Utrecht University: Utrecht University and NIOZ join forces in eleven more joint research projects on coastal seas and oceans

The project funding will enable them to spend the next four years doing interdisciplinary research on current scientific and societal issues that tie in with the strategic themes of both research institutions. Besides the faculties of Science and Geosciences, the UU Faculty of Veterinary Medicine is also involved.

The four overarching themes deal with current issues:
‘Our dynamic coasts’: from parasite invasions due to climate change and the role of fjords in the melting of Greenland, to the adaptability of ecosystems to sea level rise.
‘Sustainable functioning of coastal seas and continental shelves’: from dietary adaptation in birds, to the impact birds themselves have on the formation of the islands on which they breed.
‘Ocean of Discovery’: from the role of Saharan dust in biomass production in the Mediterranean, to the ocean’s uptake of CO2.
‘Ocean of the Future’: from shell formation during extreme heat, ocean acidification and high CO2 concentrations, to the Atlantic Gulf Stream as a driver of our climate.
Combining knowledge and facilities
By combining complementary knowledge and research facilities and working together more intensively, these UU-NIOZ projects increase their clout and can be a step towards broad, national programmes in which the entire knowledge chain works together.

These eleven projects, together with the thirteen projects from 2020, are part of the ten-year cooperation agreement that Utrecht University signed with NIOZ in 2015 and in which, in addition to research, the strengthening of education in the field of water and climate plays an important role.