Project partners

Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IOPAN) is an independent research institute established in 1977 and is one of the largest Polish institutions involved in marine research. The Institute’s mission is to generate knowledge to support sustainable use of the marine environment through innovative and high-level scientific research. Most of IOPAN research is focused on the Baltic Sea, North Atlantic and the European Arctic region. IOPAN employs 181 people and runs postgraduate studies for 30 PhD students. Currently, IOPAN is leading 56 national and 35 international research projects. The Institute closely cooperates with national research institutions via consortia focused on polar research (Centre of Polar Studies, PKPol), physical and chemical aspects of natural process on Earth (Geoplanet), and sustainable development of Baltic Seas region (PolMar, Morceko). IOPAN is also a partner in the international project Euro-Argo Global Ocean Observing Infrastructure.H

Research infrastructure and resources at IOPAN

In the course of the project, IOPAN will provide access to its own research vessel Oceania and will contribute with scientific and technical staff experienced in working in polar regions. IOPAN working groups are equipped with most of necessary research tools. The Institute offers broad-based ecological, genetic, geochemical, and paleontological expertise. IOPAN laboratories are equipped with facilities necessary to perform micropaleontological, sedimentological, TC/TOC analyses and 210PB and 137Cs dating, including Malvern Mastersizer 2000 analyzer, Elemental Analyser Flash EA 1112 Series connected to an isotopic ratio mass spectrometer. Moreover, IOPAN has developed several web based tools and is heavily involved in public outreach.

NORCE is a new research institute in Norway formed from a merger of several institutes, that aims to deliver research and new solutions to global and local challenges for society. The project is managed from NORCE Climate by an experienced PI (De Schepper) who is leading an enthusiastic team of researchers and supported by a highly competent administrative team. The team at NORCE combines the strengths of paleoceanographers and molecular ecologists, is integrated in the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, which provides easy access to a network of world-class experts in climate research and Arctic oceanography. In 2017, we initiated the development of sedaDNA as a new sea ice proxy, an original idea that was awarded funding from the Research Council of Norway (2017–2019) and recently via an ERC-Consolidator Grant (ERC-CoG) A genetic view into past sea ice variability in the Arctic to the PI (De Schepper). Our first results from the Greenland Sea Late Quaternary were recently published in the ISME Journal (De Schepper et al. 2019). The work proposed by this Polish-Norwegian team in this project will be integrated in the ERC-Consolidator Grant research of De Schepper.

Research infrastructure and resources at NORCE

The NORCE team has the laboratories, experience and/or international collaborations in place for each method via pioneering work within the ADNAPROX project and continuing work in the ERCCoG of the PI. The current laboratory set-up at NORCE contains all equipment and working routines necessary for sampling, extracting and interpreting sedaDNA from marine sediments on modern to geological time scales. We will move into a new, state-of-the-art lab by the end of 2019 that will solely be used for ancient DNA analysis at NORCE. This unique set-up for Norway has been tested in several ongoing projects by experienced personnel. At NORCE, we have a high-end research microscope (Zeiss Axio.Imager) with digital camera to analyse and document the palynological work. The Trace Element Lab at NORCE is a state of the art lab analyzing trace element concentrations from marine calcium carbonates measuring elemental ratios like Mg/Ca. The purpose is to give an accurate estimate of reconstructed ocean temperatures. The laboratory houses preparation facilities and an Agilent 720 ICP-OES with a SPS 3 Autosampler. Researchers and technical staff have ample experience in advising and supervising researchers and students in the process of analyzing foraminiferal calcite for paleoclimatic reconstructions.