Anthropogenic Impacts on Coastal Communities and Ecosystems

Oceans and Human Health (OHH) is an interdisciplinary field of study that has fostered collaborative activities among biomedical and oceanographic researchers and trainees in a coordinated fashion for over a decade. With support from the Gordon Research Conferences (GRC), we have convened three excellent Oceans and Human Health (OHH) conferences and graduate seminars (GRS) over the past six years. This integrative or "metadiscipline" is still growing in scope and importance, and the GRCs on Oceans and Human Health have been crucial to this growth.

The theme of the 2014 GRC in OHH is "Anthropogenic impacts on coastal communities and ecosystems". Anthropogenic, or human-induced, impacts on the oceans include the discharge of contaminants and the impacts of human activities related to climate change. These influences can impact the world’s oceans and its ecosystems, and ultimately have feed-back consequences to human health and well-being.

Consistent with this view, interdisciplinary and internationally prominent speakers and discussion leaders will be invited to focus on two primary areas: 1) emerging and legacy contaminants, and 2) climate change impacts on oceans and human health. Presentations will include researchers from various disciplines including oceanographers, biologists, epidemiologists, and toxicologists with an emphasis on cutting edge unpublished research. "Emerging and legacy contaminants" will focus on innovative studies that identify sources, fate and transport, and the relation to human health of various forms of coastal pollution including heavy metals, toxins, nanoparticles, and other novel substances. "Climate change" will focus on the ecosystem and human health consequences of this environmental perturbation including but not limited to redistribution of infectious microbes and harmful algae, and strategies for adaptation and mitigation. During the conference, an emphasis will be placed on open discussion in a setting that allows for the presentation of opposing viewpoints and permits for consensus building.

One of the initiatives of the upcoming 2014 GRC is to encourage the participation of international researchers. The GRC Chairs have established a committee charged with encouraging international interdisciplinary participation. Professor Lora Fleming and Dr. Shelly Dogra have been elected as the European liaisons to the GRC and GRS, respectively. Additional efforts by current and prior GRC and GRS Chairs are underway to enhance recruitment from North, South and Central America, the Caribbean, and Asia in order to establish an OHH meeting that is global in its representation.