Press release 1.9.2024

New research centre at Åbo Akademi University tackles marine wicked biodiversity problems

The recently established Centre for Sustainable Ocean Science (SOS) organizes its kick-off event on Sept. 10-11 in Turku. The program addresses questions related to transdisciplinary research and sustainability transitions, bringing together viewpoints from various societal, scholarly and artistic fields.

In the picture: Anna Törnroos-Remes (Director of SOS and Associate Professor of Environmental and Marine Biology at ÅAU) & Nina Tynkkynen (Vice Director of SOS and Professor of Environmental Governance and Policy at ÅAU). Photo by Linda Svarfvar.

We are grappling with a triple planetary crisis of biodiversity loss, climate change and pollution. Ocean science is acutely needed to understand the pressures on and changes to marine biodiversity, which is central to society’s shift towards a more sustainable future. On a global scale, we are beyond safe operating spaces for biosphere integrity – that is biodiversity and all its dimensions. Locally, the Baltic Sea is in a lamentable state and in the Archipelago Sea we unfortunately still struggle with Finland’s last Eutrophication Hot Spot with particularly severe nutrient loading and algal blooms.

The Centre for Sustainable Ocean Science (SOS) was established at Åbo Akademi University in January 2024, funded by the Åbo Akademi University Foundation. SOS provides transdisciplinary knowledge on wicked problems linked to marine biodiversity and its role in the societal transition to sustainability. A wicked problem is one that is particularly difficult to solve because it involves a large number of factors and different, often conflicting, values and points of view. With the Archipelago Sea and Åland as its case study area, SOS examines how human actions interact with marine biodiversity in creating wicked problems and seeks solutions to these challenges.  SOS delivers research that can support policymaking, identify solutions, and guide actions for environmental sustainability, equipping us to address the planetary biodiversity crisis.

The Centre is led by Anna Törnroos-Remes, Associate Professor of Environmental and Marine Biology. In addition to biology, the inter- and transdisciplinary work in SOS includes chemistry, industrial management, political science, law, and the arts. SOS tackles specific case-studies of wicked problems in the Archipelago Sea, such as mitigating land runoff from agriculture, and offshore wind farm development. SOS also addresses pressing challenges related to marine issues more broadly. This includes, for example, analyzing the path towards holistic marine governance and regulation, balancing the protection and use of marine biodiversity. What’s more, SOS contributes to a paradigm shift for sustainable ocean science by analyzing and developing methods for transdisciplinary knowledge co-creation and art-science collaboration.

The Centre hosts its official launch on September 10-11. On Tuesday, Sept. 10, the event opens at the Sibelius Museum with an introduction to SOS and a talk on sustainable ocean futures by Dr. Rachel Kelly from the Centre for Marine Socioecology in Australia. The day continues with presentations on sustainability transitions and combining artistic and scientific approaches. On Wednesday, Sept. 11, the program takes place at Åbo Akademi Univesity’s Arken building. After an interactive workshop for stakeholders, we will hear presentations on the Archipelago Sea UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and artistic research practices.

The event is free of charge and open to all who are interested in marine research, sustainability, and biodiversity. You can find the program and register for the event here. Registration closes Sept. 6.

Further information, press contact:

Research Assistant Malla Lehtonen, malla.lehtonen@abo.fi , +358 50 592 2570