Key ideas: global action, delivering high seas marine protection

The high seas are Earth’s last great frontier—and one of its most vulnerable. As nations rally behind major global commitments to restore ocean health, from the High Seas Treaty to the UN Ocean Decade, science has a crucial role in driving policy necessary for protecting these vast international waters. This symposium will explore current science contributing to making that transformation real,   remaining gaps, and how various governance regimes are responding to scientific advice.  How is science helping the world respond to climate‑driven change, safeguard migratory species, and build fair, transparent systems for managing shared ocean spaces? The symposium will also highlight global cooperation, policy development and community empowerment necessary to protect the ocean for the long haul.

Key ideas: autonomy, remote sensing, fleet operations, ocean observing

Autonomous technologies are transforming marine science by enabling scalable, persistent, and cost-effective observations across a broad range of challenging environments. Uncrewed systems, including autonomous underwater, surface, and aerial vehicles, deliver high-resolution data on physical, chemical, and biological parameters at spatial and temporal scales previously unattainable. These capabilities are critical for addressing global challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and sustainable fisheries.

Coordinated fleets of vehicles can conduct large-area surveys in a fraction of the time required by traditional methods, while long-duration deployments provide continuous data streams. Advances in autonomy, ranging from AI-driven mission planning, real-time sensor fusion, and interoperable data pipelines, are transforming how observations are collected and validated. When combined with traditional survey methods and human expertise, autonomous platforms become a force multiplier.

This symposium will highlight real-world examples where autonomy has delivered scientific benefits in marine science, explore innovative applications that enhance marine science impact, and discuss future directions for autonomy-enabled research. We invite contributions that demonstrate how autonomous systems are driving progress toward sustainable oceans and climate resilience, including topics such as:

• Fleet-based autonomous surveys

• Persistent ocean observing campaigns

• Integration of remote sensing and human-led approaches

• Strategies for increasing spatial coverage while reducing cost and risk

• Case studies of marine autonomy in supporting Australian science

• Novel applications of marine autonomy in supporting marine science or marine operations

Key ideas: oecm, mpa, 30by30, global biodiversity framework, tiaki moana

Pacific Island countries and territories are at the forefront of global ocean stewardship, with long-standing cultural, community, and Indigenous governance systems closely aligned with the principles underlying Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs). As nations move to implement the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and accelerate progress toward 30x30, OECMs provide a practical, culturally grounded, and scientifically robust pathway to recognize and strengthen enduring forms of marine management.

This symposium will bring together scientists, policymakers, Indigenous knowledge-holders, NGOs, and practitioners working across the Pacific to explore the science, governance, monitoring, and partnerships required to identify, operationalize, and scale high-quality OECMs. Topics include integrating traditional ecological knowledge with scientific assessment, designing inclusive governance processes, approaches to evaluation and long-term monitoring, and aligning national commitments with regional and global frameworks (SPREP, CBD, BBNJ).

The session aims to highlight emerging Pacific-led models, share lessons from recent field initiatives and regional workshops, and foster cross-country collaboration that can strengthen OECM implementation throughout the region.

This symposium will appeal to researchers, government agencies, Indigenous organisations, conservation practitioners, and anyone working at the interface of marine science, policy, and community-led conservation.

Key ideas: BRUV, ROV, DOV, stereo-video

Body-size and species abundance are key metrics to understand ecological processes and essential information to understand population sustainability.

Stereo-video systems provide non-invasive, measurements of marine organisms and habitats, enabling accurate size estimation, behavioural analysis, and population assessments without requiring physical capture.

This symposium is open to demonstrations of using mono and stereo-video platforms to understand and inform the management of marine systems. It will be complemented by a workshop held along side the conference.

By fostering collaboration among ecologists, fisheries scientists, and conservation practitioners, this symposium aims to refine best practices, identify emerging research frontiers, and enhance the role of stereo-video methods in understanding and protecting marine biodiversity.

