On 5 December 2025, the XXII Young Oceanographers’ Symposium was held at the Faculty of Oceanography and Geography of the University of Gdańsk, during which young researchers presented a total of 13 oral presentations and 8 posters. The competition committee awarded four works, three of which were received by PhD students from IO PAN:
Professor Krzysztof Skóra Award: Weronika Patuła, MSc 'From plankton nets to metabarcoding: exploring the diversity and environmental barriers of Arctic meroplankton in space and time'
Professor Halina Piekarek-Jankowska Award: Dominik Lis, MSc 'Remote estimation of near-surface concentrations and vertical profiles of chlorophyll a in the Baltic Sea using machine learning methods'
Best Poster Award: Blanka Pajda, MSc
Congratulations!
We are pleased to announce that in the NCN OPUS 29 call, our researchers have secured four new research grants. Funding was awarded to:
We warmly congratulate the Project Leaders and wish them every success in carrying out their research.
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO has convened the first meeting of the renewed Group of Experts on Ocean Literacy (GE-OL) for the 2025–2027 term. Among the 36 experts from 34 countries is Prof. Tymon Zieliński from the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IO PAN), representing Poland.
The new GE-OL mandate will oversee the implementation of the IOC Ocean Literacy Plan of Action 2026–2030, which sets global priorities for ocean literacy. Key focus areas include integrating ocean knowledge into formal education systems, strengthening the role of ocean literacy in public policies, and supporting initiatives that foster societal engagement in ocean protection.
The participation of an IO PAN representative reinforces Poland’s presence in international efforts to advance ocean literacy and promote awareness of the ocean’s key role for society.
We are pleased to announce that the eCUDO.pl system has been officially recognized as Poland’s National Oceanographic Data Centre (NODC) within the global IODE programme coordinated by the IOC of UNESCO.
The IODE has formally welcomed the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IO PAN) as the lead institution of the newly designated NODC, expanding the global network to 65 centres, including 11 accredited ones.
The designated contact point for the Polish NODC is Dr Eng. Marcin Wichorowski, Head of Data and IT Infrastructure Management at IO PAN, responsible for developing and operating systems that support the collection, dissemination and archiving of oceanographic data.
We extend our congratulations and appreciation to Dr Eng. Marcin Wichorowski and his team, who — after many years of dedicated effort carried out through projects such as ZSPDO, eCUDO and other initiatives — achieved both international recognition (Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO) and national approval (Ministry of Infrastructure) for establishing the National Oceanographic Data Centre at IO PAN.
This success has been made possible thanks to the cooperation of many institutions contributing to the development of Poland’s oceanographic data infrastructure, including: MIR-NRI, PGI-NRI, the University of Gdańsk, the Maritime Institute of the Gdynia Maritime University, the Pomeranian Academy in Słupsk, and the University of Szczecin.
This milestone significantly strengthens Poland’s position within the international oceanographic data management system.
A group of internationally renowned marine scientists, including Karol Kuliński from IO PAN, has published under the European Marine Board the Future Science Brief on ‘Monitoring, Reporting and Verification for marine Carbon Dioxide Removal’. The report is clear: rapid CO2 emissions reduction is the top priority. Carbon Dioxide Removal is not a substitute for emissions reductions; (marine) CDR can only be considered as a potential supplementary measure to support achievement of net-zero emissions. The report clarifies the current scientific, technical and regulatory challenges that must be addressed to develop appropriate and reliable MRV for any future mCDR activities, to safeguard Ocean healthand those who depend on it. According to the State of Carbon Dioxide Removal report, marine CDR methods contribute less than 0.1% to current removal efforts, but this field is growing rapidly. The potential impacts on the marine environment are not yet clear but could be significant.
The Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, together with the National Marine Fisheries Research Institute, invites you to a scientific conference to be held on 20–21 November 2025 in Sopot.
The event commemorates one of the milestones in the history of Polish marine and polar research — the first scientific cruise of Profesor Siedlecki and Tazar to Antarctica — and opens discussion on the future of Poland’s scientific presence in the Atlantic and polar regions.
This conference, organized as part of the HiPO project (co-financed under FEDR.04.01-IP.01-005/24), will feature:
Dates: 20–21 November 2025
Venue: National Marine Fisheries Research Institute (November 20th), Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sopot (November 21st)
Format: on-site event (video recording available afterwards)
Participation: free of charge, registration required
Confirmation deadline: 31 October 2025
