Co-Chairs

  Ben Milligan     M.Atmanand

This session will focus on the benefits of IIOE-2 to society and how they can be maximized and sustained. The abstracts may highlight innovative ideas to generate useful information/products from existing knowledge. The session also invites abstracts which suggest what else can be done in terms of observation systems/models to help the translation of science to benefit society as well as blue economy and sustainable fisheries.

Co-Chairs

  Fangli Qiao     Helen Philips     S. Rajan

The Indian Ocean is warming faster than other two major oceans and there are reports of heat accumulation in the Indian Ocean. This session calls for abstracts related to impacts of climate change on the Indian Ocean. The scope of this session may include observed/modelled physical, biogeochemical and ecological changes related to global change and the impact of climate change on society.

Co-Chairs

  P. N Vinayachandran     Yukio Masumoto     Fabien Durand

The Northern Indian Ocean has unique monsoonal circulation and this makes the Indian Ocean a "Nature's Laboratory" to understand and study different facets of oceanography while the Southern Indian Ocean is filled with classical wind driven gyres. Abstracts are solicited on studies focusing on reversing monsoonal circulation, coastal upwelling, boundary currents, Sub-tropical gyres, Southern Ocean circulation and dynamics, and their impacts on the Indian Ocean circulation.

Co-Chairs

  Shailesh Nayak     Sidney Thurston

Basin scale programmes such as Indian Ocean Observing system (IndOOS) and Global Ocean Observing System in the Indian Ocean (IOGOOS) have motivated recent advances in observing systems (such as moorings, Argo and drifters) and sensor-based observations including biogeochemical parameters (such as Chl, dissolved oxygen, Nitrate, pH and bio-optics). These new-age observation systems, including satellite based, have provided a tremendous amount of data that has helped in enhancing our understanding of the Indian Ocean. The session aims to highlight the recent results from such new generation observing systems, other emerging technologies and data information systems.

Co-Chairs

  Raleigh Hood     Lynnath Beckley      Eric Reas      V V S S Sarma

The Indian Ocean hosts one of the thickest oxygen minimum zones in the world ocean. It is also characterized by processes such as denitrification and annamox. The ecosystem response to global climate change has significant impacts on the microbial loop and hence on the biogeochemistry of the Indian Ocean. Ocean acidification is also likely to impact the marine ecosystem, particularly the species that have calcareous shells. The primary productivity is reported to have decreased over the last century and has shown signatures of decadal variability. The session invites abstracts on recent results and findings towards understanding the microbiology, biogeochemistry, deoxygenation and nutrient cycling in the Indian Ocean.

Co-Chairs

  Gregg Cowie     Francis Marsac     Zainal Arifin     G V M Gupta

Countries around the Indian Ocean have large populations living along the coast that depend on resources from the sea for their livelihoods. Global warming has impacted coral reefs, mangroves and other ecosystems. via ocean acidification, eutrophication of the coastal seas and ecosystem response and has implications to fisheries and their sustainability. The recent advancements in the ocean biogeochemical and ecological models have potential, not only to understand the processes, but also to predict change in the future, including the impact on fisheries.

Co-Chairs

  Hermann Bange     Vinu Valsala     Kawser Ahmed

Air-sea interactions in the Indian Ocean are important to understand the role of Indian Ocean in the global element cycles, heat exchange, circulation and hence regional climate. Trace gases such as N₂O, DMS, methane, CO, and halocarbons also play a significant role in modulating the climate and atmospheric chemistry on different time scales. This session invites abstracts related to ocean-atmosphere interactions, heat exchange, aerosol formation & deposition and trace gas fluxes.

