Orientation of the Institute 

IOCAS is committed to the fundamental research and technological R&D of comprehensive marine science based on theoretical innovation of offshore environmental evolution and sustainable utilization of biological resources, and cross-system integration of key technologies, and expands pilot research on deep-sea environment and strategic resources exploration. IOCAS plays an irreplaceable leading role in marine science and technology in China and becomes a center of marine science and technology research internationally.

Three Major Breakthroughs

Major Breakthrough 1: Novel varieties, novel cognition and novel production systems of marine biological resources

We will focus on the following issues. Breeding new varieties of organisms, including by genomics research on main mariculture species. In disease control, we are expanding knowledge on marine organism immunology. In aquaculture, we are constructing new, efficient environmentally integrated mariculture production systems. We start by co-building demonstration bases, and then carry out schema validation, promotion, and upscaling.

Breakthroughs are expected in disease and immunological control. We are completing genomic sequencing on oysters, prawns, etc., and have already published important articles in Nature and more are in preparation in top journals. We breeding out 2 or more new species, and will increase the production value by 20%, developing 3-5 new culture facilities, and establishing 1-2 new demonstration projects for mariculture production, to win 1-2 national-level awards.

Major Breakthrough 2: Marine environment degradation and ecological disasters in China

We shall carry out comprehensive researches on driving factors behind offshore environmental evolution process, biodiversity and productivity changes, the occurrence of ecological disasters, and the ecological safety, by centering on two related scientific problems, ecological degradation and coastal change.

Breakthroughs are expected in the study of the formation and evolution of ecological disasters, particularly harmful algal blooms and jellyfish blooms. We are completing models of coastal ecological environment change and ecological catastrophe, including develop of systems to predict disasters. We present our works at international academic conferences and propose the consulting services to China and other countries, to win one national-level awards.

Major Breakthrough 3: The ocean circulation variability in the tropical western Pacific and its impacts on the climate and environment

We carry out studies on the mechanisms, predictability, and forecasting in the tropical Western Pacific circulation and its influences on China's climate and offshore environment by focusing on two main scientific problems. These including how the western boundary current and the equatorial current system vary and how they influence climatic, particularly at the meso- and micro-scales. This is strategically important for prediction of the future climate.

We are conducting intensive data acquisition programs on tropical western Pacific subsurface and deep-sea circulation, interpreting the effects on the climate of the Indo-Pacific warm pool and the marine channel as well as the formation mechanism of “central Pacific (CP)”-El Ni?o. This helps illuminate the nonlinear transmission mechanism to adjacent oceans influencing China's coastal dynamic environment. The results are expected to be cited by top journals Nature or Science. In addition, we shall make invited lectures at international academic conferences, and formulate future codes of practice for safeguarding the marine environment, to win national-level awards.

Five Key Potential Directions 

Key Potential Direction 1: Geological evolution and sedimentary records of the Western Pacific

The western Pacific is an area with complex geological structure and strong land-sea interaction in the world. We are constructing a 3000km-long geophysical profile across three subduction zones, to clarify the geological evidence in the tropical-region-driving hypothesis related to past climates variation, and we are completing a serial atlas on the island chain area including the seafloor lithosphere and sediments of low-latitude western Pacific.

We have a research team on western Pacific marine geology, and are building a scientific research platform integrating marine geological science and technology.

Key Potential Direction 2: Comprehensive deep-sea environment and resource research

The deep sea of the western Pacific is a natural experimental field for making breakthroughs in marine scientific theory and exploring the marine strategic resources. Using large science projects, we carry out multidisciplinary integrated studies that reveal the sedimentary environment of seamounts, circulation structure, biocommunities, ecosystems, and resource potential. This includes exploration of environmental effects of hydrothermal emissions on life process.

We are improving the facilities to collect and analyse deep-sea samples, and have formed a new deep-sea research team under integrated direction of the multiple disciplines. 

Key Potential Direction 3: Marine biodiversity and molecular systematics

This direction has laid a foundation for gaining insight into the changing marine ecosystem for exploring biological resources. We give full play to classical taxonomy and biodiversity research, combining it with molecular biological techniques, exploring new gene markers and barcodes related to the phylogeny of higher-level categories, to help understand molecular systematics and phylogenetic geography.

We have set up research teams on marine biosystematics with distinctive characteristics, and have built an information platform for molecular identification of marine organisms.

Key Potential Direction 4: Marine biological products and biological energy 

High-value sustainable exploitation of marine biological resources is a strategic and still emerging marine industry. We screen natural marine candidate drugs for useful activity and conduct preclinical studies, we have built a platform for molecular design and technological optimization of active substances from microorganism gene resources, and we are developing technology and engineering of marine energy resources from microalgae cultivation with a view to industrial innovation.

We will soon obtain clinical certificates for 2-3 new products of marine organisms and 1-2 new State Category I Marine Drugs, thus building a platform of marine organisms for further innovation of useful products.

Key Potential Direction 5: Marine environmental corrosion and bio-fouling protection technology

This direction caters to the urgent requirements of national marine strategic development and plays a role as the core scientific and technological foundation for reducing loss caused by corrosion. We carry out fundamental research and technology research and development, as well as demonstrating applications in processes and mechanisms of the different factors acting on corrosion, as well as the key processes, mechanisms, and protection technologies, particularly of “green” (non-toxic) defeat of marine biofouling and corrosion.

We have built a national research center on engineering and technology on marine corrosion and protection, to win the first prize of China's Science and Technology Progress.