Dear all: If I haven’t met you yet, my name is Dave Lawrence. I am working temporarily (until December 31) at WHOI as a science writer whose purpose is to build up the climate content on the Ocean Topics section of WHOI’s Web site. I have spent the last few days getting familiar with the institution and evaluating the list of potential Ocean Topics. After consultations with Danielle Fino and Lonny Lippsett, I have selected my list of climate-related topics and determined where they fit within a set of six priorities: Carbon Cycle, Water Cycle, Heat Transport & Storage, Global Warming, Abrupt Climate Change, and Ocean-Monitoring Systems/Technology. Now it is your opportunity to help determine how I will focus my reporting and writing efforts over the next few months. The list, broken into topic groups, is in the following format: Subtopic (Priority). First topic group: Climate & Oceans Global Warming (Global Warming) Abrupt Climate Change (Abrupt Climate Change) Ocean & Atmosphere (Global Warming) Carbon Cycle (Carbon Cycle) Ocean-Monitoring Systems (Ocean-Monitoring Systems/Technology) Polar Science (Global Warming) Studying the Past [Paleoclimatology] (Global Warming) Water Cycle (Water Cycle) Ocean Iron Fertilization (Carbon Cycle) Ice Ages (Global Warming) Sea Level Rise (Global Warming) Ocean Acidification (Carbon Cycle) Solar Energy Budget (Heat Transport & Storage) Airborne Particles (Heat Transport & Storage) Oceans & Wind Systems (Heat Transport & Storage) Second topic group: Ocean Circulation El Nino & Other Oscillations (Abrupt Climate Change) Currents (Heat Transport & Storage) The Ocean Conveyor (Heat Transport & Storage) Gyres (Heat Transport & Storage) Subsurface Circulation (Heat Transport & Storage) Water Masses (Heat Transport & Storage) Third topic group: Natural Hazards Hurricanes (Global Warming) Volcanoes (Heat Transport & Storage) Nor'easters & Other Extratropical Storms (Global Warming) Fourth topic group: Marine Life Coral Reefs (Global Warming) Human Impacts (Global Warming) Polar Ecosystems (Global Warming) Microbial Communities (Carbon Cycle) Life in Extreme Environments (Global Warming) Deep-Sea Ecosystems (Global Warming) Plankton (Carbon Cycle) Fifth: Ocean Engineering Ocean Observatories (Ocean-Monitoring Systems/Technology) Underwater Vehicles (Ocean-Monitoring Systems/Technology) Remote Sensing Technology (Ocean-Monitoring Systems/Technology) Sixth topic group: Coastal Science Dynamic Shorelines (Global Warming) Coastal Policy & Management (Global Warming) Seventh topic group: Ocean Policy Marine Conservation (Global Warming) Eighth topic group: Ocean Resources Alternative Energy [wind power, tidal power] (Global Warming) Oil & Gas (Global Warming) Ninth topic group: Ocean Chemistry Minerals/Nutrients (Carbon Cycle) Tenth topic group: Pollution Land Use/Land Cover Changes (Global Warming) Eleventh topic group: Underwater Archaeology Black Sea/Great Flood (Abrupt Climate Change) This should be about it. Thank you very much for your time. Sincerely, Dave Lawrence