Session Formats

Plenaries

These featured sessions cover a diverse range of aquatic science topics.

Plenaries will be available for on-demand viewing.

Oral Sessions

These scientific sessions are approved and allocated by the program committee after abstract submission. These 90-minute sessions include live talks from in-person presenters and pre-recorded talks from online presenters, along with moderated Q&A discussions with in-person presenters and the audience. Oral sessions can also be scheduled in a panel format.

The following virtual participation options will be available for oral sessions:

Sessions WILL NOT be live-streamed.
Online presenters will be required to upload a pre-recorded presentation prior to the meeting.
Online presenters WILL NOT have the option to join the session via Zoom to participate in live Q&A but will respond to questions asynchronously through the OSM mobile app/online platform.
Online, asynchronous Q&A chat functionality will be available for attendees.

eLightning Sessions

These scientific sessions are approved and allocated by the program committee after abstract submission. These 90-minute sessions begin with three-minute lightning talks from each presenter to provide an overview of their dynamic, digital, and interactive poster. Presenters will then engage in audience discussion at their assigned touchscreen monitor following the lightning talk.

eLightning sessions will be in-person only.

Poster Sessions

All approved scientific sessions receive at minimum a poster component. Core to the meeting, poster sessions allow researchers of all career stages to present their work.

The following participation options will be available for poster sessions:

In-person posters: In-person poster sessions will occur during dedicated two-hour blocks on Monday through Thursday. Presenters will print their posters and display them on their assigned board during the week of the meeting and are also encouraged to submit a digital version of their poster for online viewing.
Online posters: Online presenters will create an interactive digital poster for display in the online gallery. Online presenters can also set their own presentation schedule during the week of the meeting when they will be available online to engage in discussions with meeting attendees via self-scheduled video or text chat times.

Town Halls

Proposed by the community and open to all meeting participants, these one-hour sessions are best for:

Collecting feedback or raising awareness about initiatives.
Answering questions and gathering input about academic programs, special projects, and other focused interest groups for the broader OSM community.
Presentation, roundtable, or panel discussion formats.

Although town halls can provide brief updates on programs, these sessions are primarily to gather information and answer questions from the community.

Approved town halls will be:

Open to all meeting attendees.
Scheduled during lunchtime on Monday through Friday.
Scheduled onsite for live in-person participation only.
Focused on topics that do not compete with, substitute, or duplicate scientific sessions or substitute for ancillary event requests.

Ocean Outcomes Sessions

Ocean Outcomes sessions aim to bring together innovators, practitioners, and ocean researchers to share their experiences in solution-oriented science from the initial idea, through project development and implementation, to lessons learned. The track will feature longer talks or panel discussions, allowing for in-depth exploration of the subject matter and creating a focused, intimate setting for participants to engage with the material. The session duration will be less than 90 minutes, with an exact duration to be determined.