Concept Note
2nd WESTPAC Workshop on Upwelling and Its Dynamics in the South China Sea and adjacent areas, 26-27 January 2021, Online (ZOOM)
1. Background
Unique physical settings of the South China Sea (SCS) and its adjacent regions allow many sites to become upwelling favourable during different monsoon seasons. Despite numbers of well-established sites of upwelling region in SSC and its adjacent regions, i.e. Hainan Island and Vietnam coast, recent study discovered a few upwelling areas within SCS which never been studied before. Amongst them are the regions along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia and area at the south of Java. There are many other sites which are believed to have similar upwelling dynamics, but they either have not been discovered or not well explored.
Upwelling systems holds a very important value that require special focus. However, the effects of climate change, monsoon variability, and ENSO on the upwelling system remain poorly understood while the effect of upwelling on harmful algal blooms has recently attracted many interests from researchers.
In view of the limited scientific knowledge on upwelling systems in the region and its importance to ocean productivity, the IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC) established a regional project, entitled “Upwelling Studies through Ocean Data Integration towards Sustaining Ocean Health and Productivity,” aiming to: explore new upwelling sites and increase the understanding on upwelling dynamics in the South China Sea (SCS) and adjacent seas, through comparative studies and data integration. Dr. Mohd Fadzil Akhir, from Malaysia was appointed as Principal Investigator for this project.
Initial effort was made through various discussions among a group of researchers. This workshop is developed, as a starting point, to attract interested researchers who are involved in upwelling studies in their countries and enhance collaborations by gathering important information related to upwelling from all countries bordering the South China Sea and its adjacent regions.
2. Workshop venue and objectives
The workshop will be conducted virtually through online platform, aiming to achieve the following objectives through various expert presentations and constructive discussions:
- Update the latest progress of upwelling research based on the previous establishment of upwelling sites of interest;
- Review current understanding and identify knowledge gaps of upwelling systems in the aspect of dynamics and scientific techniques and approaches;
- Share the latest interest in the upwelling study especially related to current global perspective such as climate, productivity, or blue economy;
- synergize efforts and align future plan with the UN Ocean Decade, as part of the implementation strategy on knowledge dissemination, training and integrated data management effort among countries in the region.
3. Conduct of the workshop
The workshop will be conducted online for 2 days (between morning until noon – Malaysia Time, +8.00GMT) using the ZOOM platform. The first day will consist of presentation by experts in this field. This will provide an overview of the upwelling dynamics in SCS and its adjacent regions, current trends and future challenges in the research field. Related topics include:
- Upwelling research, current trends and how it can contribute to UN Ocean Decade.
- Progress of upwelling dynamic study in the region of east cost of Peninsular Malaysia and, Northeast Borneo.
- Recent update on upwelling studies in Vietnam, Philippines and China coasts
- Ocean productivity in the upwelling regions
- Biological aspect of upwelling which includes plankton and mesozoosplankton ecology
On second day, an open forum will be held to explore ideas and suggestions in order to come up with a future action plan.
- General review and task delegation on the website development and content publication from the group.
- Discussion on how the group can align it with UN Ocean Decade.
4. Experts Participation
We welcome any expert in the upwelling system, and its related aspects such as biology, chemistry, remote sensing, numerical modelling, atmospheric and climate science and resource management.
Meanwhile, to ensure consistency, priority will be given to the participants in the first workshop, particularly those who are conducting monitoring and research in their selected pilot sites.
Although this workshop will be a close session among invited participant, the first session on the first day will be open to public. It will be a general presentation on the topics of upwelling with focus on the theme of this group.
Prepared by
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Fadzil Akhir
Principal Investigator,
IOC Westpac Upwelling Group
