Conference attendance at the European Geosciences Union General assembly 2025
Cathilyn McIntosh
University of St Andrews
At the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly, I had the opportunity to give my first conference talk in the Beyond Blue Carbon: Bridging disciplines to understand vegetated coastal ecosystem dynamics under global change session. My presentation, “Soil organic carbon content and reactivity at the pioneer saltmarsh–mudflat ecotone,” shared preliminary findings from a commissioned report by Natural England. I discussed the potential vulnerability of organic matter stored within UK saltmarsh and mudflat ecosystems, drawing attention to the implications for long-term carbon storage. Following the session, I was able to connect with other researchers working in similar fields. These conversations opened up the possibility of future collaborations and provided valuable feedback to inform the next stages of my project.
Throughout the week, I attended a wide range of events including poster sessions, short courses, oral presentations, and townhall meetings. One standout experience was the Beyond Blue Carbon poster session, where I identified several projects that directly complemented my own research and expanded my perspective on blue carbon science. I also attended two short courses: “Maintaining your literature review: tools, tips, and discussions to help keep up with evolving research” and “How to peer-review.” These sessions were particularly helpful in equipping me with practical strategies for managing academic literature, prioritizing my reading, and understanding different approaches to literature and data base searches. The peer review workshop also explained the various review processes and offered insight into how and when early career researchers can begin contributing as reviewers.
A particularly impactful experience was attending the townhall meeting “Blue Carbon Opportunities for Early Career Researchers.” This panel featured both early career and established researchers from academia and industry, who shared their career trajectories, strategies for navigating the job market, and perspectives on work-life balance, mental health, and managing family life in research. The discussion highlighted a diversity of career paths, some of which I hadn’t previously considered, such as long-term postdoctoral roles, and helped me better understand the landscape of blue carbon research beyond traditional academic routes.
Outside of the conference, I had the chance to explore the city of Vienna. A personal highlight was visiting the butterfly house, a large vivarium showcasing a diverse collection of butterflies and a hatchery where I could observe newly emerged individuals.
As a first-year PhD candidate from the United States, attending EGU was an invaluable experience. It not only contributed significantly to the development of my PhD project, but also allowed me to gain a broader understanding of the international research landscape. Engaging with researchers from across Europe at such an early stage in my PhD journey has expanded both my academic network and the potential reach of my work in ways that would not have been possible through UK- or US-based events alone.
Profile:
I am a PhD candidate at the School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, under the supervision of Dr. William E.N. Austin and Dr. Julie Anne Hope. My PhD project focuses on carbon reactivity along natural saltmarsh–mudflat ecotonal gradients within the UK. I aim to investigate the drivers of organic carbon reactivity and its implications for long-term carbon storage in coastal sediment systems.
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Marine Data Management, Governance and the MEDIN toolset
The Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) and OceanWise are delighted to invite you to attend our popular free online training workshop: ‘Marine Data Management, Governance and the MEDIN toolset’ on the 19th – 23rd of May 2025.
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