Report for the year 2023 and future activities

SOLAS ‘South Africa’
compiled by: ‘Brett Kuyper’
This report has two parts:- Part 1: reporting of activities in the period of January 2023 - Feb/Mar 2024
- Part 2: reporting on planned activities for 2024 and 2025.
The information provided will be used for reporting, fundraising, networking, strategic development
and updating of the live web-based implementation plan. As much as possible, please indicate thespecific SOLAS 2015-2025 Science Plan Themes addressed by each activity or specify an overlap
between Core Themes or Cross-Cutting Themes.
Core Theme 1: Greenhouse gases and the oceans;
Core Theme 2: Air-sea interfaces and fluxes of mass and energy;Core Theme 3: Atmospheric deposition and ocean biogeochemistry;
Core Theme 4: Interconnections between aerosols, clouds, and marine ecosystems;
Core Theme 5: Ocean biogeochemical control on atmospheric chemistry;
Cross-Cutting Theme: Integrated studies of high sensitivity systems (upwelling systems,
Indian Ocean, polar oceans and sea ice);
Cross-Cutting Theme: Climate intervention;
Cross-Cutting Theme: Science and society.

IMPORTANT: This report should reflect the efforts of the SOLAS community in the entire country or
region you are representing (all universities, institutes, lab, units, groups, cities).
First things first…Please tell us what the IPO may do to help you in your current and future
SOLAS activities. ?
Thank you for the great work and on-going support.

PART 1 - Activities from January 2023 to Feb/Mar 2024
1. Scientific highlight
Dr Sandy Thomalla1 , Dr Thomas RyanKeogh1, Dr Sarah Nicholson1, Dr Marie Smith2, Prof
Alessandro Tagliabue3, Prof Pedro Monteiro4
1Southern Ocean Carbon-Climate Observatory (SOCCO), CSIR, Cape Town, South Africa
2 Coastal Systems and Earth Observation Research Group, CSIR, Cape Town, South Africa
3Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, School of Environmental Sciences,
University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GP, UK.
4School for Climate Studies, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Climate change is eliciting widespread adjustments to the physical and chemical environment of
the oceans, which affects the distribution and seasonal cycle of phytoplankton primary production(NPP). This in turn impacts ecosystem function and the transfer of carbon, energy and nutrients
through food webs with complex feedbacks on ocean biogeochemistry and climate. By applying a
number of NPP algorithms to 26 years of remote sensing data we show that almost two thirds of
the Southern Ocean is typified by significant negative trends in production. Moreover, we provide
evidence of a significant multi-decadal increase in phytoplankton iron stress (from in situ BGC-Argoand ship-based platforms) that could potentially be a cause(Ryan-Keogh et al., 2023). Concomitantwith these declines in NPP are significant shifts in the amplitude, timing, duration andcharacteristics of variability of phytoplankton seasonal blooms (Thomalla et al., 2023). Investigating
relationships between observed trends and prominent climate drivers highlights regional
sensitivities and the complexities of multiple interacting aspects of a changing climate. The majorityof these trends differ to those currently being predicted by earth system models, suggesting thatthey may be underestimating ongoing change in the Southern Ocean, a region where the biologicalcarbon pump is considered to be particularly important. Adjustments of this magnitude at the baseof the food web can de-synchronise energy transfer to higher trophic levels, threatening ecosystemservices and impacting global climate by altering natural CO2 uptake.

2. Activities/main accomplishments in 2023 (e.g., projects; field campaigns; workshops andconferences; model and data intercomparisons; capacity building; international
collaborations; contributions to int. assessments such as IPCC; collaborations with social
sciences, humanities, medicine, economics and/or arts; interactions with policy makers,
companies, and/or journalists and media).
South African Polar Research Infrastructure (SAPRI)The South African Polar Research Infrastructure is a consortium and was established in 2021. The
ultimate goal of SAPRI is enable broadscale research growth across the polar disciplines andfurther expand the world class datasets already established. The Implementation Phase is being
finalised between the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and the National ResearchFoundation (NRF) of South Africa. SAPRI is currently hosted by the South African Earth Observing
Network (SAEON) under Dr Juliette Hermes. SAPRI aims to close the gap between existing
infrastructure (logistics) and ongoing and upcoming research in the South Africa marine and polar
regions.
Part of the SAPRI umbrella includes facilitating research cruises on the R/V SA Agulhas II. These
include SEAmester and the Winter Cruise. SAPRI is also heavily involved in establishing a Polar
Laboratory, which will be hosted at UCT. One of the Polar Laboratory’s missions is to makeresearch in the polar regions accessible for universities and students who would otherwise nothave the opportunity.

