Our mission is to advance sustainable use of the marine environment through our systems-thinking approach to research, education and innovation.
Plymouth has been a focus for marine science for over 100 years. Our research and partnerships are fundamental in helping us understand the marine environment and how best to tackle the challenges it currently faces.
Richard Thompson OBE FRS
Director of the Marine Institute
Research priorities
- Towards net zero
- Sustainable blue economy
- Safe seas
- Healthy oceans
- Life on Earth is threatened by increasing temperature, rising sea levels and more extreme weather events, resulting in flooding and wildfires.
- Our oceans absorb a substantial proportion of CO2 from the atmosphere, mitigating the rise in greenhouse gases to some extent, but this leads to ocean acidification.
- Changes are occurring at a faster rate than nature can adapt to.
- 40% of the world’s population live in coastal areas, with many relying on the ocean for their livelihoods.
- The marine environment is a major contributor to food security and 80% of global trade uses the seas, yet human activity is the primary cause for environmental degradation, putting those same livelihoods at risk.
- Technological, societal and environmental threats can result directly from human reliance on the ocean, as well as from natural hazards such as earthquakes and tsunamis.
- Threats ranging from cyber attacks to coastal erosion or flooding all have the potential to cause major disruption.
- Accelerated industrial development, coupled with a progressively throw-away society, has played a significant role in the degradation of our oceans through pollution.
- These societal trends have serious negative effects for marine ecosystems, reducing our ability to rely on them as a source of food.
- We urgently need to optimise the sustainable use of our oceans for food and energy security, while protecting and improving planetary health
- To achieve our objectives, we need rapid acceleration in the development of digital technology.
Latest news in marine and maritime
Academics from the University are among those to call for worldwide action to halt the environmental threats posed by single-use electronic devices
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Academic invited to help develop China’s offshore renewable energy revolution
Professor Lars Johanning has been invited as International Co-Chair to lead an expert group exploring China’s future use of ocean energy
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Community beach clean-ups could beat high-tech solutions for clearing plastic pollution
Professor Richard Thompson OBE FRS is the lead author on a new report by the Royal Society looking at ways to remove plastic from the environment
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International experts issue renewed call for Global Plastics Treaty to be grounded in robust science
A letter from members of the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty has been published in the journal Science
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Seychelles beach cleans demonstrate potential for citizen science to tackle marine litter
New research by the University details how volunteers collected almost 9,000kg of waste during beach cleans on the islands between 2019 and 2023
- More related news
Marine and maritime events
- The Rock Pool Project and the Living Seawall in Plymouth stand 27 April 2024 14:00 - 15:00
- PlyMSEF Spring Lecture 2024 30 May 2024
- Ocean Tech Expo 2024 26 June 2024 - 27 June 2024
- 11th PRIMaRE Conference 27 June 2024 - 28 June 2024
- AMEMR 2024 8 July 2024 - 11 July 2024
Education and innovation
Industry support
- long-term strategic partnerships to help with product and performance testing, workforce development, and ongoing research and development support
- support to access public funds
- and access to a large talent pool of students and PhDs.
University student and staff opportunities
Contact the Marine Institute
Marine Institute, Level 3, Marine Building, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA