“We are increasingly aware of how much we depend on the ocean to sustain life and our environmental, social, and economic well-being. Therefore, at the ICTS SOCIB, we use our capabilities in marine R&D&I to advance the knowledge of the ocean and the coast.
In the last decades, and thanks to new observing and monitoring technologies, our understanding of the ocean has brought us to an unprecedented position in history to achieve changes in the conservation of our seas and oceans.
The ICTS SOCIB was created in 2007 in the Balearic Islands to capitalize on this potential in marine science and technology through continuous monitoring of the Balearic Sea and the Western Mediterranean via a multi-platform observing and forecasting system. Over the years, we have brought together a unique group of professionals who use their talent, passion, and curiosity to provide services and develop cutting-edge, high-quality marine science and research, to promote knowledge about the Mediterranean Sea and the global ocean, as well as foster knowledge transfer and innovation.
Our challenge for the coming years is to contribute to the development of a regional Digital Twin in the Western Mediterranean, to support decision-making in the context of climate change.”
Dr. Joaquín Tintoré
Director of the ICTS SOCIB and research professor at the CSIC at the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB).
The ICTS SOCIB and the Mediterranean Sea: A key tandem for marine sciences and technologies
The Mediterranean Sea, with 46,000 kilometers of coastline, consists of two basins of similar size: western and eastern, connected by the Strait of Sicily. The Mediterranean is considered a “mini laboratory”. The physical processes of the oceans occur in the Mediterranean on a smaller scale, making it an ideal system to address its complexity and advance the understanding of the global ocean.
Additionally, the Mediterranean region contains 10% of the world's biodiversity and 80% of all Mediterranean European species. Currently, the Mediterranean is subjected to the pressure of various human activities such as urban development and unsustainable tourism, maritime traffic, oil exploitation, and aquaculture, among others. Moreover, the Mediterranean is affected by climate change, which causes more frequent marine heatwaves, extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and acidification.
In this context, the ICTS SOCIB takes advantage of its privileged geographical position and is established as a key infrastructure for the observation, research, and conservation of the Mediterranean. Thus, it is aligned with the goals of the action plan towards an exemplary Mediterranean by 2030 and a pillar of the Palma Marine R&D&I Hub that incorporates marine sciences and technologies as one of the strategic bases to structure Marine R&D&I in the region, with the aim of diversifying the economic model in the Balearic Islands.