Key ideas: biodiversity, biosecurity, sustainability, genomics

Taxonomy is the foundation of biology, and a robust taxonomic framework is critical to address fundamental questions about biodiversity, ecology, phylogeography, and evolutionary history in marine environments.  Understanding biodiversity is important for all fields of marine science, conservation, and management as well as underpinning hypothesis-driven marine research. Baseline taxonomic knowledge is also crucial to the effective management of environmental impact due to human-induced activities and climate change. Although over 250,000 species have been described from the ocean (World Register of Marine Species; WoRMS), it is estimated that little more than 10% have been documented, and biodiversity of environments such as mesopelagic to abyssal environments, vents, seeps and seamounts is especially poorly known. With the arrival of new seagoing research facilities (e.g., RV Investigator) and the advent of major technological advances in high-resolution imaging, DNA sequencing, eDNA, Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, biodiversity discovery is expected to accelerate. We propose a symposium that will be led by marine experts representing a broad range of taxonomic expertise. The symposium will bring together scientists, practitioners, and policy makers to discuss the current state of taxonomy knowledge in the marine environment and to showcase the latest advances in the field of marine taxonomy in Australia and New Zealand.

Key ideas: chemical oceanography, biogeochemistry, ocean biogeochemistry

Ocean biogeochemistry shapes climate and ecosystem health. We welcome biogeochemical studies that involve phytoplankton, microbes, benthic organisms, coral reefs, and processes such as carbon and carbonate pumps, particle fluxes, benthic–pelagic coupling, and land–ocean trace element and nutrient delivery. Topics can include estuarine biogeochemistry, ocean acidification, deoxygenation, and human impacts. Interdisciplinary approaches using element and isotope tracers or proxies are encouraged. Emerging technologies—autonomous platforms, imaging, machine learning, and innovative modelling—are transforming our ability to quantify biogeochemical processes and predict change. Contributions utilising these technologies that bridge coastal and open-ocean research are also welcome. We particularly encourage work from Australian systems, including the Southern Ocean, Great Barrier Reef, and continental shelves, offering insights from high-latitude carbon sinks to tropical coral ecosystems. Join us in advancing a holistic understanding of ocean biogeochemistry and its role in marine ecosystems and climate.

Key ideas: remote sensing, bathymetry, geomorphology, maritime jurisdictions

Australia’s coastal zone represents a critical interface between terrestrial and marine environments, yet remains one of the most challenging areas to map comprehensively. This symposium will address the persistent “white strip” of missing data between high-resolution bathymetric LiDAR and offshore multibeam surveys, a gap that limits integrated management and decision-making in relation to the seabed and coastal interface.

The session aims to bring together science and practice across Commonwealth and State agencies, research institutions, and industry to showcase advances in coastal to offshore marine geoscience mapping technologies, data standards, and collaborative frameworks. Key topics will include remote sensing innovations, semi-automated geomorphology classification, integration of marine geoscience in coastal and offshore marine hazard management, and strategies for merging jurisdictional datasets to create seamless coastal-to-offshore models.

By fostering dialogue between policy makers, scientists, and technical experts, this symposium will highlight opportunities for national-scale integration and shared approaches to fill critical data gaps, supporting marine geoscience spatial planning, hazard management, and ecosystem conservation — strengthening the scientific foundation for sustainable, integrated offshore marine and coastal zone management.

Key ideas: marine megafauna, management, conservation, cultural connections, wildlife tourism

Whales, turtles, dolphins, pinnipeds, dugongs, and sharks play a key role in maintaining healthy marine ecosystems and in shaping public awareness that drives marine governance. These iconic species hold deep cultural, spiritual, and economic significance, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and act as powerful ambassadors for ocean stewardship. Their visibility and vulnerability make them effective catalysts for advancing marine policy, guiding the development of conservation frameworks and ecosystem-based management approaches.

As Australia’s coastal and oceanic environments face mounting pressures from climate change, industrial expansion, resource extraction, disease risks and pollution, the cumulative threats to marine megafauna—such as entanglements, noise, ship strikes, and habitat loss—underscore the urgent need for adaptive governance and cross-sectoral coordination. Policy responses that are informed by scientific evidence and grounded in Traditional knowledge systems can strengthen the legitimacy, effectiveness and uptake of marine management. Integrating two-way science - where Indigenous and Western knowledge systems co-produce understanding - offers a transformative pathway for inclusive, equitable, and sustainable marine governance.

