Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Sciences

The Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IO PAN), established in 1983 (as the successor to the Marine Station operating in Sopot since 1953), is the largest Polish institute researching issues related to the physics, chemistry, biology, ecology, and genetics of the sea. The Institute’s mission is to conduct research on the marine environment in order to deepen knowledge about its condition and the phenomena and processes occurring within it. IO PAN conducts research in the Baltic Sea and in the European Arctic.

Areas:

oceanology

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Measurements of seawater parameters using a bathymetric rosette and STD probe during AREX 2020 aboard the s/y Oceania

Activities of the Institute

The work carried out at the Sopot unit is grouped around four strategic areas: the role of the ocean in shaping the climate and the effects of climate change on European seas, natural and anthropogenic variability of the Baltic Sea environment, contemporary changes in ecosystems along the coasts of shelf seas, genetic and physiological mechanisms of marine organisms, and the fundamentals of marine biotechnology. The Institute comprises six research departments (Marine Chemistry and Biochemistry; Marine Dynamics; Marine Ecology; Marine Physics; Marine Genetics and Biotechnology; and Paleoceanography), as well as an independent Laboratory for Climate and Ocean Research and Education.

The vicinity of Svalbard, Arctic. Research work in hard-to-reach places is carried out on a pontoon.

Doctoral schools and research vessel

The Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences is a shareholder in three doctoral schools. The Institute publishes the journal Oceanologia, issued by Elsevier.

The Institute owns and operates the sailing research vessel s/y Oceania, which is a Polish research vessel adapted to conduct interdisciplinary oceanographic research in unrestricted waters.