FROM THE TOS PRESIDENT
Deborah Bronk

Hello TOS members! It was wonderful to see so many of you at the Ocean Sciences meeting in New Orleans! One of the events I helped organize at the meeting was a panel to discuss the need to advocate for financial resources for ocean sciences. Though the focus of the panel was the US, it is a question that affects all of us regardless of our country of residence.

How can scientists best advocate for the resources they need?

I currently wear a number of hats—one of which is chair of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) Council, which supports the use of the US research fleet of ships, aircraft, and deep submersibles. It has been an eye-opening experience. For example, in the last 50 years, the US research fleet has gone from 34 to 17 ships and could decline further if we don’t mobilize quickly. This is what happens when a research community fails to effectively advocate for what they need.

When we look at the challenges facing humanity in terms of climate change, coastal resilience, and providing protein to a growing global population—the ocean is absolutely critical. We will not adequately address many of the challenges facing us without a robust understanding of ocean processes and the development of the technology to use the ocean sustainably. This is the message we must take to our leaders, regardless of the country we call home. 

I encourage all of us to look for opportunities to advocate for ocean science, whether within our university, company, local community, or country. When opportunities to comment on plans or priorities come up, make your voice heard. Consider writing commentaries for local news publications, speaking at government hearings, and contacting your elected representatives to provide your perspective on ocean-related issues. Moving forward, TOS will explore ways to help our members advocate effectively for the resources they need. If you have training ideas or resources that would be helpful, I’d love to hear about them!

I’m here to serve, so please reach out to me at [email protected] if you have any concerns or ideas of how TOS can better serve its members and the work they do.

EXTRA ISSUES RECEIVED IN THE MAIL?

Have you received more issues of Oceanography than anticipated? Due to a processing error made by the US Postal Service, several TOS members have received strapped-together bundles of the recently published Oceanography issue on Building Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Ocean Sciences. Our shipping vendor has confirmed that recipients of multiple issues can unstrap the bundle and put the packages addressed to other subscribers back into the postal delivery system. Please leave them for your postal carrier to pick up or bring them to your local post office. We are working with the vendor on solutions to prevent this error from happening in the future.