This symposium highlights how research on marine megafauna can inform national and regional policy, catalyse the creation of marine protected areas, and inspire innovative governance frameworks in Australian waters and beyond. By fostering a collaborative community of scientists, Traditional Owners, industry representatives, and policymakers, the symposium aims to translate ecological insights into actionable governance reforms that ensure sustainable developments along the long-term protection and resilience of Australia’s ocean heritage.

Key ideas: transdisciplinary collaboration, habitat complexity, design-led approaches, marine restoration

Marine restoration is gaining global attention, yet science alone cannot address its complexity. To achieve meaningful impact, restoration strategies must integrate creative and design-led approaches that prioritise innovation in materials, methods of fabrication, and deployment strategies. This symposium explores how design thinking and fabrication can transform marine conservation, positioning Australia at the forefront of global best practice.

We invite contributions that demonstrate inventive solutions for restoring ecosystems, from local coastlines to offshore environments, through transdisciplinary collaboration. Potential submission could include:

• Innovative ecological approaches, embracing ecological engineering, material science including sustainable material choices , bio-design, and biomimicry.

• Design and fabrication methods such as computational design (CAD), digital fabrication, and prototyping for marine applications.

• Surface complexity and scale, from micro-topographies that influence species recruitment to large-scale structural interventions.

• Critical reflections on design, material selection, and deployment strategies, highlighting lessons learned and knowledge gaps.

• Cross-disciplinary initiatives integrating art, design, indigenous knowledge, science, engineering, and/or technology to develop restoration best practices.

Our goal is to bring together diverse perspectives to share successes, failures, and emerging ideas, building a collaborative foundation for creative, scalable interventions that enhance marine biodiversity across ecosystems.

Key ideas: marine data, digital research infrastructure, open science

Australia’s future marine science impact depends on how effectively individual research organisations can support the full pathway from observation to publication across diverse marine data domains—including eDNA and ‘omics, biodiversity and imagery, biogeochemistry, physical oceanography, and broader ocean observing systems. This symposium examines how institutions are building the infrastructure, governance, and skilled workforce needed to routinely publish research-ready, FAIR, citable datasets that feed a national digital marine commons.

Speakers will highlight practical institutional models for supporting researchers: data management planning, pipelines for new observing techniques (such as eDNA, autonomous platforms, advanced acoustics), automated QA/QC workflows, and platforms that generate persistent identifiers and citation-ready metadata. Case studies will demonstrate how data architects, software engineers, and research technologists underpin scalable data publication for marine domains ranging from long-term oceanographic time series to high-throughput biodiversity data and biogeochemical observations.

A key focus is how organisations sustain these specialist teams, align internal systems with national infrastructures (IMOS/AODN, OBIS-AU, AusSeabed), and create environments where researchers are empowered to publish high-quality datasets as routinely as publications. Designed for marine scientists, data professionals, and institutional leaders, this symposium offers practical pathways to strengthen organisational capability and accelerate Australia’s transition to a federated, high-impact marine data commons.

Key ideas: port environmental stewardship, co-design in marine science, industry-research partnerships, eco-engineering, biosecurity

Australian ports are key coastal infrastructure, supporting national trade and regional economies while also representing the most sustainable, lowest-emission form of transport. These working environments sit at a critical interface between industry, the marine environment, and community, presenting both challenges and opportunities for strong environmental stewardship.

This symposium will highlight contemporary marine research, innovation and industry–research partnerships across Australian port environments, with a focus on collaborative monitoring frameworks that bring together port authorities, researchers, Traditional Owners, regulators and local communities. Contributions will showcase advances in water quality monitoring, sediment and light dynamics, habitat protection and restoration, eco-engineering approaches, climate adaptation planning, and biosecurity within port and harbour settings.

Case studies will demonstrate evidence-based solutions that are improving environmental performance and informing future decision-making in high-value, operational coastal zones. The session aims to engage scientists, industry practitioners, policy makers, consultants and students working at the applied science–management interface. Participants will gain insight into the innovative research being undertaken in and around Australian ports, and the pathways through which high-quality marine science can shape policy, management and long-term sustainability outcomes.

