The Baltic Sea is an important part of Finnish identity and international culture. The Baltic Sea is a shallow sea with brackish water and it is strained by a large population, which makes the sea vulnerable. We produce information on the state and changes of the sea to support decision-making.
With the help of research, we estimate the effect of human activities on the Baltic Sea and the requirements of sustainable development in the Baltic Sea. We produce methods for estimating the state of the sea and for planning maritime areas, and information to reconcile ecological, economic and societal goals.
SYKE coordinates and realises national long-term monitoring of the sea and researches the functioning of seas in a multidisciplinary way by using modelling, measurements and observations. We act as an expert on the implementation of Finnish marine resource management planning, EU maritime legislation and the Baltic Sea environmental protection convention.
The marine research vessel Aranda, the Utö marine research station and our laboratories provide excellent facilities for developing the technology of marine research. Our work is supported by FINMARI (Finnish Marine Research Infrastructure), which is coordinated by SYKE.
We cooperate with Estonia and Russia for the good of the marine environment of the Gulf of Finland. We work together closely with European universities, research institutes and enterprises. Our work also extends to the Arctic region and developing countries.
"Our vision is to be globally significant and an internationally operating pioneer of the wide-ranging research and monitoring of coastal waters and the development of marine research methods."
-Paula Kankaanpää Director of the SYKE Marine Research Centre
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Our areas of expertise
Research of ecosystems
- Marine ecosystem functions, food webs and modelling
- Marine bio-geo-chemical processes
- Marine environment diversity and habitats
Effects of human actions on marine environment
- Harmful substances
- Climate change: marine and sea ice ecosystems
- Littering of seas and microlitter in cold marine areas
- Socio-economic significance of a marine environment
- Eutrophication and prevention of eutrophication
- Underwater noise pollution
- Alien species and their impact
- Impacts of oil spills and oil spill exercise and prevention methods on the Arctic region
Development of methods
- Models for assessing the ecosystem effect of water and marine resource management to support decision-making
- Methods of planning maritime areas
- Methods of marine research and assessment, and new automatic monitoring and research methods including using computer vision applications for species identification
- Experimental marine environment research
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Director of the Marine Research Centre Paula Kankaanpää
firstname.lastname@environment.fi
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Personnel contacts
Personnel:
Marine Research Centre