Mission

Planet Earth is blue. The oceans cover 70% of the earth’s surface and they are at the forefront of a number of global threats. Global warming causes warming oceans, higher sea levels and ocean acidification. An ever-increasing human impact has led to pollution and over exploitation.

How do ecosystems change as a result of these threats? How can exploitation be made more sustainable? How can industry work with nature? Answers to these questions are known as ‘Blue Growth’.

From a Dutch perspective, in our low-lying country, the sea is both a blessing and

a curse. While the Dutch economy is traditionally strongly dependent on maritime

sectors, our very existence – particularly safety against flooding – depends on extensive coastal management.

How can marine science contribute to improved governance and management, to ensure a responsible use of our seas and oceans?

Fundamental and frontier-applied research

The NIOZ Science Plan 2014-2020 (pdf) outlines our mission in meeting the great global challenges of marine research. It also addresses how we accommodate societal needs for sustainable use and management of the sea, and how we foster industrial developments in close cooperation with private partners.

The strength of our fundamental research remains its multidisciplinary character and our ability to cover the entire marine spectrum. Our four science departments reflect this, covering estuaries and deltas, coastal areas and open oceans, along with the overarching marine microbiology and biogeochemistry.

Our frontier-applied research aims at valorisation of our efforts, as we are already showing in several centers of excellence and spin-out companies.

The NIOZ Science Plan outlines two broad, interlinked themes to guide our research projects. Each theme covers four specific research topics.

1.    The changing ocean system: past, present and future;

2.    Adaptability of marine ecosystems in a changing world. 

The changing ocean system: past, present, and future

The oceans form an integral part of system Earth and are critical in climate

regulation. Unravelling the fundamental links and feedbacks, past and present, between the different components of this global climate-marine system, is not just scientifically challenging. It is also essential to understand the future of our planet.

1.    Past ocean dynamics. How can we derive process information from the geological record and proxy records, including ancient changes in ocean temperature, oxygenation and acidification, in order to aid predictions of future developments?

2.    Ocean circulation and sea-level variability. Exploring shallow and deep oceanic physical processes and dynamics relevant for coastal and deep sea futures, as well as exploitation of the deep.

3.    Exploring changing marine biogeochemical cycling. Probing the dynamic biogeochemical cycles and their ecological consequences, including relationships with vertical and horizontal exchange processes, changing pelagic food webs and benthic-pelagic coupling, by combining field data and modelling.

4.    Assessing the impact of human activities on ocean systems, the issue ‘plastic soup’. Better understanding of human-induced, rapid changes to the ocean will aid responsible future environmental management. The increasing presence of macro- to nano-sized plastics in the ocean is geologically unprecedented. Their ecological impact is largely unknown and needs dedicated study.

Adaptability of marine ecosystems in a changing world

In the context of climate change and increasing human pressure, ecosystem resilience and their controls and limits pose vital questions. This includes the prediction of regime shifts and adaptation at different (ecological to evolutionary) time scales and in a spatial context.

In general, ecosystem dynamics and modelling have been more central in coastal research than in oceanic science. But the comparative study of systems and the confrontation of conceptual frameworks is highly promising for this type of research.

1.    Changing habitats. The two-way interaction between organisms and their habitat structure, and its consequences for system dynamics.

2.    Changing marine food webs and connectivity. Exploring food web structure and function in changing ecosystems, including biotic and abiotic connectivity.

3.    Exploring deep marine microbiology. Our knowledge of the marine microbial food web and its function for higher trophic levels is still in its infancy. Notably the role of viruses and parasites across oceanic realms and deep-shallow gradients needs investigation.

4.    Evolving seafloor ecosystems. The human imprint on seafloor ecosystems is sharply increasing, both in shallow waters and deep seas, and requires better understanding.

More information

To read more about our mission, download the full NIOZ Science Plan 2014-2020 (pdf).

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