近海海洋环境科学国家重点实验室（厦门大学）（英文简称：MEL，http://mel.xmu.edu.cn）成立于2005年，是优秀国家重点实验室。实验室瞄准与全球变化有关的重大科学问题，直面国家对海洋环境保护和生态安全的重大需求，立足基础研究，以多学科交叉为基础、以技术创新为动力、主攻海洋生物地球化学过程及其与海洋生态系统相互作用，关注在自然变化和人类活动影响下的海洋生态系统对环境变化的响应和反馈。

为进一步促进学术交流和学科交叉，MEL于2014年1月举办了首届厦门海洋环境开放科学大会（http://mel2.xmu.edu.cn/conference/1XMAS/ , 1^st X_MAS），吸引了来自五个国家270余人参会。

        第二届厦门海洋环境开放科学大会（http://mel2.xmu.edu.cn/conference/2XMAS /，2^nd X_MAS）定于2015年1月7-9日在厦门举办。此后该系列会议将每两年举办一次，继续对海内外学者和研究生开放。会议得到国家自然科学基金委员会地球科学部的支持。会议突出学科交叉，与第一次大会一样将开设研究生专场。

Established in March 2005, the State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science (Xiamen University) (MEL, http://mel.xmu.edu.cn/englishweb/index.asp) is sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). It was categorized as an excellent state key laboratory during a nation-wide review sponsored by the MOST in 2010. MEL is dedicated to interdisciplinary and cutting-edge research in marine environmental sciences, particularly in marine biogeochemistry and its interactions with the marine ecosystem.

In order to foster information and idea exchange within and outside China and particularly encourage interdisciplinary researches, MEL sponsored and organized the First Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences (http://mel2.xmu.edu.cn/conference/1XMAS/ , 1^st X_MAS) in Jan 2014, which attracted over 270 participants from five countries. 

We are now pleased to announce that the Second Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences (http://mel2.xmu.edu.cn/conference/2XMAS/ , 2^nd X_MAS) will be held on Jan 7-9, 2015 in Xiamen. The X_MAS will become a regular symposium series, which will be organized every two years hereafter. This event will be supported by the Earth Sciences Division, National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSF-China). As we did during the first X_MAS, a special session run entirely by graduate students will also be organized at this symposium.