Overview
The Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IOPAN) was founded in 1983 at the Marine Station in Sopot, which had existed since 1953. IOPAN's mission is to seek, understand, and communicate the scientific understanding of the marine environment and the issues related to its protection and sustainable use. IOPAN scientists and engineers achieve this by carrying out innovative, high-level scientific and technological research that further enhances our understanding of the environment, and provides expertise and new technologies which are then shared with the broader public and interested parties from the public and private sector. The Institute of Oceanology conducts scientific research in the Baltic Sea and in the seas of the European Arctic. IOPAN offers TA services for ASSEMBLE Plus and is also one of the Polish partners.
Ecosystems
- North Atlantic and Arctic intertidal and subtidal benthic and pelagic ecosystems
- Baltic Sea brackish environment of benthic and pelagic ecosystems including seagrass beds
Ecosystem access
- Coastal research vessels (On-site and remote service)
- RV Oceania, fully equipped for coastal marine habitat sampling, monitoring and in-situ experimentation
- Scuba diving facilities (On-site and remote service)
- Svalbard (summer), Baltic Sea (all year); remote collection, diving logistical support
- Submersibles (On-site and remote service)
- Sampling equipment (On-site and remote service)
- Various CTD, grabs, dredges etc.
Biological resources
- Species collected upon request (On-site and remote service)
- Samples of benthic macro-fauna and -flora, plankton from Baltic Sea and European Arctic
- Biobanks (On-site and remote service)
- Wide range of sample collections from Baltic Sea and European Arctic
- Culture collections (On-site service)
- Cultures of zoo- and phytoplankton
Experimental facilties
- Aquaria and tanks (On-site service)
- 6 aquarium tanks suitable for live material
- Dry laboratories (On-site service)
- Fully equiped with microscopes and stereomicroscopes for sample sorting and identification: molecular genetics and chemical analytical platform, specialised microscopes (e.g. fluorescence inverted microscopes), spectrometers gas chromatographs and HPLCs
- Wet laboratories (On-site service)
- Sorting and identification microscopes
Technology platforms
- Imaging (On-site service)
- Advanced optical microscopy
- Structural and chemical analysis (On-site service)
- Chemical analysis, spectrometry, gas chromatography, HPLC, other
- Molebular biology and omics (On-site and service)
Expert advice
- Biological sample identification (On-site and remote service)
- The Taxon Identification Service offers qualified identification of Baltic and Arctic marine organisms
Supporting facilities
- Library services (On-site and remote service)
- Library with large collection of literature related to Baltic and Arctic ecosystems.
IOPAN administration can assist with booking lodging.