Key ideas: coastal management, ecosystem service, biodiversity, spatial

Seascape connectivity is influenced by the composition, position and links between mosaics of habitats that facilitate the flow of energy, nutrients, and materials. Incorporating seascape connectivity into the spatial prioritisation and management of conservation and restoration initiatives can enhance the delivery of ecosystem services, functions and biodiversity. It is a particularly important concept in the context of global policies such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Decade of Restoration. These policies seek to maximise the provisioning of ecosystems services, biodiversity and functioning from conservation and restoration projects. Monitoring and modelling connectivity across multiple spatial scales and seascapes can inform spatial prioritisation, guide restoration and conservation management actions, and support decisions that seek to enhance ecological functioning and resilience across ecosystems. Advances in measuring biodiversity, species movements, habitat mapping, ecological networks, spatial planning tools and ecosystem accounting provide new opportunities to embed seascape connectivity into practical management actions. This symposium will showcase research that translates connectivity science into management impact. We welcome abstracts from all disciplines, including species movement, restoration, conservation, and functional ecology that incorporate seascape connectivity into improving management decisions in marine environments.

Key ideas: genomics, conservation, population genetics, connectivity

Genomic approaches have become transformative tools for understanding marine biodiversity and for translating fundamental science into applied management. Ocean systems enable complex patterns of dispersal, with many taxa exhibiting pelagic larval stages, while others rely on parental care and reduced natal dispersal, resulting in spatially structured populations. These contrasting life-history strategies directly influence population connectivity, resilience, and vulnerability to environmental change.

Over the past decade, rapid advances in sequencing technologies have made genomic tools more affordable and widely accessible, providing unprecedented resolution into gene flow, hybridisation, demographic history, and mechanisms of speciation. Importantly, these insights are now being increasingly applied to inform conservation planning, fisheries management, and policy development.

This symposium welcomes contributions on population genomic approaches applied to marine dispersal, connectivity, and demography across diverse taxa and spatial scales. Presentations will demonstrate how genomic data inform metapopulation dynamics, range shifts, historical bottlenecks, recovery processes, and the design of spatial management strategies, including marine protected areas.

By integrating applied case studies across seascapes and life-history strategies, this session will highlight how population genomics is strengthening the connection between marine science, decision-making, and long-term ocean sustainability in a rapidly changing world.

Key ideas: facility, infrastructure, national, impact, outcomes

The Marine National Facility is Australia’s dedicated ocean research capability to enable marine research for national benefit. Through fully-funded grants of sea time and freely available marine data, the facility enables vital marine and atmospheric research by all Australian researchers across our vast marine estate: from the edge of the sea ice to the equator. This capability centres on the multi-purpose advanced ocean‑class research vessel (RV) Investigator, which has recently surpassed 10 years of operation.

This symposium invites presentations showcasing the breadth of research impact delivered by our diverse Australian marine research community through access to RV Investigator and . Encompassing oceanographic, biological, atmospheric and geophysical research, as well as maritime heritage studies, the research enabled through the vessel has delivered national benefit by directly addressing the challenges facing Australia’s society, economy and environment. In addition, the vessel provides a vital platform for training our future marine stewards and inspiring interest in our marine environment through the delivery of important maritime education and training activities, which will be discussed in this symposium.

Key ideas: social science, human dimensions, Australia's strategy for nature

This symposium brings together Indigenous leaders, marine scientists, social scientists and practitioners to operationalise Australia's Strategy for Nature.  

Australia's Strategy for Nature rests on three interconnected goals: connecting all Australians with nature, caring for nature in all its diversity, and building shared knowledge. Achieving these goals requires understanding the human drivers behind ocean health and wellbeing. Critical questions include: How do we create marine conservation that is culturally respectful and equitable? How do we balance biodiversity protection with the needs of fishing communities? And, how do we weave Indigenous leadership into research and decision-making, not as consultation, but as agenda-setting? 

The symposium brings these threads together, working through real ocean management contexts—fisheries, marine conservation, climate adaptation—where Indigenous science, marine science and social sciences must be bought together to succeed. 

We invite presentations and active participation to develop these ideas further. 