SEAmester
Annual training of approximately 40 students along the ASCA line off Port St Johns, South Africa.
See more details below.

South African Weather Service
Testing the new TEKRAN Total Gaseous Mercury Instrument for semi-autonomous measurement
during voyages. The instrument will be loaded on the SA Agulhas II for future voyages in theSouthern Ocean. This is a SA-France collaboration to facilitate transfer of skills but while doing so,
also to understand the distribution, sources and pathways of total mercury and(toxic)
methylmercury in the Atlantic Southern Ocean. In 2023, Rob Mason, USA, joined the team andsupported sampling and training efforts on board.

Southern Ocean Carbon & Climate Observatory (SOCCO) Cruise participation:
DY172 nPOP cruise
The DY172 nPOP cruise ran from 20/12/2023 to 26/01/2024, which included 1 South African
participant co-PI Thomas Ryan-Keogh. The research focus of the cruise was to examine the role ofnutrient limitation in constraining phytoplankton primary production. The specific focus of the teamwas to examine how nutrient limitation impacts phytoplankton photophysiology, specifically how it
impacts fluorescence quantum yield.

UN/GESAMP Working group 38
A number of South African scientists including members of the UCT Marine Biogeochemistry
Laboratory, North-West University, Nelson Mandela University, and Rhodes University (perhaps
others) took part in the UN/GESAMP WG38 project in Gqeberha, South Africa and focused on
atmospheric deposition to the South Indian Ocean.

