The IMBeR Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) convened its 2024 Annual Meeting online on 15 November 2024. To accommodate participants across different time zones, the meeting was conducted in two sessions.
Chair Prof. Dongyan Liu opened the meeting by welcoming all participants, with the quorum confirmed by the IPO. Dongyan provided updates on IMBeR governance since the SSC November/December 2023 Meeting. The Executive Committee and IPO introduced the outcomes of the recent Executive Committee meeting held in Hong Kong this past October. The funding allocations for science teams in 2025 were adopted, and nominations for new SSC Members are to be submitted to SCOR and Future Earth. The meeting also warmly welcomed the newly inducted IMBeR Fellows.
The meeting aimed to develop a plan for synthesis products stemming from the ten-year IMBeR project (2016-2025) and to help the community better define its future direction. Highlights from the Grand Challenges were presented by each Grand Challenge champion. SSC members, Fellows, IMBeR science teams (including Regional Programmes, Working Groups, Endorsed Projects, Conferences, Study Groups, and National Contacts), and IMBeR officers leading capacity-building activities (including summer schools, IMECaN – Interdisciplinary Marine Early Career Network, and others) were encouraged to generate synthesis papers collectively or individually.
The meeting expressed a desire for a seamless transition to a new project following the conclusion of the IMBeR 2016-2025. Discussions focused on drafting a new Science Plan, exploring funding opportunities, and identifying strategies for continuity.
To facilitate ongoing input and refinement, the chair requested the IPO to circulate the meeting slides and gather feedback, enabling the Executive Committee to strengthen the plan throughout November.