Polar Marine Workshop 2018

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For one week this past August, 40 diatomists from 12 countries gathered for the 6th Polar Marine Diatom Workshop, a community-led meeting focusing on diatom research in both the Arctic and Antarctic. This workshop is open to diatomists of all levels, from undergraduate students to senior scientists, with backgrounds spanning from oceanography and biology to geology and micro-paleontology. This year’s conference was held at the picturesque Iowa Lakeside Lab facility in Milford, IA. Participants stayed in rustic cabins by the lake, with an atmosphere reminiscent of a childhood summer camp, brought together by a shared love for diatoms.

Since the workshop is very hands-on, aiming to help participant with taxonomic skills, much of the week consisted of microscope sessions in which slides prepared by various participants were shared with the group. The workshop also included two keynote microscope sessions (from Dr. Amy Leventer and Dr. David Harwood), eight talks and a poster session. Topics ranged from taxonomy of specific troublesome genera to taphonomy of diatoms in polar settings. Half of the microscope sessions were led by students or early career researchers, allowing young diatomists to share and discuss their own research with experts in the field, as well as vice versa.

In the evenings, the diatomists participated in nature walks, diatom-sampling exercises from the lake, campfires, and diatom art workshops led by guest biological illustrator Claudia Stevens. Stevens organized two sessions during the week where participants learned tips for diatom sketching and ink transfers, and the diatomists left with some beautiful souvenirs of their own diatom artwork!

The PMDW also hosted an outreach event at the Iowa Lakeside Lab where 39 members of the local community gathered to learn more about diatoms. The event consisted of one session with graduate students telling stories about their research and interest in diatoms, a slide-making demonstration, and a game of Diatom Bingo, in which participants viewed microscope slides and identified different species.

The PMDW is a wonderful opportunity for diatomists to come together, engage in discussions, and share their work with each other and the community. Because of the international, collaborative nature of polar science, the PMDW is held every few years in locations all around the world. The next workshop will be held January 11-16, 2021 in Dunedin, New Zealand. Are you interested in polar diatoms? Join us in 2021!

Hope to see you there!

Cheers,

Meghan Duffy, Tiia Luostarinen, and Kaelyn Quinlan

Special thanks to Beth Cassie (who organized this year’s event), Friends of Lakeside Lab, the
US Science Support Program (via IODP), the International Arctic Steering Committee, and the
Micropalaeontological Society for making the 6th PMDW a rousing success!
For more information, check out the Polar Marine Diatom Workshop website: http://polarmarinediatomworkshop.org/index.html

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