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1. OceanPractices: Ocean Best Practices Workshop VI, 05 -19 October 2022

   Simpson, P. (May 2023, Ocean Best Practices Workshop VI, 05 -19 October 2022)

   Simpson, P. (Ed.)

   http://dx.doi.org/10.25607/OBP-1903 The goal of the sixth Ocean Best Practices System workshop (OBPS VI) was to guide the development of best practices and operating practices, to promote their documentation, and to share them widely using the OBPS. The workshop featured two plenaries held in two time zones each and 19 theme sessions held over two weeks. These theme sessions were planned and held by separate communities of practice in ocean science, engineering, and technology. The workshop attracted the attention of a total of 1152 registrants from around the world, with some 600 people attending across time zones in the theme sessions and the plenaries. The workshop allowed the different communities of practice to focus on the creation, documentation and use of best practices working with members of the OBPS Steering Group. It drew on the experience of OBPS User Groups and stakeholders and provided an opportunity to gather feedback on how the system should evolve to better fulfil each community’s vision. 

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2. Unusual Hemiaulus bloom influences ocean productivity in Northeastern US Shelf waters

   https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1235-2024  

   Castillo_Cieza, S_Alejandra; Stanley, Rachel_HR; Marrec, Pierre; Fontaine, Diana_N; Crockford, E_Taylor; McGillicuddy_Jr, Dennis_J; Mehta, Arshia; Menden_Deuer, Susanne; Peacock, Emily_E; Rynearson, Tatiana_A; et al (March 2024, Biogeosciences)

   Abstract. Because of its temperate location, high dynamic range of environmental conditions, and extensive human activity, the long-term ecological research site in the coastal Northeastern US Shelf (NES) of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean offers an ideal opportunity to understand how productivity shifts in response to changes in planktonic community composition. Ocean production and trophic transfer rates, including net community production (NCP), net primary production (NPP), gross oxygen production (GOP), and microzooplankton grazing rates, are key metrics for understanding marine ecosystem dynamics and associated impacts on biogeochemical cycles. Although small phytoplankton usually dominate phytoplankton community composition and Chl a concentration in the NES waters during the summer, in August 2019, a bloom of the large diatom genus Hemiaulus, with N2-fixing symbionts, was observed in the mid-shelf region. NCP was 2.5 to 9 times higher when Hemiaulus dominated phytoplankton carbon compared to NCP throughout the same geographic area during the summers of 2020–2022. The Hemiaulus bloom in summer 2019 also coincided with higher trophic transfer efficiency from phytoplankton to microzooplankton and higher GOP and NPP than in the summers 2020–2022. This study suggests that the dominance of an atypical phytoplankton community that alters the typical size distribution of primary producers can significantly influence productivity and trophic transfer, highlighting the dynamic nature of the coastal ocean. Notably, summer 2018 NCP levels were also high, although the size distribution of Chl a was typical and an atypical phytoplankton community was not observed. A better understanding of the dynamics of the NES in terms of biological productivity is of primary importance, especially in the context of changing environmental conditions due to climate processes. 

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3. Development of Teaching with Molecular Visualization: A BioMolViz Guide for Educators, an Open Educational Resource

   Flagg, M; Bibel, B; Beckham, J; Mertz, P; Procko, K; Acevedo, R (July 2025, ASBMB : Transforming undergraduate education in the molecular life sciences (TUEMLS))

   The initial aim of the BioMolViz project was to produce a repository of validated, visualization-based assessment questions that any instructor could use. However, as assessment-writing workshops began, it became clear that participants varied in their ability to create molecular visualizations. Some could easily generate precise custom images for new assessments using modeling programs, while others could not and wanted to be trained to do so. Through an NSF grant supplement, BioMolViz was able to incorporate two virtual modeling program training sessions for faculty. We developed a two-day online workshop that trained participants to navigate the Protein Data Bank, find resources for structures, and model a macromolecule of their choice. In breakout rooms, participants specialized in one of three popular molecular modeling programs (PyMOL, ChimeraX, or iCn3D). The wealth of training materials developed and used for the workshops remained in an online folder until members of the BioMolViz working group began designing formative assessments that utilized molecular modeling. Upon revisiting the materials, the working group noted there were enough resources to develop an online manual to help instructors take the first steps toward bringing molecular modeling into their classrooms. Group members organized activities into chapters and identified concepts that required elaboration to be translated from a workshop format to an open educational resource (OER). Here, we present the structure of the book Teaching with Molecular Visualization: A BioMolViz Guide for Educators. With chapters authored by over a dozen different members of the working group based on their specific expertise, the OER is a model for a network-wide collaboration for broad dissemination of educational material outside of the traditional publication avenue. This work showcases how a near-forgotten wealth of resources provided the basis for a creative work shaped by authors across numerous institutions and strengthened the BioMolViz community. 

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4. NSF-funded Fairness, Ethics, Accountability, and Transparency (FEAT) Workshop Report

   Howard, Ayanna; Borenstein, Jason; Gosha, Kinnis (October 2019, NSF Workshop Reports)

   Modern societies rely extensively on computing technologies. As such, there is a need to identify and develop strategies for addressing fairness, ethics, accountability, and transparency (FEAT) in computing-based research, practice, and educational efforts. To achieve this aim, a workshop, funded by the National Science Foundation, convened a working group of experts to document best practices and integrate disparate approaches to FEAT. The working group included different disciplines, demographics, and institutional types, including large research-intensive universities, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, teaching institutions, and liberal arts colleges. The workshop brought academics and members of industry together along with government representatives, which is vitally important given the role and impact that each sector can have on the future of computing. Relevant insights were gained by drawing on the experience of policy scholars, lawyers, statisticians, sociologists, and philosophers along with the more traditional sources of expertise in the computing realm (such as computer scientists and engineers). The working group examined best practices and sought to articulate strategies for addressing FEAT in computing-based research and education. This included identifying methodological approaches that researchers could employ to facilitate FEAT, instituting guidelines on what problem definition practices work best, and highlighting best practices for data access and data inclusion. The resulting report is the culmination of the working group activities in identifying systematic methods and effective approaches to incorporate FEAT considerations into the design and implementation of computing artifacts. 

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5. Designing Ocean Vision AI: An Investigation of Community Needs for Imaging-based Ocean Conservation

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3580886  

   Crosby, Alison; Orenstein, Eric Coughlin; Poulton, Susan E; Bell, Katherine L.C.; Woodward, Benjamin; Ruhl, Henry; Katija, Kakani; Forbes, Angus G. (April 2023, Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems)

   Ocean scientists studying diverse organisms and phenomena increasingly rely on imaging devices for their research. These scientists have many tools to collect their data, but few resources for automated analysis. In this paper, we report on discussions with diverse stakeholders to identify community needs and develop a set of functional requirements for the ongoing development of ocean science-specific analysis tools. We conducted 36 in-depth interviews with individuals working in the Blue Economy space, revealing four central issues inhibiting the development of effective imaging analysis monitoring tools for marine science. We also identified twelve user archetypes that will engage with these services. Additionally, we held a workshop with 246 participants from 35 countries centered around FathomNet, a web-based open-source annotated image database for marine research. Findings from these discussions are being used to define the feature set and interface design of Ocean Vision AI, a suite of tools and services to advance observational capabilities of life in the ocean. 

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