3. Publications in 2023 (only PUBLISHED articles) and if any, weblinks to models, datasets,
products, etc.
1. Agbetossou, KSF, Aheto DW, Angnuureng DB, van Rijn LC, Houédakor KZ, Brempong EK,
Tomety FS. (2023). Field measurements of longshore sediment transport along Denu
Beach, Volta Region, Ghana. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 11(8):1576.
2. Audh RR, Fawcett SE, Johnson S, Rampai T, Vichi M. (2023). Rafting of growing Antarctic
sea ice enhances In‐ice biogeochemical activity in Winter. Journal of GeophysicalResearch: Oceans, 128(12):1-15
3. Baker JA, Renshaw R, Jackson LC, Dubois C, Iovino D, Zuo H, Perez RC, Dong S,
Kersalé M, Mayer M, Mayer J, Speich S, Lamont T. (2023). South Atlantic overturning andheat transport variations in ocean reanalyses and observation-based estimates, State of
the Planet, 1 -osr7:4. In: von Schuckmann K, Moreira L, Le Traon P-Y, Grégoire M, Marcos
M, Staneva J, Brasseur P, Garric G, Lionello P, Karstensen J, and Neukermans G. (Eds.):
7th edition of the Copernicus Ocean State Report (OSR7), Copernicus Publications, State
Planet, 1-osr7. https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-1-osr7
4. Bange, H.W., Mongwe, P., Shutler, J.D., Arevalo-Martinez, D.L., Bianchi, D., Lauvset,
S.K., Liu, C., Loscher, C.R., Martins, H., Rosentreter, J.A., Schmale, O., Steinhoff, T.,
Upstill-Goddard, R.C., Wanninkhof, R., Wilson, S.T., Xie, H. 2024. Advances inunderstanding of air-sea exchange and cycling of greenhouse gases in the upper ocean.
Elementa.
5. BaranovA, Tenzer R, Ghomsi FE. (2023). A new Moho map of the African continent fromseismic, topographic, and tectonic data. Gondwana Research, 124:218-245
6. Barlow R, Lamont T, Viljoen J, Airs R, Brewin R, Tilstone G, Aiken J, Woodward E, Harris
C. (2023). Latitudinal variability and adaptation of phytoplankton in the Atlantic
Ocean. Journal of Marine Systems, 239:103844
7. Blamey RC, Reason CJC. (2023). Diversity and ranking of ENSO impacts along theEastern Seaboard of Subtropical Southern Africa. Atmosphere, 14(6):1042
8. Bode-Dalby M, Würth R, de Oliveira LD, Lamont T, Verheye HM, Schukat A, Hagen W,
Auel H. (2023). Small is beautiful: the important role of small copepods in carbon budgetsof the southern Benguela upwelling system. Journal of Plankton Research, 45(1):110-128.
9. Brandt P, Alory G, Awo FM, Dengler M, Djakouré S, Imbol Koungue RA, Jouanno J, Körner
M, Roch M, Rouault M. (2023). Physical processes and biological productivity in the
upwelling regions of the tropical Atlantic, Ocean Science, 19(3): 581–601.
10. Buck, Hamilton, Ho, Perron, Shelley. (2024, accepted). GEOTRACES: Fifteen years ofprogress in marine aerosol research. Oceanography.
11. Burger J, Joyce E, Hastings M, Spence K, Altieri K. (2023). A seasonal analysis of aerosol
NO 3-sources and NO x oxidation pathways in the Southern Ocean marine boundary
layer. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 23(10):5605-5622
12. Chidichimo MP, Perez RC, Speich S, Kersalé M, Sprintall J, Dong S, Lamont T, Sato OT,
Chereskin TK, Hummels R, Schmid C. (2023). Energetic overturning flows, dynamic
interocean exchanges, and ocean warming observed in the SouthAtlantic. Communications Earth & Environment, 4(10):1-20
13. Cronin MF, Swart S, Marandino CA, Anderson C, Browne P, Chen S, Joubert WR,
Schuster U, Venkatesan R, Addey CI, Alves O. (2023). Developing an observing air–sea
interactions strategy (OASIS) for the Global Ocean. ICES Journal of Marine Science.
80(2):367-73
14. Dames NR, Wallschuss S, Rocke E, Pitcher G, Rybicki E, Pfaff M, Burger J, Fawcett SE,
Moloney CL. (2023). Short-term dynamics of nano-and picoplankton production in an
embayment of the southern Benguela upwelling region. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf
Science, 284:108285
15. De Vos M, Vichi M, Rautenbach C. (2023). A wave-driven surface circulation feature in
Table Bay. Journal of Southern Hemisphere: Earth Systems Science, 73(1):60–76
16. Dimoune DM, Birol F, Hernandez F, Léger F, Araujo M. (2023). Revisiting the tropicalAtlantic western boundary circulation from a 25-year time series of satellite altimetrydata. Ocean Science, 19(2):251-268
17. Dithugoe, C., Bezuidt, O., Cavan, E., Froneman, W., Thomalla, S., Makhalanyane, T.
2023. Bacteria and Archaea regulate particulate organic matter export in suspended andsinking marine particle fractions. MSPhere.
18. Fearon G, Herbette S, Cambon G, Veitch J, Meynecke JO, Vichi M. (2023). The land-sea
breeze influences the oceanography of the southern Benguela upwelling system at multiple
time-scales. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10:1186069
19. Fisher, J.A., Schneider, L., Fostier, AH., Guerrero, S., Remy, J., Guimaraes, D.,Labuschagne, C., Leaner, J., Martin, L.G., Mason, R., Somerset, V., Walters, C., A
synthesis of mercury research in the Southern Hemisphere, part 2: Anthropogenic
perturbations. Ambio 52, 918–937 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-023-01840-5
20. Flynn RF, Haraguchi L, McQuaid J, Burger JM, Mutseka Lunga P, Stirnimann L, Samanta
S, Roychoudhury AN, Fawcett SE. (2023). Nanoplankton: The dominant vector for carbon
export across the Atlantic Southern Ocean in spring. Science Advances, 9(48): eadi3059
21. Fripiat F, Sigman DM, Martínez‐García A, Marconi D, Ai XE, Auderset A, Fawcett SE,
Moretti S, Studer AS, Haug GH. (2023). The impact of incomplete nutrient consumption in
the Southern Ocean on global mean ocean nitrate δ15N. Global Biogeochemical Cycles,
37(2): e2022GB007442
22. Giddy I, Nicholson S-A, Queste BY, Thomalla S, Swart S. (2023). Sea‐ice impacts
inter‐annual variability of phytoplankton bloom characteristics and carbon export in the
Weddell Sea. Geophysical Research Letters, 50(16): e2023GL103695
23. Giddy I, Fer I, Swart S, Nicholson S-A. (2023). Vertical convergence of turbulent anddouble-diffusive heat flux drives warming and erosion of Antarctic Winter Water insummer. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 53(8):1941-1958
24. Halo I, Raj RP, Korosov A, Penven P, Johannessen JA, Rouault M. (2023). Mesoscalevariability, critical latitude and eddy mean properties in the tropical South‐East Atlantic
Ocean. JGR: Oceans, 128(3): e2022JC019050
25. Hart-Davis MG, Backeberg BC. (2023). Towards a particle trajectory modelling approach insupport of South African search and rescue operations at sea. Journal of Operational

