The Marine Biogeochemistry Forum (MBF) strives to ensure marine biogeochemists play a key role in shaping the future Scottish marine environment. Scottish marine biogeochemists are respected world-wide, and the MBF has facilitated consolidation of the Scottish marine biogeochemistry community by developing a united research strategy, with scientific excellence at its core. This is particularly important since a better understanding of biogeochemical processes and their sensitivity is required to evaluate their response to natural and anthropogenic change in the 21st Century and beyond. Biogeochemistry is a key component of large national and international funding schemes and MBF research primarily addresses three environmental grand challenges: climate change and carbon cycling (including blue carbon and ocean acidification), open ocean biogeochemistry, and marine biomineralisation. In particular, the MBF has been pivotal in the formation of new initiatives including the role of nature-based solutions in mitigating climate change (e.g. The Scottish Blue Carbon Forum and industry-driven habitat restoration)

Effective biogeochemistry frequently requires the parallel measurement of multiple processes, often over long-time scales via monitoring infrastructure. The critical mass of scientists and infrastructure within MASTS enables MBF to unify those resources, conducting high profile and high impact research of benefit to both society and science. The MBF promotes international and national biogeochemistry accessibility, ensuring both international and within-MASTS interaction and impact, and facilitating common goals. Integration and communication are achieved using cross-cutting research agendas, themed workshops, meetings and social media.

Marine Biogeochemistry Forum Aims:

• Consolidate a critical mass of biogeochemists within MASTS, providing an opportunity to conduct key and high-profile impactful research
• Promote and facilitate biogeochemistry accessibility across the MASTS Research Themes and Forums, ensuring within-MASTS interaction and impact, and facilitating common goals
• Enable impact and knowledge exchange of MASTS MBF outputs by directly engaging with a range of stakeholders across the policy, industrial and public sectors
• Provision of student and researcher support to accelerate biogeochemical advances

Forum Convenor: [tbc] if you would like to lead this forum please email MASTS

Deputy Forum Convenor:  Heidi Burdett (Lyell Centre, Heriot Watt)

Steering Group: John Baxter (Independent); Seb Hennige (Edinburgh University); Danielle Whitlock (Edinburgh Napier) and Pamela Walsham (Marine Scotland Science)