Dear Colleagues,

We did it! It has been a tough academic year, but we have managed to crawl to the finish. Now is the time to take a break, breathe… and get some science done! I, for one, am looking forward to some concentrated writing time this summer. Other colleagues are diving into field work, lab work, coding and the many other scientific activities that demand large chunks of time.

It is worth taking a moment to appreciate scientists’ conception of summer. Yes, like everyone, we scientists enjoy a good vacation and time with our families. But we are also itching to push back the boundaries of knowledge, and that motivation keeps us going even when our contracts do not cover our summer salaries, and the summer sun is beckoning. This dedication may be invisible beyond the scientific community, but perhaps it is worth admiring the joy and dedication that go into a scientist’s summer.

SZ4D exists to enable science. Although committee work sometimes is viewed as the opposite of research, our committees have dug deep into fundamental issues. Take a look at the energy balance paper that grew out of the Landscapes and Seascapes committee during the writing of the Implementation Plan.

Through our international collaborations funded by SZNet, we are also empowering a new generation of scientists. SZNet has run two very successful, oversubscribed rounds of the Chile-US student exchange program. Applications are now open for next year. Also take a moment to look at the newly released reports from the Ocean Technology and Data Legacy Workshops. We are definitely moving forward on both collecting new observations and making the historical collections available.

Take care and happy (Northern Hemisphere) summer!

-Emily