New Co-chairs for the OSD CWG!
The SOOS Observing System Design (OSD) Capability Working Group is pleased to welcome new Co-chairs, Emma Boland and Pierpaolo Falco. Bringing together complementary expertise in ocean modelling, observing system optimisation, and observational oceanography, they are well positioned to guide the OSD CWG as it advances the design of an integrated and effective Southern Ocean observing system.
Emma Boland is an ocean modeller at the British Antarctic Survey, where she specialises in using adjoint modelling techniques to study the dynamics of the Polar Oceans. Adjoint modelling is an exciting tool for examining how models behave, and can find connections that traditional approaches miss. Emma is passionate about using models to help inform observation system design, whether through traditional or novel machine learning techniques. Emma is also a skilled climate science communicator, regularly appearing in local and national media outlets as well as engaging with more traditional public engagement.
Emma is co-director of the AI for the study of Climate Risk Centre for Doctoral Training, in collaboration with the University of Cambridge; sits on the UK national committees for SCOR and Antarctica InSync; and is co-lead of the Observing System Optimisation work package in the upcoming EU Horizon-funded Synchrony project, in support of Antarctica InSync.
Pierpaolo Falco is a physical oceanographer and Associate Professor at the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences of Università Politecnica delle Marche, Italy. His research primarily focuses on shelf processes associated with multidecadal thermohaline variability and water-mass formation and transformation in the Ross Sea, as well as on Southern Ocean circulation and polar oceanography more broadly. Part of his research also addresses the Mediterranean Sea, with particular emphasis on basin-scale dynamics, coastal processes, and the characterization of extreme events.
He has extensive experience in observational oceanography and fieldwork, collecting oceanographic observations through a broad range of both traditional and modern observational techniques.
Newsarticle 30/July/2026/JB
