IFCB Webinar #1 Highlights: Building Community and Best Practices for Ocean Observations

The first IFCB webinar in a new community-driven series brought together researchers and operators to share knowledge, practical guidance, and future plans for Imaging FlowCytobot (IFCB) use across the National Science Foundation’s Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) platforms.

The webinar series, organized by the Ocean Observatories Initiative Facilities Board (OOIFB), was inspired by a 2025 IFCB focus group and aims to strengthen collaboration around IFCB and OOI data products. Organizers outlined plans for future sessions, including topics such as moored IFCB deployments and applications on the Pioneer Array, as well as the development of teaching resources and a community manuscript.

The focus of the first webinar was best practices for IFCB operation and deployment. The speakers emphasized that successful use begins with thorough training and hands-on experience in laboratory settings. From there, considerations expand to include water delivery systems, power and communication integration, and consistent system monitoring, especially for shore-side, shipboard, and offshore mooring deployments. Post-deployment care, including data backup, system checks, and routine maintenance, was highlighted as essential for long-term instrument performance.

Tom McLean of McLane Research Laboratories emphasized the importance of reliable infrastructure (especially water flow, power stability, and communications) for shipboard and shore-based IFCB operations, while Dr. Sophie Clayton of the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) highlighted a best practices guide from the Operational Phytoplankton Observations Working Group addressing key challenges in phytoplankton imaging, including metadata standards, data management, uncertainty, and instrument diagnostics. Together, these perspectives reinforced that robust metadata capture, standardized workflows, and proactive maintenance are essential for producing high-quality datasets, alongside careful attention to calibration, system cleaning, and sampling strategies in low-density environments.

As the series continues, the OOIFB encourages community engagement through feedback and topic suggestions. To learn more and view upcoming topics and dates for the next IFCB webinars, visit the OOIFB webpage.