Oceanography, 16(2):131-139
26. Hauck, Gregor, Nissen, Patara, Hague, Mongwe, Bushinsky, Doney, Gruber, Le Quere,
Manizza, Mazloff, Monteiro, Terhaar. 2023. The Southern Ocean carbon cycle 1985-2018:
Mean, seasonal cycle, trends and storage. Global Biogeochemical Cycles.
27. Henson, S.A., Briggs, N., Carvalho, F., Manno, C., Mignot, A., Thomalla, S. 2023. A
seasonal transition in biological carbon pump efficiency in the northern Scotia Sea,
Southern Ocean. Deep-Sea Research II.
28. Holbach HM, Bousquet O, Bucci L, et al. (2023). Recent advancements in aircraft and insitu observations of tropical cyclones. Tropical Cyclone Research and Review, 12(2):81-99
29. Johnson S, Audh RR, de Jager W, Matlakala B, Vichi M, Womack A, Rampai T. (2023).
Physical and morphological properties of first-year Antarctic sea ice in the spring marginal
ice zone of the Atlantic-Indian sector. Journal of Glaciology, 69(277):1351-1364
30. MacFarland AB, Joyce EE, Wang X, Walters WW, Altieri KE, Schiebel HN, Hastings MG.
(2023). Investigation of coastal ammonium aerosol sources in the Northwest Pacific
Ocean. Atmospheric Environment, 15:120034
31. Mallet MD, Humphries RS, Fiddes SL, Alexander SP, Altieri K, Angot H, Anilkumar N,
Bartels-Rausch T, Creamean J, Dall’Osto M, Dommergue A. (2023). Untangling theinfluence of Antarctic and Southern Ocean life on clouds. Elementa: Science of the
Anthropocene, 11(1)32. Manhique A, Reason CJC, Barimalala R. (2023). Rainfall onset and cessation overMozambique and relationship with sea surface temperature and atmospheric patterns. Int.
J. Climatol., 43(11):4849-4863
33. Marshall TA, Sigman DM, Beal LM, Foreman A, Martínez‐García A, Blain S, Campbell E,
Fripiat F, Granger R, Harris E, Haug GH, [et al.]. (2023). The Agulhas current transports
signals of local and remote Indian Ocean nitrogen cycling. JGR: Oceans, 128(3):e2022JC019413
34. Marshall TA, Beal L, Sigman DM, Fawcett SE. (2023). Instabilities across the Agulhas
Current enhance upward nitrate supply in the southwest subtropical Indian
Ocean. AGU Advances, 4(6): e2023AV000973
35. Mawren D, Blamey R, Hermes J, Reason CJC. (2023). On the importance of theMozambique Channel for the climate of southeastern Africa. Climate Dynamics, 60:279299
36. Mayot, N., LeQuéré, C., Rödenbeck, C., Bernardello, R., Bopp, L., Djeutchouang, L.M.,
Gehlen, M., Gregor, L., Gruber,, N., Hauck, J., Iida, Y., Ilyina, T., Keeling, R.F.,
Landschützer, P., Manning, A.C., Patara, L. Resplandy, L., Schwinger, J., Séférian, R.,
Watson, A.J., Wright, R.M., Zeng, J. 2023. Climate driven variability of the Southern Ocean
CO2 sink. Philosophical Transactions A.
37. Meynecke JO, Samanta S, de Bie J, Seyboth E, Prakash Dey S, Fearon G, Vichi M,
Findlay K, Roychoudhury A, Mackey B. (2023). Do whales really increase the oceanic
removal of atmospheric carbon? Frontiers in Marine Science, 10: 1117409
38. Moloto TM, Thomalla SJ, Smith ME, Martin B, Louw DC, Koppelmann R. (2023). Remotesensing of phytoplankton community composition in the northern Benguela upwellingsystem. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10.
39. Moreau S, Hattermann T, de Steur L, Kauko HM, Ahonen H, Ardelan M, Assmy P, [et al.].
(2023). Wind-driven upwelling of iron sustains dense blooms and food webs in the eastern
Weddell Gyre. Nature Communications, 14(1):1303
40. Moses O, Blamey RC, Reason CJC. (2023). Drought metrics and temperature extremes
over the Okavango River basin, southern Africa, and links with the Botswana high. Int. J.
Climatol., 43(14): 6463-6483
41. Moses O, Blamey RC, Reason CJC. (2023). Extreme rainfall events over the Okavango
River basin, southern Africa. Weather and Climate Extremes, 41:100589
42. Ndarana T, Lekoloane LE, Rammopo TS, Reason CJ, Bopape MJ, Chikoore H,
Engelbrecht FA. Downstream development during ridging South Atlantic Ocean
anticyclones. Climate Dynamics, 61:2865-2883
43. Oelerich R, Heywood KJ, Damerell GM, du Plessis MD, Biddle LC, Swart S.
(2023). Stirring across the Antarctic Circumpolar Current’s southern boundary at the prime
meridian, Weddell Sea. Ocean Sciences, 19(5):1465-1482
44. Paul F, Schwarz C, Audh, R, Bluhm J, Johnson S, MacHutchon K, Mielke, T, Mishra A,
Rampai T, Ricken T, Schwarz A, Skatulla S, Thom A, Verrinder R, Schröder J, Vichi M,
Lupascu D. (2023). Sea ice mechanics. Computer Methods in Materials Science, 23(3), 554
45. Perez R, Garzoli S, Hummels R, Ansorge I. (2023). Inclusive science in the South
Atlantic. Communications Earth & Environment, 4(1):11
46. Perron, M. M. G., Fietz, S., Hamilton, D. S., Ito, A., Shelley, R. U., & Tang, M. (2024).
Preface to the inter-journal special issue “RUSTED: Reducing Uncertainty in Soluble
aerosol Trace Element Deposition”, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 17, 165-166,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-165-2024.
47. Puccinelli E, Fawcett SE, FlynnRF, Burger JM, Delebecq G, Duquesne N, Lambert C, Little
H, Pecquerie L, Sardenne F, Wallschuss S, Soudant P. (2023). Are upwelling systems anunderestimated source of long chain omega-3 in the ocean? The case of the southern
Benguela upwelling system. JGR: Biogeosciences, 128(9): e2023JG007528
48. Rautenbach G, Hermes J, Halo I, Morris T, Veitch J. (2023). Wind-and eddy-driven
upwelling over submarine canyons inshore of the northern Agulhas Current. African
