The conference will open with a communicating ocean sciences workshop, followed by keynote speeches from weather experts, a researcher focused on benthic species and a photographer with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Speakers include:
• Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere Tim Gallaudet, a retired Navy rear admiral and oceanographer,
• Richard Thoman, the climate science and services manager for the National Weather Service Alaska region,
• Lis Lindal Jorgensen, a senior scientist at the Institute of Marine Research in Norway, and
• Chris Linder, an expedition multimedia specialist at Woods Hole and also affiliated with the International League of Conservation Photographers.
The symposium has for more than two decades brought together scientists, educators, resource managers, students and interested members of the public to discuss marine research conducted in Alaska waters.
Betsy Baker, executive director of the North Pacific Research Board, an event co-organizer, noted that the symposium attracts participants from far beyond the state’s borders.
The event offers established scientists, new researchers and students the opportunity to share their work and network with each other, communities, managers, industry and the public.
Each day of the conference will highlight a special area of Alaska’s marine ecosystems. The focus will be on the Gulf of Alaska on January 23, the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands on January 24 and the Arctic on January 25.
Sponsoring organizations include the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Alaska Ocean Observing System, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Coastal Marine Institute, Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, National Park Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – Alaska Regional Collaboration Team, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – Alaska Fisheries Science Center, North Pacific Fishery Management Council, North Pacific Marine Science Organization, North Pacific Research Board, Oil Spill Recovery Institute, Pollock Conservation Cooperative Research Center, Prince William Sound Science Center, United States Arctic Research Commission, United States Geological Survey – Alaska Region, United States Geological Survey – Alaska Science Center, University of Washington – School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences.
Conference details can be found at http://www.alaskamarinescience.org