Report - Liège Colloquium on Submesoscale Processes in the Ocean by Jabeen Safeer

The Liège Collocuium on Ocean Dynamics is one of the longest-running series in physical oceanography, bringing together leading researchers from across the globe to advance the understanding of ocean dynamics. This year’s colloquium revisited submesoscale dynamics of the ocean - a decade on from the 48th Colloquium in 2016 - taking stock of new developments across a range of oceanographic disciplines, including observational, modelling, and theoretical approaches. I was accompanied by Evridiki Chrysagi - my supervisor and also a TRR 181 member - and Arooba Nawaz, a master’s student at the Universität Hamburg.

We reached the city on the afternoon of May 24th and were greeted by the sight of the transparent, monumental vault of the Gare de Liege-Guillemins, built entirely out of glass and steel. The conference venue was the University of Liège's lecture hall, with neoclassical walls inscribed with the exceptional heritage of Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium. The conference started with a session on remote sensing of submesoscale dynamics, which shed light on ongoing efforts to utilise high-resolution SWOT satellite data to reconstruct various ocean variables. Following the scientific sessions, we participated in a hands-on training session hosted by EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), focused on monitoring submesoscale ocean processes using Earth observation data. It provided us with new information and tools to work directly with freely available satellite-derived ocean data from the Copernicus Marine Service. The poster presentations were scheduled for the second day, along with an icebreaker event. Besides, the posters were on display all week, which provided me with a very relaxed environment to talk about my poster and discuss my work with several people. The remaining days featured keynote talks on frontal instabilities, wave-front/eddy interactions, multiscale processes, submesoscale dynamics at the boundaries and physical-biological interactions. I found it fascinating to learn that polar oceanographers use seal-borne CTD sensors to study Southern Ocean dynamics. This was just one example that highlighted for me how essential creativity is in conducting meaningful scientific research, as I discovered many throughout the colloquium.  Although the five days were packed with talks and activities, I found each talk to be very informative and gained several insights relevant to my own research. Outside of the scientific sessions, we spent our evenings walking through the beautiful streets of Liège and sampling a variety of local restaurants. The most delicious culinary experience we had was in an Afghan restaurant. The renowned Liège waffles also warrant a special mention. I am grateful to TRR 181 for supporting this trip, and to Evridiki and Arooba for the company, both in the lecture hall and our evening explorations of Liege.