The Ocean Sciences Meeting 2024 (OSM24) took place in New Orleans, USA, from February 18-23, 2024, bringing together nearly 6,000 experts in the field. The conference served as a platform for scientists to exchange scientific discoveries, forge new collaborations, and enjoy the vibrant scientific community.

One of the SOOS highlights at the event was the significant participation of the SOOS Southern Ocean Fluxes (SOFLUX) Capability Working Group (CWG), also endorsed as an UN Decade Action, which presented its work at the OASIS Face2Face workshop. This workshop provided a valuable opportunity to showcase SOFLUX's contributions and engagement in the global initiative. The 2-day OASIS global air-sea flux meeting was held the weekend before Ocean Sciences Meeting and the SOFLUX working group was presented by Marcel du Plessis (University of Gothenburg). Updates and objectives of SOFLUX within OASIS, were presented in a plenary to an audience of approximately 70 people. Breakout discussions were held on various topics, including the global array or air-sea flux observations, capacity strenthening & data principles, new satellite missions and model-process study aspects. The Southern Ocean fluxes were a common reoocuring point to discuss, especially in terms of technological requirements to do observations there but also regarding data gaps, and uncertainties in our global estimates and understanding of oceanic heat and carbon pathways.The slides and a group photo can be found below.

Later in the same week, a productive SOFLUX CWG lunch meeting further fueled discussions and collaborations among attendees. The lunch meeting titled "SOFLUX CWG Meeting: Shaping the Future Together" provided a forum to discuss Southern Ocean opportunities to work towards as a community and to bring up aspects about what we want out of SOFLUX in the future. It was further a chance for scientists to discuss the AA InSync initiative, new mooring deployments, and other topics central to Southern Ocean Science. A noteworthy aspect was the diverse mix of attendees, including both seasoned experts and early-career researchers. This diversity fostered rich discussions and the exchange of fresh perspectives, enriching the overall scientific discourse.

Additionally, the conference provided a rare chance for the leadership team, with seven members present, to meet face-to-face. This in-person interaction strengthened their bonds and facilitated more effective collaboration moving forward.

Finally, SOFLUX hosted a poster session at OSM, which had many conference participants roaming around the posters and discussing Southern Ocean flux-related science with students and researchers alike.

Overall, a busy and exciting week for SOFLUX at Ocean Sciences Meeting 2024!