The TRICUSO project and members of its consortium made a healthy splash in the heavily populated waters of OSM26. Held in Glasgow, Scotland, this was the first time the prestigious conference took place outside the United States, and it was a welcome setting for two town halls, a co-chaired session titled The Southern Ocean Carbon Sink: processes, observations, and change and a poster talk.
In the game of ocean observation bingo, it’s fair to say Richard’s card is relatively full and yet somehow his capacity seemingly expands to accommodate new challenges. So, we thought the tide was in a good place to cast a few rounds of questions and learn a little more about Richard and his thoughts on TRICUSO as it hits its year two stride.
TRICUSO’s first video showcases the beautiful scenery of the Antarctic region and focuses on early project stories. It features interviews with consortium scientists discussing the need to expand the capacity for observation in the Southern Ocean where an increase in data is needed to help address the discrepancy between data and models used for forecasting. The video also introduces the project’s ambitions to innovate sensor technology and engage the support of citizen science platforms—racing yachts and tourist vessels—sailing in the Southern Ocean.
The oceanographic community has made great strides over the past three decades in developing physical and biogeochemical open-ocean observing capacity. However, a more holistic understanding of marine ecosystem function and change requires the integration of large-scale, sustained biological and ecological observations. Over the last few years, pilot projects in the USA, Japan and Australia have begun to incorporate routine biological measurements into GO-SHIP cruises. These pilot projects form the basis for an incipient global Bio-GO-SHIP sustained biological ocean observing program. TRICUSO colleagues Sophie Clayton (NOC) and Alice Soccodato (EMBRC) will be presenting a Town Hall on Bio-GO-SHIP: Establishing an International Program to Deliver Sustained Open-Ocean Biological Data on Wednesday 25 February at the Ocean Sciences Meeting in Glasgow, Scotland. This Town Hall aims to bring together current and prospective contributors to the international Bio-GO-SHIP program to: Highlight Bio-GO-SHIP successes, data and scientific contributions and introduce upcoming activities. Engage potential contributors from GO-SHIP nations not currently running Bio-GO-SHIP projects, including protocol and sample sharing, and cruise participation. Pave the way to establishing an international Bio-GO-SHIP committee to monitor, advocate and regularly review biological and ecological variables. Read more about this session here.
TRICUSO recently reached a significant project milestone when the inaugural Steering Committee Meeting for the Surface Ocean CO₂ Observing Network (SOCONET) took place in Bergen, Norway on 16-17 of January to establish the network’s governance structure.
The Ocean Race 2027 will start from its home port of Alicante, Spain, in January 2027 and take the foiling, flying, high-tech IMOCA fleet out of the Mediterranean Sea, down the Atlantic and into the Southern Ocean before rounding Cape Horn and returning to Europe via the Americas. Learn more
Lucie is a researcher interested in the ocean carbon cycle, ocean acidification, carbonate chemistry and science communication. Currently located in Kiel, Germany, Lucie joined GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung to work on the TRICUSO project in August, 2025.
TRICUSO aims to expand observation capacity in the vast Southern Ocean, home to consortium partner South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute (SAERI). Based in the Falkland Islands, SAERI operates the research vessel Pharos, which will be used in TRICUSO for the deployments of floats and a wave glider, and their flights. We asked CEO Paul Brickle to share some thoughts on the vast waters down under and why TRICUSO is an important project.
The Southern Ocean is the largest carbon sink of the global ocean, responsible for approximately one-quarter of oceanic carbon dioxide uptake. Its central role in the global carbon cycle stems from its unique circulation, deep water formation, and ability to sequester atmospheric CO₂ on long timescales. However, this region remains one of the most challenging to observe and predict, and our understanding of its carbon dynamics-particularly in the face of rapid climate change-is constrained by limited in situ data and model limitations. TRICUSO colleagues Cathy Wimart-Rousseau, Pablo Trucco-Pignata (NOC) and Louise Delaigue (Sorbonne University) will be co-chairing a session: The Southern Ocean Carbon Sink: processes, observations, and change on 24 February at the Ocean Sciences Meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, together with Meredith Meyer (University of East Anglia) and Thomas George Bell (Plymouth Marine Laboratory). This session will explore the mechanisms driving carbon cycling in the Southern Ocean, with a focus on changing conditions impact on both organic and inorganic carbon processes. Read more about this session here.
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This work was funded by the European Union under grant agreement no. 101188028. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
