Marine Institute research

Learn how we are advancing knowledge and responding to global challenges through impactful marine and maritime research
Beach

Our pioneering research responds to 21st Century global challenges through a systems-thinking approach to solutions, from climate change and storm impacts to the blue economy and maritime cybersecurity, all framed against the socio-political dimensions that explicitly link the land and the ocean.

We’ve published significant marine research with over 960 institutions in 80 countries since 2016, established strong international collaborations and delivered multi-million-pound projects.

Browse a selection of our projects

Lyme Bay - Getty images 489976018

Marine Protected Areas: monitoring the Lyme Bay exclusion zone

Offshore wind turbine in a wind farm under construction off the England coast at sunset.

Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy Hub

Lionfish

Preventing a LIONfish invasion in the MEDiterranean through early response and targeted REmoval (RELIONMED)

Getty images. Saunton Sands beach sea

South West Partnership for Environment and Economic Prosperity (SWEEP)

cyber-SHIP lab

Cyber-SHIP Lab

Plankton

Plankton science for supporting the implementation of marine ecosystem-based management and conservation

Ghana fishing

One Ocean Hub

Environmental Issue: Underwater image of Plastic in the Ocean. The location here is Phi Phi Islands, Krabi, Thailand.

PISCES: a systems analysis approach to reduce plastic waste in Indonesian societies

Ecotoxicology lab photo

TRANSAT (TRANSversal Actions for Tritium)

Marine Institute research themes

Find out more about our research groups and their activities

Abstract image of a hand holding planet earth with symbols around it. 

Centre for Decarbonisation and Offshore Renewable Energy

In response to climate change imperatives, we are bringing together a critical mass of leading research and expertise from across the University of Plymouth. Through co-creation and collaboration with partners from business, government and key communities from across the globe, the Centre aims to be a beacon for the University’s whole-system transdisciplinary approach to solutions-oriented research, accelerating sustainable developments in decarbonisation and renewable energy.

Centre for Systems Thinking: Ocean, Land and Society

The Centre for Systems Thinking: Ocean, Land and Society champions a whole-system transdisciplinary approach to solutions-oriented research to improve planetary health. The Centre brings together an unrivalled critical mass of catchment-coast-ocean expertise from across the University’s Strategic Research Institutes to address 21st century challenges alongside national and international policy.
Plymouth, UK: Marina Drone Photos, credit: Drone Motion Stock, courtesy of ShutterstockCentre for Systems Thinking lead image

Plymouth Pioneers

Meet some of the faces behind our pioneering marine research

Marine Institute

Marine Institute

The University’s Marine Institute is the first and largest such institute in the UK.
We provide the external portal to our extensive pool of world-leading experts and state-of-the-art facilities, enabling us to understand the relationship between the way we live, the seas that surround us and the development of sustainable policy solutions.
We are integrating our multidisciplinary expertise in marine and maritime research, education and innovation to train new scientists, engineers, policy-makers, artists, technicians and business managers of the future.