Ocean Studies Board: 2019-2020 Annual Report (2023)

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Ongoing Activities SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE ON OCEANIC RESEARCH The National Science Foundation funds the Ocean Studies Board to serve as the U.S. National Committee to Scientific Committee on Ocean Research (SCOR), which was formed in 1957 to promote international cooperation in planning and conducting oceanographic research. SCOR supports small international working groups that address narrowly focused scientific topics that can benefit from international attention. Since the late 1980s, SCOR has also played a major role in fostering the development of several other large-scale ocean research projects including the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) and the Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynam- ics (GLOBEC) project. SCOR also conducts several different activities to build the capacity for ocean science in developing countries. OSB Board members are nominated to serve as the U.S. representatives to SCOR. OSB member S. Bradley Moran was elected Vice President of SCOR at the 2020 meeting. These representa- tives attend annual SCOR meetings, provide input to SCOR on behalf of the U.S. ocean science community, and submit non-binding reviews of working group proposals to the SCOR Execu- tive Committee. 2019-2020 OSB Representatives to SCOR Carol Arnosti, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Kevin R. Arrigo, Stanford University, California (2019) Daniel Costa, University of California, Santa Cruz (2020) S. Bradley Moran, University of Alaska, Fairbanks National Academies Staff Susan Roberts, Director Emily Twigg, Senior Program Officer 14 

ONGOING ACTIVITIES 15 STANDING COMMITTEE ON OFFSHORE SCIENCE AND ASSESSMENT The Ocean Studies Board and Board on Earth Sciences and Resources have established a standing committee to provide informal input and feedback to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in its efforts to manage development of the nation’s offshore energy resources. The committee meets regularly to: • convene experts from academia, industry, and other organizations to provide in- dependent, technical input on issues of interest to BOEM’s environmental studies and assessment programs, and potentially other programs; • facilitate stakeholder discussions of controversial issues; • enhance the understanding of developments in related fields of science and tech- nology, and if warranted, draft proposals for potential NRC studies on specific topics; • provide a venue for BOEM staff to meet and exchange information with staff from other federal agencies and help BOEM define its unique role in the interagency process; and • facilitate the exchange of information and lessons learned with staff from other world class applied environmental studies and assessment programs with a view to assisting BOEM in being the best in such programs. 

16 ONGOING ACTIVITIES ANNUAL ROGER REVELLE COMMEMORATIVE LECTURE In 1999, the Ocean Studies Board (OSB) launched the Roger Revelle Commemorative Lecture to highlight the important links between ocean science and public policy. The series was named in honor of the late Roger Revelle, a leader in the field of oceanography for over 50 years who spearheaded efforts to investigate the mechanisms and consequences of climate change. In recognition of the critical importance of education in linking science and public policy, the OSB has partnered with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Nat- ural History and Science Education Center to bring the Revelle Lecture to a broader audience. The lecture is held annually in conjunction with the spring OSB meeting in Washington, DC. 2019 – Dr. Lisa Levin Dr. Lisa A. Levin delivered the twentieth annual Revelle lecture “Sus- tainability in Deep Water: The Challenges of Climate Change, Human Pressures, and Biodiversity Conservation.” The deep ocean (below 200 m) covers nearly half the planet but remains a final frontier on earth. It is full of mineral, energy, and genetic resources and serves as a living library of biodiversity. Special features of these deep-ocean ecosystems make them especially vulnerable to the confluence of climate stress and direct human disturbance. The lecture was held on April 24, 2019 in the NAS Building of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, DC. Dr. Levin is a Distinguished Professor of Biological Oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego. 2020 – Dr. Chelsea Rochman As early as the 1970s, scientists began to notice that plastic waste was turning up in the ocean thousands of miles from land. Since that time, the problem has grown exponentially. News images of floating islands of debris, plastic-choked animals, and trashed beaches have spurred a flurry of research, and to a lesser degree, policy efforts to address the problem. On March 10, 2020, Dr. Chelsea Rochman delivered the twen- ty-first annual Revelle lecture, “Ocean Plastic: A Scientist’s Tale,” at the NAS Building about the science behind plastic debris and some of the policies attempting to limit plastic pollution in our global oceans. Dr. Rochman is Assistant Professor of Ecology at the University of Toronto. She researches the sources, sinks, and ecological implications of plastic debris in marine and freshwater habitats.