Wave is only available to Challenger Society members but past issues are freely available to all via the archive on this site.
If you are interested in contributing material to Challenger Wave or wish to explore the sponsorship/advertising opportunity it provides please contact the Challenger Wave Editor, Dr John Allen (john@myocean.co.uk)
Download editions of Challenger Wave here.
Ocean Challenge
Scope and aims
Ocean Challenge aims to keep its readers up to date with what is happening in oceanography in the UK and the rest of Europe. By covering the whole range of marine-related sciences in an accessible style it should be valuable both to specialist oceanographers who wish to broaden their knowledge of marine sciences, and to informed laypersons who are concerned about the oceanic environment.
Would you like to contribute?
Ocean Challenge welcomes articles and news items on any aspect of oceanography. Contributions should be in an accessible style with a minimum of jargon and avoiding the use of references. If at all possible, they should be well illustrated.
Instructions for authors can be downloaded as a pdf here.
Subscriptions
- Ocean Challenge is automatically sent electronically to members of the Challenger Society.
- Subscription to the printed version (including postage by surface mail) is £80.00 per year for libraries and other institutions.
- New subscriptions, renewals and information about changes of address should be sent to the Challenger Society Honorary Secretary (Council Officers)
Editorial Board
Editor
Angela Colling, formerly Open University
Editorial Board Chair
Stephen Dye, Cefas & University of East Anglia website
Members
Laura Grange, Bangor University website
Emma Cavan, Imperial College London
Gillian Damerell, University of East Anglia
Megan Baker, Durham University
Kelvin Boot, Freelance Science Communicator
Guidance for contributors to Ocean Challenge
- The aim of Ocean Challenge is to communicate.
- We assume that all readers are interested in the science of the ocean.
- We cannot assume that they are experts in all disciplines of marine science.
There are broadly four types of contributions:
Short news items
Ocean Challenge is always pleased to receive news of events, projects and initiatives relating to marine science. ‘Letters to the Editor‘ are also very welcome, either on a topic covered in a previous issue of Ocean Challenge, or on any subject of interest to Ocean Challenge readers.
- Long news items 500–2000 words, preferrably with illustration(s).
- Meeting reports 500–2000 words, preferrably with illustration(s).
- Feature articles 3000–5000 words, generally 3–6 figures.
- Book reviews 750–1000 words (see also below).
Feature articles
These have the following format:
Feature articles can go into the science in more detail than news items. They begin with a short introduction. This is not an abstract as such – its role is to engage the reader’s attention, and convey what the article is about.
Figures have a formal caption and a margin caption. Authors are encouraged to provide margin captions, but these are often added at a later stage, depending on the layout.
Ocean Challenge does not have references.
Articles may have a Further Reading list at the end. If possible, the Further Reading list should refer to publications that are easily obtainable, and are not too obscure or specialist; they should be useful for someone whose interest has been stimulated by the article and would like to know more.
Authors should always bear in mind the Ocean Challenge readership.
We aim to be a version of New Scientist for Marine Science.
Latest News
Workshop on the contribution of UK Arctic Ocean science to the International Polar Year 32/33
12:00 11th June – 16:00 12th June 2025: NOC Southampton (In-person with online option): Registration deadline 16th May
REGISTER HERE
Pre-meeting questionnaire (open to all)
The purpose of this workshop is for the UK Ocean Science community to discuss and then draft a prospectus document outlining the priority Arctic research questions the community would like to address during the run up to, throughout and beyond the International Polar Year 32/33. Additionally, to identify what unique strengths and technologies the UK has to help fill these knowledge gaps.
The second day of the workshop will be dedicated to writing groups, one for each of the priority research questions identified - from both the pre-meeting questionnaire (HERE) and day one discussion. By the end of the meeting, each group will have produced draft text and sourced supporting figures for the prospectus.
Post meeting, the draft will be opened for comments and suggestions from everyone, regardless of whether they were able to attend the workshop or not. It will then be shared with UK funders (UKRI, FCDO, DSIT, ARIA) and potential international programmes with whom we would like to collaborate (e.g. Arctic 2050, Norway). It will form a basis from which wider integration with terrestrial, atmospheric and cryosphere communities can be built, e.g. at the UK Arctic Science Meeting in September in Northumbria.
To ensure balanced community and ECR representation, and to ensure that the size of the writing groups is efficient and effective, if the number of registrations from individual institutes becomes overwhelming, we may contact individuals or teams and ask that each institute selects a smaller number of individuals to attend in-person. Please wait for confirmation of in-person attendance before finalising travel arrangements.
The workshop will be open to hybrid attendance and contributions on both days.
Challenger Society Council Position Vacancy
The Challenger Society for Marine Science (CSMS) are pleased to announce an exciting opportunity to support the next generation of ocean scientists and innovators. CSMS are looking for a new Council member to fill the Student Travel Awards and Stepping Stones Portfolio. The successful applicant will administer the travel and research grants available for Early Career Researchers.
The role involves:
- Receiving applications for the two schemes and responding to applicant inquiries
- Soliciting and compiling input from the rest of the Council for assessing the applications
- Communicating with successful and unsuccessful applicants for the two schemes
- Working with the Honorary Treasurer on allocating funds to successful applicants
- Following up with award winners on their reporting requirements
- Attending Council meetings four times a year (in person or online) and contributing to discussions and decision making for CSMS
The usual term for Council members is three years.
For more information about the CSMS Council, please follow this link: https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/The_Council
For more information about our Early Career Researcher grants and awards, please follow this link:
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Stepping_Stones
and
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Travel_awards
If you are interested in applying or have any questions regarding the role, please contact kathen@bas.ac.uk
NOC Association (NOCA) AGM 2025
The 14th AGM of the NOC Association will be held on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th May 2025. This free, on-line event will take place on Zoom, across two consecutive mornings, each starting at 10:00 and ending at 12:30. The agenda will focus on national capability (NC) science, ships, and autonomous vehicles, and how the community can engage. There will be an update on AtlantiS and on the new marine science scoping group. All are warmly welcome to join.
To participate, please complete your registration here.
For enquiries: Jackie Pearson, Secretary to NOCA: jfpea@noc.ac.uk