Journal of Marine Science, 45(1):1-4
49. Rusiecka, D., Blenckner, T., Heinze, C., Martins, H., Mongwe, P., Arellano-Nava, B.,
Halloran, P., Oziel, L., Powley, H. 2023. Policy Brief and Key Findings from the H2020
COMFORT project: Tipping points and regime shifts in Regional Marine Ecosystems.
50. Ryan-Keogh TJ, Thomalla SJ, Monteiro PM, Tagliabue A. (2023). Multidecadal trend ofincreasing iron stress in Southern Ocean phytoplankton. Science, 379(6634):834-40
51. Ryan-Keogh, T.J., Thomalla, S.J., Chang, N., Moalusi, T. 2023. A new global oceanic
multi-model net primary productivity data product. Earth System Science Data.
52. Ryan‐Keogh TJ, Bone EL, Thomalla SJ, Lain L, Smith ME, Bernard S, Vichi M. (2023).
Spatial and temporal drivers of fluorescence quantum yield variability in the SouthernOcean. Limnology and Oceanography, 68(3):569-582
53. Samanta S, Cloete R, Dey SP, Barraqueta JL, Loock JC, Meinecke JO, de Bie J, Vichi M,
Roychoudhury AN. (2023). Exchange of Pb from Indian to Atlantic Ocean is driven by
Agulhas current and atmospheric Pb input from South Africa. Scientific Reports,13(1):5465
54. Siddiqui C, Rixen T, Lahajnar N, Van der Plas AK, Louw DC, Lamont T, Pillay K. (2023).
Regional and global impact of CO2 uptake in the Benguela Upwelling System throughpreformed nutrients. Nature Communications, 14(1):2582
55. Singh A, Fietz S, Thomalla SJ, Sanchez N, Ardelan MV, Moreau S, Kauko HM, Fransson A
Chierici M, Ryan-Keogh TJ. (2023). Absence of photophysiological response to ironaddition in autumn phytoplankton in the Antarctic sea-ice zone. Biogeosciences,20(14):3073-3091
56. Smith, T.G., Nicholson, S.-A., Engelbrecht, F. A., Chang, N., Mongwe, N.P., & Monteiro,
P.M.S. (2023). The heat and carbon characteristics of modelled mesoscale eddies in theSouth–East Atlantic Ocean. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans.
57. SO-CHIC consortium, Sallee J-B, Giddy I, et al. (2023). Southern Ocean carbon and heat
impact on climate. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A., 381(2249):20220056
58. Stirnimann, L., Bornman, T.G., Forrer, H., Mirkin, J., Ryan-Keogh, T.J., Dorrington, R.,
Verheye, H.M., Fawcett, S.E. 2023. A circum-Antarctic plankton isoscape: Carbon export
potential across the summertime Southern Ocean. Global Biogeochemical Cycles.
59. Sun X, Brewin RJ, Sathyendranath S, Dall’Olmo G, Airs R, Barlow R, Bracher A, Brotas V,
Kheireddine M, Lamont T, Marañón E. (2023). Coupling ecological concepts with anocean-colour model: Phytoplankton size structure. Remote Sensing of Environment,
285:113415
60. Swart S, du Plessis MD, Nicholson S-A, Monteiro PMS, Dove LA, Thomalla S, Thompson
AF, Biddle L, Edholm JM, Giddy I, Heywood KJ, Lee C, Mahadevan A, Shilling G, and de
Souza RB. (2023). The Southern Ocean mixed layer and its boundary fluxes: fine-scaleobservational progress and future research priorities. Phil. Trans. R. Soc.
A., 381(2249):20220058
61. Tang W, Ward BB, Beman M, Bristow L, Clark D, Fawcett S, Frey C, Fripiat F, Herndl GJ,
Mdutyana M, Paulot F. (2023). Database of nitrification and nitrifiers in the global
ocean. Earth System Science Data Discussions, 15(11):50395077
62. Tersigni I, Alberello A, Messori G, Vichi M, Onorato M, Toffoli A. (2023). High-resolution
thermal imaging in the Antarctic Marginal Ice Zone: Skin temperature heterogeneity andeffects on heat fluxes. Earth and Space Science, 10(9): e2023EA003078
63. Thoithi W, Blamey RC, Reason CJ. (2023). April 2022 Floods over East Coast South
Africa: interactions between a mesoscale convective system and a coastal mesolow. Atmosphere, 14(1):78
64. Thomalla SJ, Du Plessis M, Fauchereau N, Giddy I, Gregor L, Henson S, Little H, et al.
(2023). Southern Ocean phytoplankton dynamics and carbon export: insights from aseasonal cycle approach. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A., 381:20220068
65. Thomalla SJ, Nicholson SA, Ryan-Keogh TJ, Smith ME. (2023). Widespread changes inSouthern Ocean phytoplankton blooms linked to climate drivers. Nature Climate Change,13(9):975-984.
66. Ullah A, Pohl B, Pergaud J, Dieppois B, Rouault M. (2023). Intraseasonal descriptors andextremes in South African rainfall. Part II: Summer teleconnections across multiple
timescales. International Journal of Climatology, 43(8):3799-3827
67. Van Schalkwyk L, Blamey RC, Gijben M, Reason CJC. (2023). A climatology of drylinerelated convection on the western plateau of subtropical southern
Africa. JGR: Atmospheres, 128(18): e2023JD038966
68. Wahlgren S, Thomson J, Biddle LC, Swart S. (2023). Direct observations of wave-sea ice
interactions in the Antarctic marginal ice zone. JGR: Oceans, 128(10): e2023JC019948
4. Did you engage any stakeholders/societal partners/external research users in order to coproduce knowledge in 2023? If yes, who? How did you engage?
International:
National (non university)
Collaborations included shared field work (specifically):
Research cruises – Relief Voyage of the R/V SA Agulhas II along the ‘Goodhope Transect’between Cape Town and Antarctica.
Ongoing collaboration between the South African Weather Service and University of Cape Town.
Resulting in research at the Cape Point Global Atmospheric Watch Tower.
South African Polar Research Infrastructure (SAPRI) – See above.

