Seas and oceans act as a gigantic climate buffer – absorbing as much as one quarter of global CO₂ emissions and mitigating the effects of climate change. In an interview, scientists from the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Sopot explain how the biological carbon pump works and why ocean research is essential. They highlight the importance of Polish teams in international projects, the challenges of collecting and sharing data, and the urgent need for stable funding and modern research infrastructure.
On October 7, 2025, the research vessel s/y Oceania recovered a Biogeochemical Argo (BGC) float from the waters of the Gdansk Bay. This autonomic research instrument had been operating in the Gdansk Basin for two years, performing profiles from the surface to the seabed every two days and transmitting via satellite data on temperature, salinity, oxygen, chlorophyll-a, suspended particles, and light fields within the water column.
The BGC Argo float was deployed by the Argo-Poland consortium, led by the Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences (IOPAN). Argo-Poland is a member of the Euro-Argo ERIC research infrastructure consortium.
The recovery was particularly challenging due to depleted batteries, unfavourable weather, and the float’s significant drift away from its deployment site; Argo floats are free drifting instruments without propulsion. Favourable water circulation patterns, monitored by the modelling team, eventually brought the float back into a suitable area, and coordinated efforts of the ship’s scientific and navigational crews enabled its safe recovering.
The experience gained will be valuable in developing a permanent Southern Baltic monitoring system based on Argo floats.
In Forum Akademickie an article by Prof. Jan Marcin Wesławski, Director of the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, was published, addressing the government’s decision to build two training vessels instead of a single modern research vessel.
The professor points out that training vessels will not be able to fully replace a specialized research unit, particularly in the field of oceanographic measurements, deep-sea studies, or environmental monitoring. He emphasizes that such a decision may limit the capacity of Polish institutes to participate in international research projects.
The Director of the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Sopot, Prof. Jan Marcin Węsławski, in an interview with Gazeta Wyborcza, commented on the government’s decision to build two training ships for maritime universities in Gdynia and Szczecin. He emphasized that investing in training vessels cannot replace the modern research ship that Poland urgently needs to carry out oceanic and polar studies. The professor pointed out that a research vessel is a key tool for understanding climate change and for building the international prestige of Polish science.
Join us on 26 September at the Sopot pier, where during the Pomeranian Science Night we will showcase the fascinating world of marine organisms. We will install underwater light sources to attract sea creatures, and an underwater camera will display them live on a large screen set up on the pier. Some organisms will be collected using dredges and plankton nets, then shown in tanks and under stereomicroscopes. The event will be enriched with stories from our marine ecology experts.
This is a unique opportunity to look into the depths of the Baltic Sea and discover its biodiversity up close.
Entrance to the pier during the event is free (ticket available below).
Last year’s flood on the Oder River, despite carrying various pollutants and a large amount of freshwater, did not have a lasting impact on the condition of the Baltic Sea. The sea can cope with floods, and the filtration provided by the Szczecin Lagoon also helped — say Prof. Jan Marcin Węsławski and Prof. Karol Kuliński from the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
