Report on the Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area Research Coordination Network Inaugural Meeting

This background paper presents the report of the Inaugural Meeting of the Ross Sea region marine protected area (MPA) Research Coordination Network (RCN). SCAR and SOOS are members of this RCN and many SCAR and SOOS scientists participated in the inaugural meeting. As the meeting report shares, the Ross Sea RCN has been formed and was officially launched at the June 2025 inaugural meeting. The RCN includes three key components: (i) policy engagement, (ii) community partner engagement, and (iii) integrated science comprising three themes: data science and cyberinfrastructure; biophysical modeling; and observations that include monitoring and process studies. The report presents the outcomes of the inaugural meeting of the Ross Sea region MPA RCN and the work the RCN is planning to coordinate and support for the 2027 Ross Sea region MPA review.