Fish behavior, toxic algae, and the role of the sea in climate. These are some of the topics that marine research can address. Diverse subjects, but with a common goal: to better understand what happens beneath the surface.
The oceans cover more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface. Despite this, we know less about what happens in the ocean than in space. Marine research is about trying to fill these knowledge gaps. Increasing the fundamental knowledge about the ocean without directly pointing to any application is usually called basic research. But sometimes, basic research sparks thoughts on how the knowledge could be applied in society. Then, basic research becomes the foundation for so-called applied research that aims to solve a problem with direct benefits for society. Since the connection between humans and the sea is so significant, it is not uncommon for research projects to shift between basic and applied research.
The oceans are studied by a multitude of researchers in physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. All these subjects can be linked to oceanography, which is the study of the movements and properties of the sea. This is usually done through observations from expeditions, satellites, and the creation of models. Understanding the movement of water is crucial because it affects the climate worldwide.
Many oceanographers work on environmental, energy, and climate issues in government or the private sector. As an oceanographer, one can also engage in research. Oceanography is a science with a broad spectrum of topics such as ecosystem dynamics, ocean currents, and the flow of various substances in the sea. One who has dedicated her life to the sea is the oceanographer Sylvia Earle, who has become one of the internationally known forces for protecting and restoring the world’s oceans.
Oceanography differs from marine biology because it does not always involve studying what lives in the sea. A marine biologist focuses on living organisms in all parts of the ocean and seeks to understand dynamic interactions on different scales, from a specific location to global.
To understand the complexity of the ocean, oceanographers and marine biologists often combine several fields such as biology and chemistry. Weighing in multiple disciplines is particularly important today to create a comprehensive picture that can contribute to the efforts against climate change, pollution, and other factors threatening the oceans and marine life.
Since many places in the ocean are relatively inaccessible to researchers, technological measuring aids are often used today to study these areas. They can remain in the sea and keep measuring the water’s characteristics around the clock. This makes it easier to obtain more measurement values than if researchers had to travel to the measurement site for each reading.
Oceanographic measurement stations at sea are sometimes called ocean observatories where relevant data is collected for researchers. This can include temperature, salinity, and oxygen levels, as well as wind and waves. The Voice of the Ocean (VOTO) Foundation, for example, works to facilitate data collection for researchers. The team working on research and data collection at VOTO consists of oceanographic technicians and researchers. They use so-called gliders to collect data from five locations along the coast of Sweden, and this information can be closely followed through their observation portal.
The ocean’s remarkable ability to absorb almost all the excess heat we produce is beginning to wane. There are many reasons for this, and the ones that receive the most attention in the media and in research are global warming and the fact that the water is becoming increasingly acidic. But what is also happening is a rapid loss of dissolved oxygen. Put simply, the sea is running out of oxygen. And a sea that is gasping for breath is a cause for concern for the entire planet.
‘Bikini Reborn’ is a follow-up to the documentary “Ocean Dreams”, a film about the ocean’s resilience when we leave it alone. When it is given a chance to heal, life can return. In ‘Bikini Reborn’, you can follow coral researchers Sylvia Jagerroos and Didier Zoccola as they dive at the Bikini Atoll in search of surviving corals.
Octopuses appearing off the coast of Scotland and ‘paddling pool’ temperatures of 33 degrees off the coast of Mallorca. For two weeks in July, parts of the Mediterranean were warmer than ever before. The WWA research network has now calculated that such temperatures would have been impossible without human emissions.
The sperm whale, the world’s largest toothed whale, has the largest brain on Earth. It also produces complex clicks which, according to a new study, resemble human speech. The study, published in the *Proceedings of the Royal Society*, is based on analyses of recordings made of sperm whales in the waters off the island of […]
During a night dive in Raja Ampat, Indonesia, documentary filmmaker Johan Candert manages to film a wobbegong shark catching its prey. “In the hundreds of dives I’ve done here, I’ve never seen that,” says Mark Erdmann, an ecologist specialising in coral reefs, who lives and works in Raja Ampat for much of the year.
What’s it like to swim alongside some of the ocean’s largest predators? Join underwater photographer Göran Ehlmé, one of the first people in the world to dive with and film orcas. “It was naturally a bit nerve-wracking at first,” he says.
