About IIM

The Institute of Marine Research (IIM-CSIC) is one of the main marine research centers in the Iberian Peninsula. Looking at the Atlantic from Vigo, a city with a strong connection with the sea, the IIM-CSIC faces the challenge of increasing our knowledge about the ocean, from its physical characteristics to the food we take from it and the processes that bind the whole system together.

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Research

Research is at the core of the Institute of Marine Research's work. Working along 3 Core Research Themes, which intertwine and connect to each other, the researchers and technicians at the IIM-CSIC look for answers within 9 different research lines.

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Innovation

While our research provides us with new knowledge about our sea and shores, at the Institute of Marine Research we are committed to go a step further, creating new collaborations with the industry and other economic activities, be they already 'established' industries, such as fisheries or aquaculture, or 'emerging' ones, such as ocean observation.

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Society

Science is not complete until it is shared with society. As a public research institution, the IIM understands that its commitment is with society, fostering a two-way relationship with its surrounding community and an open perspective on science.

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Work & Study

Marine scientists, lab technicians, biologists, chemists and engineers, but also economists, lawyers or communicators (both working and in training) contribute to the interdisciplinary nature of our center. With more than 200 employees, the IIM-CSIC is a large community of people who work together for the sake of science, knowledge and sustainability.

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News & Events

Do you want to be aware of the latest at the IIM? The Institute has a whole team involved in communication & outreach, sharing all news that arise and organizing events to reach all sectors of society: from other peers working in science to children in schools or our neighbors from Vigo.

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Oceanic Processes in Global Change

According to the IPCC (2019), since the 1970s, the ocean has absorbed more than 90% of the excess heat from the Earth's system, as well as between 20% and 30% of the CO2 emitted by humans into the atmosphere since the 1980s.

A comprehensive study of ocean-mediated processes is fundamental to understand, monitor and mitigate the effects of global change.

The Ocean Processes in Global Change research group applies a multidisciplinary approach to oceanography from a physical, chemical and biological perspective. The group addresses the observation, experimentation and modeling of evidence and impacts of marine ecosystem warming, acidification, fertilization and deoxygenation in response to global change, both on the NW coast of the Iberian Peninsula and in the surrounding ocean.

On the one hand, the group studies marine biological and geochemical processes, with special emphasis on coastal upwelling systems, especially the Iberian-Canary Islands system, and on the thermohaline and chemical evolution of ocean water bodies. It is also immersed in the study of the biological and biochemical characterization of phytoplankton, the production of phytoplankton toxins and the dynamics of microbial communities in a changing ocean like ours.

On the other hand, it explores exchanges between the atmosphere, oceans and land, as well as the effects of human society on the marine environment and climate. Within this field, the group studies the role of oceans in the dissolution of excess atmospheric CO2 and ocean acidification as one of its main consequences. It also researches sediment exchanges between the substrate and the water column and their implications for regeneration processes of both the seabed (benthic zone) and the water column itself (pelagic zone).

21
staff
2.46 M
€
funding*
32
projects & contracts*
*data from 2020.
Research
Lines
Projects
Publications
  • Bieito Fernández Castor; Marian Peña; Enrique Nogueira; Miguel Gilcoto; Esperanza Broullón; Antonio Comesaña; Damien Bouffard; Alberto C. Naveira Garabato; Beatriz Mouriño-Carballido (2022) Intense upper ocean mixing due to large aggregations of spawning fish Nature Geoscience DOI:10.1038/s41561-022-00916-3
  • Sánchez-Jerez, P.; Babarro, J.M.F.; Padin, X.A.; Longa Portabales, A.; Martinez-Llorens, S.; Ballester-Berman, J.D.; Sara, G.; Magano, M.C. (2022) Cumulative climatic stressors strangles marine aquaculture: Ancillary effects of COVID 19 on Spanish mariculture Aquaculture DOI:10.1016/j.aquaculture.2021.737749
  • González, J.; Fernández, E.; Figueiras, F.G. (2022) Assessing the effect of oil spills on the dynamics of the microbial plankton community using a NPZD model Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science DOI:10.1016/j.ecss.2021.107734
  • N. MARBÀ; M. COLL; A. CALBET; A. SABATÉS; A.F. GONZÁLEZ; C. MARRASÉ; D. MACÍAS; E. SAIZ; E. MACPHERSON; E. GARCÉS; F. TOMÀS; F. GÓMEZ-FIGUEIRAS; H. HINZ; I. CATALÁN; I. HENDRIKS; J. AGUZZI; J. NAVARRO; J. TERRADOS; J.L. PELEGRÍ; J.M. GASOL; J.M. GILI; M. MALDONADO; M.M. SALA; M. ESTRADA; J. ALÓS; P. OLIVAR; R. SIMÓ; R. LOGARES; R. MASSANA; S.G. ACINAS; T. ALCOVERRO; X. TURÓN; X.A. ÁLVAREZ-SALGADO (2021) Challenge 3: Achieving a Resilient Ocean " White Paper 13: Ocean Science Challenges For 2030" Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
  • Jesús Marco de Lucas; M. Victoria Moreno-Arribas; Ananda Pascual; Diego Macías; Joaquín Tintoré; Antonio Turiel; Joaquim Ballabrera; Carmen G. Castro; Núria Marbà; Marta Coll; Jordi Dachs; I. Emma Huertas; Valentí Sallarès; Ángel F. González; Antonio Tovar-Sánchez; Carolina Gabarró; Javier Ruiz; Alejandro Orfila; Ramiro Logares; Josep Alós; José Pintado Valverde; Ana Crespo Solana (2021) White Paper 13: Ocean Science Challenges For 2030 Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) ISBN:978-84-00-10762-8
Theses
  • PhD - DANIEL BROULLON DURAN (24/10/2022) Neural networks and the seawater CO2 system. From the global ocean to the Ría de Vigo Universidade de Vigo (UVIGO)
  • TFM - Justine Roth (26/07/2022) Silica determination in Seagrasses: An analytical method validation for the ecological assessment Université de Lille
  • TFG - Paola Rodríguez Bello (26/11/2021) Variabilidad del pico- y nanoplancton durante la época de afloramiento en la Ría de Vigo Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC)
  • TFM - Hugo Marques Feio (30/08/2021) Effectoftemperatureandsedimentdisturbanceonecophysiologicalresponsesoftheinfaunalclam Polititapes rhomboides Université de Nantes
  • TFM - Miguel Ángel Gutiérrrez Guerra (27/07/2021) Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems under climate change Universidade de Vigo (UVIGO)
Innovation
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Society
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Team

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Principal investigator

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PreDoc Researcher

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Window to Sea (Coastal Risk Indicators)