4th GEOTRACES Summer School Hosted in Cape Town Strengthens Global Collaboration in Marine Trace Metal Research
The South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP) is proud to highlight the successful hosting of the 4th GEOTRACES Summer School, held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 17–21 November 2025. This prestigious international training event brought together 35 students and 19 GEOTRACES scientists from across the globe, reinforcing the importance of collaboration in advancing oceanographic and trace metal research. Supported by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR), the summer school served as an essential platform for equipping PhD candidates and early career researchers with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand the biogeochemical cycles of trace metals in the world’s oceans. These cycles play a crucial role in regulating marine ecosystems, influencing climate processes, and shaping global biogeochemical dynamics.
Building Global Connections and Sharing Knowledge – A central goal of the GEOTRACES Summer School is to foster meaningful collaboration and knowledge exchange among emerging scientists. Participants were assigned to diverse working groups intended to strengthen networking, encourage interdisciplinary thinking, and build long-term scientific partnerships. These groups formed the basis of practical activities, poster sessions, and the week’s learning programme.
Prizewinners above with organising committee: l-r Thomas Ryan-Keogh, Hélène Planquette, Ruth Hawley, University Southampton (UK), CJ Denault, University of Minnesota (USA), Michael Julian Haryanto, University of Toyama (Japan), Ryan Cloete, Susanne Fietz. The organising committee—Hélène Planquette (CNRS), Susanne Fietz (Stellenbosch University), Thomas Ryan-Keogh (National Oceanography Centre), and Ryan Cloete (Stellenbosch University)—curated an intensive and enriching schedule combining expert lectures with hands-on training.
Insightful Lectures – Participants were privileged to learn from internationally recognised researchers who shared their expertise across a wide range of GEOTRACES-relevant themes, including sampling techniques, trace element isotopes, atmospheric processes, paleoceanography, modelling, and science communication. Lecture Programme Highlights:
- Greg Cutter (Old Dominion University): Planning and executing a GEOTRACES cruise
- Rob Middag (NIOZ; University of Groningen): Trace metal clean sampling and analysis – past and present approaches
- Hélène Planquette (CNRS): Intercalibration
- Jessica Fitzsimmons (Texas A&M University): Physicochemical speciation and its role in oceanic metal sinks
- Alessandro Tagliabue (University of Liverpool): Predicting climate-change impacts on trace element and isotope (TEI) cycles for IPCC assessments
- Adi Torfstein (Hebrew University of Jerusalem): Trace element particulate fluxes in the ocean
- William (Bill) Landing (Florida State University): Atmospheric deposition of trace elements and their biogeochemical impact
- Tim Conway (University of South Florida): Iron isotopes
- Taryn Noble (University of Tasmania): Paleoceanography
- Rhiannon Jones (British Antarctic Survey): Sediments as sources and sinks of trace elements
- Zhouling Zhang (GEOMAR): Non-traditional stable isotopes in biogeochemical research
- Lise Artigue (University of Perpignan): Multi-tracer approaches combined with hydrodynamics, modelling, and microbiology
- Thomas Ryan-Keogh (National Oceanography Centre): Conducting nutrient-addition (“bioassay”) experiments at sea
- Mak Saito (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution): Metals in biology and biochemistry
- Ria Olivier (Antarctic Legacy of South Africa): Science outreach, awareness, and the role of transdisciplinarity in communication
Hands-On Practical Training – To complement the lecture series, participants engaged in practical sessions that exposed them to key tools, datasets, and analytical techniques used in trace metal research. These sessions helped early career scientists understand how their work integrates into the broader international GEOTRACES community, building confidence for future participation in global research initiatives. Training included:
- Data crunching and processing
- Paleoceanographic exercises
- IPCC-style assessment activities
- Integrating complementary oceanographic datasets
- SeaFAST and MC-ICP-MS laboratory techniques
- GoFlo sampling methods
- Autonomous platform technologies
Sincere appreciation to the sponsors of the 4th GEOTRACES Summer School:
- French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)
- French Embassy in South Africa, Lesotho, and Malawi
- Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR)
We also acknowledge and thank the following South African partners and supporters, their collective support played a pivotal role in ensuring the success of this global training event.
- Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI)
- National Research Foundation (NRF)
- Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE)
- South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP)
- Stellenbosch University (SUN)
- Sea Technology Services (STS)
- Antarctic Legacy of South Africa (ALSA)
Strengthening the Future of Trace Metal and Antarctic Research – The 4th GEOTRACES Summer School has once again demonstrated the power of international collaboration in addressing complex marine and climate challenges. By building capacity among early career scientists and connecting them with leading experts, this event helps ensure that the next generation is well equipped to contribute to cutting-edge oceanographic research—both within South Africa and across the world. SANAP is proud to have been part of such an impactful scientific gathering and remains committed to supporting global research that enhances understanding of our oceans and the polar regions.