PART 2 - Planned activities for 2024 and 2025
1. Planned major national and international field studies and collaborative laboratory andmodelling studies (incl. all information possible, dates, locations, teams, work, etc.).
SAPRI –SEAmester
The SEAmester recommenced in 2022. This programme offers postgraduate students from South
Africa a hands-on learning opportunity aboard the SA Agulhas II. The cruise lasts around 10 days
and is comprised of lectures and practical demonstration and activities. Introducing students tovarious facets of ocean and atmospheric dynamics. This includes physical, chemical and biologicaloceanography, atmospheric chemistry and meteorology, data analysis and measurement
techniques. The cruise involves running a transect across the core of the Agulhas Current off Port
St Johns, known as the ASCA line.
SEAmester is an ongoing training platform for young students. The SEAmester cruise aims toprovide a learning opportunity for postgraduate students, who might not have otherwise had such achance. There is also the opportunity for the training of early career scientists, by becoming
involved in the teaching aspects of the course. Approximately 40 students from 22 institutions

across South Africa are involved in the cruise every year.
Winter Cruise
The R/V SA Agulhas II embarks on a cruise each year departing from Cape Town to the marginal
ice zone. This cruise closes a seasonal gap / bias in the knowledge in physical oceanography andin better understanding the processes affecting the sea ice formation and the Southern Ocean
during winter months. The cruise follows the same transect as in summer, known as the ‘Goodhope
Transect’.
Susanne Fietz (University of Stellenbosch) is heading up a new NRF SANAP grant 2024-2026,
focusing on Micronutrient and pollutant trace elements at the air-sea interface of the Southern
Ocean.
2. Events like conferences, workshops, meetings, summer schools, capacity building etc.
(incl. all information possible).
16th International Conference On Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP 2024) will be held in Cape
Town in July 2024. The conference is being organised by the South African Weather Service –Global Atmospheric Watch Division, Western Cape Government – Air Quality Division and theCape Peninsula University of Technology. This meeting will seek to assess implementation ofsolutions to reduce the emissions and exposure to mercury as a global environmental pollutant andtest the efficiency of implementation of the Minamata Convention in various parts of the world. The
conference will bring together representatives from industry, government, research institutions,non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and academia to discuss, inter alia, options for lowmercury energy and industrial technologies and the concept of low-mercury society. The event will
also showcase new equipment to measure mercury in various environmental samples, andtechnology to reduce mercury emissions and exposure.
Planned local SOLAS conference and or communal screening of the OSC at a venue at UCT.