Co-Chairs

  Lokesh Kumar Sahu     Paravadha Suntharalingam

The composition and chemistry of the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean region is dominated by the circulation of the South Asian (Indian) monsoon system: the winter monsoon is advecting gaseous and particulate pollution from the heavily populated and biofuel intensive regions out over the northern Indian Ocean. The resulting thick haze extends over millions of square kilometres to the ITCZ. Therefore, the Indian Ocean presents a globally unique, natural laboratory to the atmospheric scientist. Abstracts on atmospheric chemistry, troposphere/stratosphere exchange and atmospheric pollution may be contributed in this session.

Co-Chairs

  Sunil Kumar Singh     Mike Roberts

This session is expecting presentations on studies related to coastal processes such as shoreline changes, sea level increase, coastal inundations, vulnerabilities and coastal zone management. Nutrients are getting dumped into coastal waters via estuaries and have modified the coastal ecosystem considerably. The session also expects presentations related to coastal eutrophication, pollution, microplastics and toxins.

Co-Chairs

  Ravi S. Nanjundiah      Birgit Gaye  

The understanding of past is the key to the future. Various proxies such as ¹³C, ¹⁸O, and other isotopic and biomarker tracers in lake sediments, marine cores, speleothems and tree rings provide critical insights into the climatic events of the past. Though global warming has led to decrease in sea-ice cover in the Arctic Ocean, it has increased over Antarctica for various reasons such as westerly wind forcing, southern annual mode, El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and stratospheric ozone depletion. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the linkages of the polar ocean to the monsoon. This session is expecting presentations on paleo-climate studies and linkages of monsoon variability to the polar oceans using climate proxies.

Co-Chairs

  Weidong Yu     Juliet Hermes     Michael McPhaden     S S C Shenoi

Inter-basin interactions such as exchanges between Indian and Pacific Oceans via the Indonesian through flow and Agulhas retroflection between Indian and Atlantic Ocean significantly affect the dynamics of the Indian Ocean. Other processes in the Indian Ocean are precursors to El Niño, Indian Ocean Dipole, MJO and affect the global climate. This session expects presentations on inter-basin interactions and their impacts of global climate and ecosystems.

Co-Chairs

  Joaquim Goes      Behrooz Abtahi     Faiza Yamani     S R Shetye

Marginal seas such as Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Andaman Sea and Timor Sea play a defining role in modulating water mass characteristics of the Indian Ocean. Some of them are sources of high salinity water and act as a source of oxygen into deeper layers. The Andaman Sea connects the equatorial Indian Ocean to the Bay of Bengal and play a significant role in freshwater distribution in the bay. Abstracts for this session may include presentations highlighting the role of marginal seas in modulating dynamics and biogeochemistry of the Indian Ocean.

Co-Chairs

  Jerome Dyment     Renat Shakirov     Jyotiranjan S. Ray

The session welcomes all contributions related to the Geology,Geophysics, and Geochemistry of the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean is dynamic in terms of geological processes, with seafloor spreading at three contrasted mid-ocean ridges, subduction at the Sunda Trench and incipient collision off Makran inducing some off the most devastating earthquakes, and a wide diffuse plate boundary. Exceptional features also include several major hotspots (some still active) at the origin of large volcanic plateaus and isolated seamounts, a peculiar geochemical signatures from the mantle, complex continental passive margins induced by the fragmentation of Eastern Gondwana, and the huge sediment deposition consecutive to the collision of India with Eurasia which resulted in huge submarine canyons meandering on the ocean floor. Mineral and hydrocarbon exploration of the ocean floor (polymetallic nodules, seafloor massive sulfides, gas hydrates...) and the extension of the legal continental shelf represent major topics of interest among the community and will also be addressed.

Co-Chairs

  Chari Pattiaratchi     M. Mohapatra     Juma-Al-Maskari

Extreme events such as cyclones, storm surges, heavy rainfall and droughts have catastrophic effects on the well-being of populations. The number of extreme events has increased in the recent past due to global warming and is expected to increase further in future. The proposed session invites abstracts on studies pertaining to extreme events, their genesis and future projections. Mitigation plans and risk assessment may also be covered in this session.