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The ocean plays a major role in controlling atmospheric carbon at decadal to millennial timescales, with benthic carbon representing the only geologic‐scale storage of oceanic carbon. Despite its importance, detailed benthic ocean observations are limited and representation of the benthic carbon cycle in ocean and Earth system models (ESMs) is mostly empirical with little prognostic capacity, which hinders our ability to properly understand the long‐term evolution of the carbon cycle and climate change‐related feedbacks. The Benthic Ecosystem and Carbon Synthesis (BECS) working group, with the support of the US Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry Program (OCB), identified key challenges limiting our understanding of benthic systems, opportunities to act on these challenges, and pathways to increase the representation of these systems in global modeling and observational efforts. We propose a set of priorities to advance mechanistic understanding and better quantify the importance of the benthos: (a) implementing a model intercomparison exercise with existing benthic models to support future model development, (b) data synthesis to inform both model parameterizations and future observations, (c) increased deployment of platforms and technologies in support of in situ benthic monitoring (e.g., from benchtop to field mesocosm), and (d) global coordination of a benthic observing program (“GEOSed”) to fill large regional data gaps and evaluate the mechanistic understanding of benthic processes acquired throughout the previous steps. Addressing these priorities will help inform solutions to both global and regional resource management and climate adaptation strategies. 

Abstract. In the current era of rapid climate change, accuratecharacterization of climate-relevant gas dynamics – namely production,consumption, and net emissions – is required for all biomes, especially thoseecosystems most susceptible to the impact of change. Marine environmentsinclude regions that act as net sources or sinks for numerous climate-activetrace gases including methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Thetemporal and spatial distributions of CH4 and N2O are controlledby the interaction of complex biogeochemical and physical processes. Toevaluate and quantify how these mechanisms affect marine CH4 andN2O cycling requires a combination of traditional scientificdisciplines including oceanography, microbiology, and numerical modeling.Fundamental to these efforts is ensuring that the datasets produced byindependent scientists are comparable and interoperable. Equally critical istransparent communication within the research community about the technicalimprovements required to increase our collective understanding of marineCH4 and N2O. A workshop sponsored by Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB)was organized to enhance dialogue and collaborations pertaining tomarine CH4 and N2O. Here, we summarize the outcomes from theworkshop to describe the challenges and opportunities for near-futureCH4 and N2O research in the marine environment.