Workshops and Town Halls

• COBRA-led Sessions convened by Beth Orcutt (COBRA Associate Director at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences), Julie Huber (COBRA Director at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), Russell Shomberg (COBRA Executive Committee ECR at University of Maryland), and Adam Soule (COBRA Executive Committee member at NOAA OECI/University of Rhode Island)
  • OS51B – Accelerating Exploration and Research of the Deep Sea to Inform Decision-Making II Poster *NOTE NEW DATE!
    Monday, 15 December 2025 08:30 – 12:00, Hall EFG (Poster Hall) (New Orleans Convention Center) including COBRA Master Class Delivers Collaborative and Effective Deep-Sea Expedition Leadership Training to Early Career Researchers. Rosalynn Sylvan, Randi Rotjan, Julie A Huber, Beth Orcutt, Andrew T Fisher, Charles Wheat, Katy Croff Bell, Kelsey Barnhill, Russell Shomberg, Loic Van Audenhaege and Johanna Weston
  • OS51A – Accelerating Exploration and Research of the Deep Sea to Inform Decision-Making I Oral
    Friday, 19 December 2025 08:30 – 10:00, 215-216 (New Orleans Convention Center)

• COBRA-led Town Hall moderated by Julie A Huber, Rosalynn Sylvan, Beth Orcutt *FOOD TO BE PROVIDED!
  • TH25E – Connecting Early-Career Deep-Sea Professionals with Opportunities for Training and Networking
    Tuesday, 16 December 2025 18:00 – 19:00, 261-262 (New Orleans Convention Center)

• COBRA-Related Activities and Sessions
  • Saturday Dec 13: DeSSC New Users Program
  • Sunday Dec 14: DeSSC (Deep Submergence Science Committee) Annual Meeting
  • Monday Dec 15 (13:00): Axial Seamount OOI Town Hall
  • Monday Dec 15 (18:00): Marine Technology Society Town Hall
  • Tuesday Dec 16 (13:00): RECOS (Research and Education Coalition for Ocean Sciences) Town Hall
  • Wednesday Dec 17 (10:30-12:00): Rachel Carson Lecture by Julie Huber – Congratulations to COBRA Director Julie Huber selected for this honor as a female scientist who exemplifies Rachel Carson’s work with cutting-edge ocean science, especially science relevant to societal concerns. Julie will present “The Deep-Sea Around Us: The Urgent Need to Bring the Seafloor into Sight“
  • Wednesday Dec 17 (13:00): 2025–2035 Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences for the NSF Town Hall
  • Thursday Dec 18 (13:00): Future of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet Town Hall
  • Friday Dec 19 (08:30-12:00): Advancing Deep Sea Discovery: Science, Technology, and Data at Depth Poster and Oral Session

• COBRA Side-Event, December 10, 2024
  US Leadership in Deep-Sea Research: Opportunities, Challenges, and Needs
  

• Deep-Sea Mining Futures in U.S. Waters: Safeguarding Marine Ecosystems and Local Communities eLightning Session, December 13, 2024
  Deep-sea mining impacts on microbial ecosystem services: Baseline data, best indicators, and potential thresholds of harm
  Beth Orcutt, Emma Bolton, Natalia Erazo, Tremaine Bowman, Andrian Paladar Gajigan, Moronke Harris, Massimiliano Molari, Rose Jones, Jeffrey J Marlow, Sheryl Murdock, Maria Pachiadaki, Gustavo Ramirez, Miguel Semedo, Alycia Smith, Andrew Sweetman, Jason B Sylvan, Julie A Huber

• Microbial Geochemistry, Chemical Geobiology, and Geobiochemistry: Integrated Approaches to Understanding the World Around Us Oral Session, December 13, 2024
  Characterization of (Sub)Seafloor Microbial Communities at Octopus Nurseries Associated with Low-Temperature Hydrothermal Vents at La Pampa Submarina, Costa Rica
  Julie A Huber, Gustavo Ramirez, Beth Orcutt, Oscar Almacen, Ryu Akiba, Timothy D’Angelo, Andrew T Fisher, Rachel M Lauer, Holly Lutz, Shiva Sadeghpour, Margrethe Serres, Amanda Sutherland, Fiorella Vasquez Fallas, Janet R Voight, Charles Geoffrey Wheat, Teodora Zhivkova, Jorge Cortés, Octopus Odyssey Science Parties

Poster Session, July 29, 2024
Hands-on STEM modules for 3rd – 9th grades to understand deep-sea processes through undersea technologies
Julie A Huber, Geoff Wheat, Claudia Paul, Jason Nicholson, Kelli Ventimilia, Lisa Marrack, Steven Pina, Susan Castello, David Chandler, Kelly Miller, Kimi Kato, Krista Gaffney, Rios Gustavo, Kristen Johannes, and Gustavo Ramirez

• COBRA+DOOS+DESSC+ODL Town Hall, February 19, 2024
  Connecting Early-Career Deep-Sea Professionals with Opportunities for Training and Networking
  

• COBRA Master Class Presentation, February 19, 2024
  Broadening Early Career Researcher Participation in Ocean Sciences via a New Deep-Sea Expedition Leadership Master Class
  Julie A Huber, Katherine Lynn Croff Bell, Andrew T Fisher, James McManus, Beth Orcutt, Randi Rotjan, Rosalynn Sylvan, Charles Geoffrey Wheat, Master Class Participants 2022 and 2023

• COBRA Poster Session, February 22, 2024
  Accelerating Research of the Crustal Ocean Biosphere to Inform Decision making
  

• See more COBRA-Related Sessions in our February newsletter

COBRA Mini-Workshop, October 2-5, 2023
Seafloor Microbial Ecosystem Services (Led by COBRA)
Meeting host: Deep Ocean Observing Strategy (DOOS) in partnership with COBRA and the Ocean Discovery League

DOOS Town Hall, February 25, 2022
Deep-Sea Connections: Developing Cohesion and Synergies among Deep-sea Networks, Programs, Projects and Scientists
Lead Organizer: Leslie Smith, Deep Ocean Observing Strategy (DOOS)

Geomicrobiology of the Deep Biosphere Poster Session, December 17, 2021
The Crustal Ocean Biosphere Research Accelerator (COBRA) will Inform Decision Making for Deep-Sea Mining and Subseafloor Carbon Sequestration
Beth Orcutt, Julie Huber, Andrew Fisher, Jim McManus, Randi Rotjan, Rosalynn Sylvan, Geoff Wheat