Key ideas: project management, knowledge brokering, best practice, Indigenous partnerships, stakeholder engagement

This symposium is targeted at HDR, ECR and those researchers who know they must meet the needs of many with limited time and resources. This symposium will touch on important project elements that all funding agencies now expect you to manage, such as stakeholder engagement, Indigenous partnerships, communication plans, data management and impact, all rolled into the concept of project management. But what are these elements, and how do we do them well while juggling everyday tasks? Presenters for this symposium will discuss their process and learning, and ask the audience what is still missing. The symposium topics that will be covered include:

• Research that meets the stakeholders’ needs – best practice approaches, but what actually helps

• Indigenous partnerships – how do we best deliver ICIP and CARE principles in a changing research environment

• We all know we must communicate research finding but how do we get the best bang for our $1

• Data management – I have my data now, but what is my responsibility

• Stakeholder engagement – what, where, when and how 

• Impact – how can we show this, and what role can knowledge brokering play

• Learning from an international NGO

Key ideas: ocean literacy, community engagement, marine science communication, science and society

Ocean literacy is emerging as a critical enabler of effective marine policy, sustainable resource management, and community-led conservation. Research and engagement initiatives are emerging and developing across Australia. This symposium brings together researchers, educators, and practitioners from the national marine science community to showcase the ways ocean literacy is generating measurable impact. 

We welcome contributions from across the growing field of ocean literacy: 

• Research examining public understanding of marine issues and barriers to engagement

• Education programs in formal and informal settings building ocean knowledge and connection

• Indigenous knowledge systems and sea country management

• Citizen science expanding research capacity while deepening participant understanding

• Stakeholder engagement initiatives bridging science, industry, and policy.

Building on momentum and interest in Australian ocean literacy (and resulting outputs) garnered at AMSA 2024 and 2025, this symposium provides a platform to share findings, recent developments, and identify next steps for ocean literacy research and practice. We explore the role of ocean literacy as an enabler that translates marine science into meaningful action.

Key ideas: The geomorphological, geological, and climatic controls on coastlines and shallow marine habitats

Australia’s coastal and shallow-marine environments are shaped by the interplay of geomorphic processes, hydrodynamics and a rapidly changing climate, and these interactions are increasingly central to understanding future landscape and seascape trajectories. As sea-level rise accelerates, we are seeing shifts in inundation patterns, sediment mobility, wave–reef interactions and tidal-to-supratidal connectivity that influence the stability and functioning of beaches, dunes, tidal wetlands, mangroves, nearshore flats and reef-fringed shorelines. Coastal water tables and salinity regimes adjust alongside these changes, interacting with surface and nearshore processes without singularly driving them.

Our capacity to detect and interpret these evolving systems is expanding rapidly. High-resolution remote sensing, UAV photogrammetry, LiDAR, multispectral and hyperspectral imagery, satellite altimetry and InSAR ground-motion analyses combined with in situ observations from eddy-covariance systems, coastal hydrological monitoring, CTDs, wave and current sensors, sap-flow measurements and geophysical surveys, is revealing fine-scale geomorphic and hydrological dynamics previously invisible in coarse datasets. Paleo-environmental archives including coral microatolls, reef cores, sediment cores, beach-ridge sequences and wetland stratigraphy provide the essential long-term context needed to distinguish contemporary change from natural variability, illuminating past sea levels, sediment pathways and shallow-marine landscape evolution.

Building resilience across Australia’s coasts and shallow-marine environments will require integrating these diverse lines of evidence into planning, management and adaptation frameworks. Combining geomorphic process understanding, paleo records, modern hydrological observations and multi-sensor remote-sensing products allows clearer identification of thresholds, feedbacks and response timescales. Embedding this knowledge in decision-making will support robust adaptation strategies, sustain ecosystem function and guide communities and industries as they navigate the realities of accelerating sea-level rise.

Key ideas: social science, socio-ecological, marine system management, policy

Managing Australia’s marine and coastal resources for both healthy ecosystems and thriving communities under climate change is a profound challenge. Effective policies, and supporting planning and action, are increasingly recognising the interdependence between the ecological social, economic, and governance dimensions that shape outcomes. In this context, the social sciences are providing important insights into how to mobilise individual and collective action, anticipate risks, support more equitable outcomes and help marine governance and management adapt —critical levers for achieving resilience. This symposium will present a suite of social science research that is equipping policy makers and managers with practical strategies to integrate social science into planning and decision-making processes to support ecological, social, cultural and economic outcomes from marine systems.  

