Research in the North Sea

In the early years of North Sea research, most studies concentrated on the coasts of the individual countries. Opportunities for oceanographic and biological field studies were very limited. Fishing nets, tubes for soil sampling and visits to the fish market delivered the research material. Nowadays, North Sea research is mostly very technical. Multidisciplinary and international are the magic words for obtaining limited funds for research.

Research institutes around the North Sea

The North Sea can definitely be considered the cradle for numerous fundamental methods of marine studies. At the end of the 19th century, various field stations were opened around the North Sea: the Zoological Station in Den Helder (1876), the marine station Kristineberg on the Skagerak (1877), the Marine Laboratorium in Plymouth (1888) and the predecessor of the Biologische Anstalt on Helgoland (1892). The scientists wanted to get away from their test tubes of formalin in order to work directly with living organisms in their natural environment.

Large institutes developed from these modest research stations, such as the Royal Dutch Institute for Sea Research NIOZ on Texel. The NIOZ performs studies in the North Sea and Wadden Sea as well as in the oceans. The Center for Estuarine and Marine Ecology NIOO-CEME in Yerseke on the Oosterschelde is primarily occupied with the ecology of the river mouths and the coastal zone. Regular control of the water quality and monitoring plankton and benthic animals is work for the RIKZ in the Hague. Seabirds and marine mammals are studied at the NIOZ and Alterra on Texel, while recording fish stocks is in the hands of the RIVO in IJmuiden.

The international research institutes also have certain core studies. The station of the Marine Biological Association (MBA) in Plymouth has been studying the plankton in the English Channel and the North Sea for more than 70 years. The German TerraMare, a research center in Jadebusen, specializes in Wadden Sea studies. This center has opened its infrastructure (laboratories and ships) for everyone who wants to perform scientific research. The center offers the 'hardware' while the guest scientists provide the content. The Alfred-Wegener Institute for polar and marine research (AWI), with its department on Helgoland and Sylt, work closely together with the Dutch NIOZ.

Weblinks

Scientific research institutes around the North Sea:

Netherlands:
http://www.nioz.nl
http://www.nioo.knaw.nl/CEME/

Germany:
http://www.awi-bremerhaven.de/index-e.html
http://www.terramare.de/

England:
Marine Biological Association in Plymouth
http://www.mba.ac.uk/

International advice for use of the sea (ICES):
http://www.ices.dk

Website with research vessels in the whole world:
http://www.researchvessels.org/

Source: de Vleet, Ecomare