Fun during Science Communication session with adding fingerprints to an Antarctica Map
Above (l-r): Liam Quinlan, Emtia Wium, Johan Viljoen, Asmita Singh, Jared Walsh (Stellenbosch University)
Above (l-r): Amelia Deary, Sadiyah Rawat, Sina Wallschuss, Faith February, Mhlangabezi Mdutyana (UCT)
Sarah Fawcett(left) could not attend, but her and Dr Katye Altieri (right)students gave presentations during this session. Sarah Fawcett (
Suzanne Fietz and the Stellenbosch University Earth Sciences team submitted an excellent 
BIOGRIP comprises four research ‘nodes’ based at the Universities of Cape Town (focusing on isotope biogeochemistry), Stellenbosch (water and soil biogeochemistry), Free State (mineral biogeochemistry) and North-West University (atmospheric biogeochemistry), with the administrative ‘hub’ located at UCT. The 
“Biogeochemistry” is the study of how biological, geological, chemical, and physical processes interact to shape natural environments over time and space. It covers a range of interdisciplinary research foci, from the origin and diversification of life, to how anthropogenic drivers alter modern environments, to the response of natural systems to environmental change. Biogeochemistry was identified by the 2016 South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap (SARIR) document as an emerging interdisciplinary field of strategic importance. SARIR recommends that the central objective of biogeochemical research in South Africa should be to gain “further insight into the interactions of human activity and the environment over the past several hundred millennia and to determine how the environmental impact of anthropogenic activity has contributed to the change in Earth system dynamics (chemical, physical and biological). This includes the search for an understanding of the behavior of well characterized and emerging pollutants and their current impact on the environment”. There are a number of strong research groups in South Africa already investigating various aspects of this broad research objective, but their efforts to-date have been isolated and/or fragmented. Moreover, biogeochemistry requires high precision data and measurements of a vast range of inorganic and organic chemical components, including isotope ratios and trace elements, some of which cannot currently be made in South Africa and many of which cannot be run at the volume and quality required. The investment in BIOGRIP will provide the platform to drive biogeochemical knowledge creation through investment in (1) technical capacity, training and scientific leadership in biogeochemical research, (2) world-class analytical facilities, and (3) improved monitoring of biogeochemical environmental variables through the generation and compilation of statistically meaningful datasets.
BIOGRIP will provide significant opportunities to advance South Africa’s research infrastructure and technical capacity in the field of biogeochemistry, while also facilitating a high level of scientific impact on a range of temporal and spatial scales. BIOGRIP will extend the practical research questions that address specific South African problems to include those that are purely curiosity-driven, creative, and/or risky, while also deepening the extent to which ongoing research themes can be probed. An additional impact of developing analytical capacity in-country is the potential for creative methods development, particularly South African-specific applications (e.g., for research questions relevant to the Cape floristic kingdom, hominin evolution, water availability and quality, Antarctic ecosystems, etc.). This will allow the South African research community to push the frontiers of knowledge in a variety of fields where biogeochemical techniques have yet to be applied (or have yet to be applied at the resolution offered by BIOGRIP).
Why you love your career in science 
Choosing a career in Science is not easy. There is always a pressure to go into fields where there are prospects of high paying jobs. One can survive in science only if they love what they are doing. My love developed from the sense of adventure that came with scientific research and travelling for fieldwork in remote places. 
Thanks to Science, I have been fortunate enough to touch all of the 
(Above: Images of Science Cruises in the Southern Ocean on the S.A. Agulhas II with Susan Fietz colleague and students) If you don’t ask the question “Why?” all the time until you run out of answers, you cannot be a scientist. Science thrives on curiosity and there is a lot to be curious about when it comes to the oceans. Oceans are truly the last frontier because we know more about space than oceans. Large parts of the oceans are unexplored and there are huge opportunities for one to make their mark. Marine chemistry or biogeochemistry in South Africa is highly underdeveloped, but this is a field that can answer the most critical questions such as climate change and anthropogenic influences on ocean processes, on which survival of the living planet depends. To be a good researcher in ocean sciences, you will have to have a good understanding of the principles and advanced knowledge of chemistry, physics, biology and mathematics and you will need an open mind to take on the teaching of these different fields while pursuing your focused research.
The global changes affecting the terrestrial ecosystems are matched by threats on the marine ecosystems, such as the warming of the ocean and concomitant changes in ocean structure, or marine pollution. The extent of the ecosystem alteration is still a matter of heated debates, especially when including stakeholders from industry in the discussion. Science is still far away from having all answers policy makers need. Furthermore, the notion that the oceans provide unlimited resources is still widely spread in society, despite a growing perception of rather straightforward threats such as overfishing.
Marine primary production in the world’s oceans is generally limited by the availability of nutrients in the upper, sunlit waters. Nitrogen availability tends to limit productivity throughout much of the low-latitude oceans. The primary productivity in the Southern Ocean, in contrast, is primarily limited by constraints in bioavailability of trace metals such as iron that are vital for various biochemical processes, such as chlorophyll synthesis and nitrate utilization. Phytoplankton blooms in the Southern Ocean usually occur near the few islands scattered in the Southern Ocean, such as South Georgia or Kerguelen, and close to retrieving ice around Antarctica. In addition, changes in productivity are linked to times or areas of increased dust input. Increased primary productivity leads to two major consequences: a) food-web stimulation, and thus impact on biodiversity and fisheries and b) enhanced biological pump, and thus atmospheric CO2 sequestration.
The project is involved in science awareness (left Susanne Fietz during an interview at the East Pier, Presentattion to Sun Valley School, Presenatition to Antarctic Season 2019). For more information visit their 
