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- Johanna Berlinghof
Johanna Berlinghof
Report of GLOMAR PhD student Johanna Berlinghof about her participation in the ASLO 2021 - Aquatic Sciences Meeting – Virtual Meeting from 22-27 June 2021
From 22nd to 27th June 2021, I joined the Aquatic Sciences Meeting of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) with the main topic "Aquatic Sciences for a Sustainable Future: Nurturing Cooperation". Around 1700 scientists from all over the world presented and discussed their research in oral or poster presentations, took part in workshops, and listened to inspiring plenary talks.
I had the opportunity to present our study on the seagrass Posidonia oceanica, which was conducted with scientists from the SZN in Naples (Italy), as part of the session "Greenhouse Gas Dynamics in the Coastal Ocean – Emerging Trends and Future Directions". A 15-minute presentation had to be recorded and uploaded prior to the conference, and participants had the chance to watch it before the sessions occurred. The sessions were organized in one-hour blocks, where each of the 5-6 presenters gave a short five-minute overview talk on their research. The remaining 30 minutes were dedicated to questions and comments. This session format clearly put the focus on the discussion and scientific exchange between the participants and made it as interactive as possible.
The virtual format of this conference also enabled participation for students and scientists who otherwise would not have been able to travel to Palma de Mallorca due to time or funding issues. The organizing committee did its best to provide a diverse program, including yoga sessions in the morning, interactive coffee breaks at noon, and social events, such as a pub quiz, in the evenings. However, a completely virtual conference can't replace an in-person meeting, and after this week of only watching my screen, I'm happy to meet people in real life again!