By leveraging social science alongside biophysical research, this symposium will demonstrate how policy makers can develop adaptive, inclusive, and cost-effective solutions that strengthen ecosystem resilience and community well-being. 

Key ideas: marine parks, monitoring, management effectiveness, interventions

Protected places are a key tool for conserving biological diversity and protecting environmental, cultural, heritage and social values. Australia has a diverse national system of marine protected areas that covers vastly different habitats and with different connections to communities.

Across this network there are opportunities to improve conservation outcomes, but we are still seeing significant threats to ecosystems and their constituent species. The long-term viability of protected places requires effective and equitable evidence-informed solutions.

This symposium will showcase the new and innovative science that is informing the management of these protected areas and how interventions can support and improve the values that are protected within them. Topics will include advances in understanding socio-economic status and trends in use, advances in monitoring, implementation of management effectiveness frameworks and the science underpinning them and interventions in parks to enhance values. The symposium will highlight the key science that will improve Australias Protected Areas over the next decade.

Key ideas: Indigenous partnerships, cultural knowledge, connecting to modern science, Indigenous data sovereignty

The state of Australia’s marine ecosystems is being challenged by a spectrum of existing and emerging human activities and pressures. These challenges have the potential to dramatically alter some of these ecosystems. The full spectrum of human knowledge and know-how will need to be effectively drawn upon to rise to these challenges. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s cultural and traditional knowledge has been held and maintained for generations and is inherent to their connection to land, sea and sky. This knowledge and connection have enabled them to navigate a spectrum of environmental challenges over extended periods of time to provide for healthy country and healthy people. There is a growing recognition among modern policy makers and scientists that traditional and cultural knowledge are an important part of the spectrum of human knowledge that needs to be drawn upon to protect and sustainably use marine ecosystems. This symposium will provide insights and examples of partnerships designed to connect cultural and traditional knowledge with modern science and policy for coastal and marine ecosystems, in particular through Indigenous prioritised and led research. This will include practical approaches to value and protect Indigenous knowledge and how to promote Indigenous data sovereignty.

Key ideas: ocean observations, marine ecosystems, ocean biogeochemistry, biological and physical oceanography, IMOS data

Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) has fundamentally transformed Australia’s capacity to observe, understand, and predict changes in the marine environment. Established in 2006 under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), IMOS has enabled the collection and delivery of open-access, quality-controlled, long-term ocean datasets through the IMOS Australian Ocean Data Network (AODN). Supporting cutting-edge research across disciplines including oceanography, marine ecology, fisheries, climate science, and coastal resilience, IMOS demonstrates how long-term national collaboration can translate ocean data into knowledge, and knowledge into impact. This symposium will showcase the impact of IMOS data and explore how sustained ocean observing and open data continue to drive management, innovation, and resilience for Australia’s coasts and oceans. We are looking forward to showcasing work that highlights the power of collaboration, data integration, and sustained observing in creating enduring benefits for science and society. We invite contributions from all users of IMOS data that demonstrate the impact of IMOS in connecting science to policy and people, advancing national priorities and sea Country management, and shaping a sustainable ocean future for Australia. 

Key ideas: science,policy, decision-making, impact, translation

Effective marine management relies on robust science translated into actionable policy. This symposium will explore how marine science has informed and shaped decisions that deliver real-world impact. We invite presentations that demonstrate successful integration of scientific evidence into policy frameworks and management strategies across diverse contexts, including fisheries, marine parks, emergency response, and emerging sectors such as offshore renewable energy. 

The session aims to highlight practical examples where collaboration between scientists and policy makers has resulted in measurable outcomes. We particularly welcome abstracts co-authored by researchers and decision makers, showcasing joint approaches to problem-solving and implementation. Contributions may address challenges in bridging the science-policy interface, innovative tools for translating research into policy, and lessons learned from case studies at local, regional or national scales. In addition, we propose a panel discussion with senior representatives from science, policy and community to discuss key issues in the science–policy interface. 

By sharing experiences and strategies, this symposium will foster dialogue on strengthening partnerships and ensuring marine science continues to inform impactful decisions. 

The AMSA2026 Scientific Committee is also encouraging presentations on the following topics which will be managed as conference symposia including fisheries, marine acoustics, marine ecology, oceanography, offshore renewable energy, science communication, or other topics that may not suit any other symposia topic.