The overarching theme of IOCS-2017 is “Exploring New Capabilities for Global Ocean Colour Observations” with the overall aim of nurturing a strong global user community for ocean colour science and applications, and fostering exchange between the ocean colour research community and international space agencies. The IOCS-2017 meeting will include invited keynote speakers, presentations from space agencies, 12 breakout workshops, the NASA Ocean Colour Research Team (OCRT) meeting, a plenary on the European Commission’s Copernicus programme, and a large emphasis on poster presentations for participants to present their own research. A one day training event using data available from the Copernicus marine stream, focussing on the scientific basis of the products, will take place on 19 May 2017.

Proposals for breakout workshops are now being accepted, and can be submitted via the meeting website. The aim of the breakout workshops is to develop a consensus of what the ocean colour community requires to carry out state-of-the-art research using ocean colour remote sensing. The breakout workshops will address current critical issues in ocean colour science and provide feedback to the space agencies, thus complementing the formal scientific program, and providing an opportunity for extended dialogue and exchange of ideas with international colleagues. The deadline for submitting breakout workshop proposals is 14 November 2016.