Invasive species from the Strait of Hormuz could cause “super-spread” and biological chaos, researchers warn in a new study. ´If you’d set out to design the worst-case scenario, I’m not sure you could have done any better,´ the lead author tells The Guardian. The 1,500 cargo ships that have been stranded in the Strait of […]
‘Shark Guard’ is a follow-up to the documentary ‘Ocean Dreams’, a film about the ocean’s resilience when we leave it in peace. Here, we get a glimpse behind the scenes as the team encounters a group of sharks.
In an opinion piece recently published in the swedish daily newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet, Johan Rockström, Professor of Earth System Science, and his colleague Wendy Broadgate, PhD in Marine Chemistry, describe the importance of the Swedish Government drawing up a contingency plan as a matter of urgency in the event that the AMOC ocean current system […]
Seals, sea lions and walruses have unique hearing abilities – they are the only mammals that can hear well both in water and in air. How this works has been clarified in a study that also reveals when this ability first emerged. The study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society, was carried out by […]
‘Diving in Action’ takes us behind the scenes as the team behind the documentary ‘Ocean Dreams’ travelled to South Africa to film ‘The Sardine Run’.
7,000 metres down in the Indian Ocean, where no sunlight reaches, there are ecosystems unlike anything else. The main players? Whale carcasses. ´It is an exceptional discovery,´ says Björn Källström, a marine biologist and researcher at the Maritime Museum and Aquarium. A spectacular whale graveyard has been discovered on the seabed of the Indian Ocean […]
The Saratoga is one of the world’s largest shipwrecks; it was sunk during what was known as ‘Operation Crossroads’. Twenty-three atomic bombs were test-detonated over and within the Bikini Atoll shortly after the end of the Second World War. It is a story of total destruction, but also a story of how life returns.
‘The Intelligence of Manta Rays’ is a follow-up to the documentary “Ocean Dreams”, a film about the ocean’s resilience when we leave it in peace. When it is given a chance to heal, life can return. In this feature, Mark Erdman, an ecologist specialising in coral reefs, shares his knowledge of manta rays.
Värmeböljan har lockat svenskarna till stränderna – och algerna till kusten. Algblomningen är i full gång och på många badplatser sätter den nu stopp för ett dopp.
The information on the new platform http://www.climate.us is based on data from the formerly popular federal website Climate.gov, which was run by NOAA. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) One of the government agencies that has seen its budget drastically cut since Donald Trump returned to power in January 2025.
Although the Swedish law states that animals kept in captivity must be treated well, protected from unnecessary suffering and kept in a suitable environment that promotes their welfare and natural behaviour, we treat crayfish, lobsters and crabs in a completely different way.
Following a decline in prawn fishing over the past few years, catches are now on the rise again. New quotas have been negotiated between the EU (Sweden and Denmark) and Norway, meaning that catches in the Skagerrak, the Kattegat and the North Sea may increase by 15 per cent.
Sound is the whale’s most important tool for finding food, navigating and finding a mate. Now, global warming is wreaking havoc in the oceans. As the acoustic landscape changes, whales are forced to move, alter their mating calls – or fall completely silent when hunger takes over.
Deep in the Eurasian continent, the Sea of Azov is a stepping stone between freshwater and saltwater. Like no other sea in the world, it sits at the far end of a chain of water bodies: the Black, Marmara, Aegean, and Mediterranean Seas, and all the straits that connect them.
For decades, the world’s mangrove forests have been shrinking rapidly due to human activity. Now they are making a comeback, according to a new study. Following conservation efforts in recent years, the forests have begun to heal themselves.
Norwegian politicians, officials and lobbyists are pushing to have the EU’s ban on new oil and gas exploration in the Arctic lifted, reports Bloomberg. This pressure comes ahead of the EU’s adoption of new guidelines for the Arctic at the end of September.
During an ongoing deep-sea expedition, researchers have discovered several previously unknown species in the Arctic deep sea. Paco Cardenas is a taxonomist and expert on tunicates at Uppsala University, and in just a few days has identified at least three species that have yet to be named.