3. Funded national and international projects/activities underway.
BIOGRIP –The Biogeochemistry Research Infrastructure Platform (BIOGRIP) is a South African research
initiative. The multidisciplinary initiative aims to broaden research capacity and discovery biological,
geological, chemical and physical process. To explore how these processes interact and shapenatural environments over time and space.

South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP) –The South African National Antarctic Programme is funded by the Department of Forestry,
Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and the National Research Foundation (NRF). The DFFE
remain responsible for logistics and infrastructure with the SANAP programme. The NRF is theagency responsible for grant allocation for the scientific community to continue research in thepolar regions, utilising SANAP infrastructure. Large infrastructure includes the manned station on
Antarctica as well as on Marion and Gough Islands, the SA Agulhas II and a number of smaller
research vessels.

South African Polar Research Institute (SAPRI) –Part of the goal of SAPRI is to bridge this disconnect between research being funded in the polar
regions and access to the infrastructure. There are proposed upgrades to the SA Agulhas II tocreate capacity for underway atmospheric chemistry measurements in the Southern Ocean.

4. Plans / ideas for future national or international projects, programmes, proposals, etc.
(please indicate the funding agencies and potential submission dates).
Joint venture
A joint measurement campaign between the Department of Oceanography and Mayis Universitesi
Department of Physics Turkey / Samsun is being examined. The venture aims to place underway
atmospheric instrumentation onboard the SA Agulhas II. Proposed measurements include CO, O3,
NOx and FTIR. Dates for the start of the project are still being determined.

5. Engagements with other international projects, organisations, programmes, etc.

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