Diatoms of North AmericaThe MARDI working group has outlined several objectives for the coming years. The group formally launched in 2023 and will be engaged in activities involving datasets of various marine Arctic sediment records.
- January 2023 WORKSHOP 1: Establishing protocols
The first workshop will 1) identify existing Arctic and subarctic diatom-based calibration data sets including surface sediment assemblages and associated environmental surface ocean data and agree upon common criteria for integrating the databases. Additional new sites will adhere to these criteria; here special emphasis will be given to best practices for sampling surface sediment data. 2) Identify the challenges ahead for aligning the taxonomy of the various datasets and outline a plan towards Workshop 2.
- June 2023 WORKSHOP 2: Taxonomy
This workshop will be dedicated to integrating and agreeing upon a common taxonomy for all datasets. A key outcome of this workshop will be the outline of the publication of a taxonomic guide that includes descriptions of species ecology, images, and geographical distribution. Workshop 2 will be followed by several online taxonomic workshops on specific taxa during the following months.
- June 2023 – June 2024 Taxonomic archives
Gradual collection and archiving of diatom species information to online databases, based on the plans laid out in Workshop 2.
- July 2024 WORKSHOP 3: Statistical relationships
This workshop will focus on relating diatom assemblages to environmental data in the Arctic. Participants will include diatomists, data scientists, and experts in quantitative paleoceanography. Key topics include:
1) integration of samples collected in past decades with recent samples
2) determination of modern surface samples
3) evaluation of time integration in surface samples
4) accessing accurate and time appropriate environmental data
5) best practices in statistical analyses, transfer functions, and data mining
- August 2024-September 2025 Synthesis
Integration of the datasets and association with environmental metadata as agreed in Workshop 3. Construction and publication of the final diatom-based transfer functions.
- October 2025 WORKSHOP 4: Training
In this concluding MARDI workshop, the final transfer functions will be presented in the form of a short course. The instructors will outline the principles and the limitations of the approach.
