Several SOOS Leadership Teams Welcome new ECR Representatives

The Ross Sea Regional Working Group (RWG) is happy to introduce Ruobing Cao, as the new APECS Representative on their leadership team. 

Ruobing is a Ph.D. candidate in biological oceanography studying phytoplankton dynamics in the Ross Sea and the species-specific strategies by which Antarctic phytoplankton adapt to their environment, with particular attention to biological processes with high sea ice concentration. She is especially interested in integrating shipboard surveys, BGC-Argo float observations, and laboratory incubations to develop a coherent understanding of these systems. Her current work focuses on how phytoplankton respond to variability in trace metal and irradiance availability.

The leadership team of the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Sector (ABS) Regional Working Group (RWG) is joined by their new APECS Representative, Emma White. 

Emma recently completed her PhD at Northumbria University, where she investigated the physical oceanography of the Bellingshausen Sea using an extensive oceanographic cruise dataset. Her research focused on analysing circulation pathways across the region and quantifying ice-shelf basal melt rates. She has since begun a postdoctoral position on the Drivers of Oceanic Change in the Amundsen Sea (DeCAdeS) project. As part of this work, she will participate in two research cruises to the Amundsen Sea to deploy a mooring array near the continental shelf break, with the goal of investigating the transport of Circumpolar Deep Water onto the continental shelf.

The West Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Arc (WAPSA) RWG welcomes Lucie Knor, as APECS Representative to their leadership team. 

Lucie is a Postdoctoral Researcher in chemical oceanography at GEOMAR in Kiel, Germany, specializing in the ocean carbon cycle, marine carbonate chemistry and ocean acidification. She is currently working on equipping Antarctic cruise vessels, racing sailboats and other ships of opportunity with surface CO2 instrumentation to explore ocean carbon uptake in the changing Southern Ocean, and coastal areas of the West Antarctic Peninsula.

News article 06/October/2026/JB