IO PAN Scientific Diving TEAM

12/08/2026

At the SCAR Open Science Conference in Oslo, we are showcasing a developing long-term environmental and biological monitoring programme in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Maritime Antarctica, conducted as part of the Antarctica InSync initiative. Admiralty Bay is an exceptional natural laboratory for detecting and understanding changes in the Southern Ocean, with relatively mild climatic conditions, strong environmental gradients, glacial influence and high habitat diversity. Our "monitoring" combines high-frequency measurements of temperature, salinity, water level, light, pH, oxygen, turbidity, chlorophyll and current velocity and direction, recorded at 30-minute intervals across the shallow subtidal depth gradient, with carbonate-system measurements, plankton sampling and benthic monitoring using colonisation plates, ARMS and long-term time-lapse cameras. An important goal of the programme is to make these observations available for broader comparative and synthesis studies and to contribute to coordinated Antarctic observing efforts within Antarctica InSync and towards IPY-5.

High-resolution environmental and biological monitoring in Maritime Antarctica (Admiralty Bay, King George Island) as predictor of Southern Ocean changes and great contribution to InSync project

02/08/2026

After another field season in Isfjorden with the CARMA project, we’re diving back into the Svalbard fjords—this time sharing the story behind our latest publication by Krzemińska et al. 2026.
Using scientific diving over eight years, the IOPAN Scientific Diving Team documented bleaching in Arctic non-geniculate crustose coralline algae (CCA) - small but important ecosystem engineers. These calcifying algae can persist for hundreds to over a thousand years, but their extremely slow growth makes them particularly vulnerable to rapid environmental change.
Unlike coral bleaching, which involves the loss of symbiotic algae, CCA bleaching results from the loss of their own photosynthetic pigments, reducing photosynthesis and calcification and potentially leading to thallus necrosis and mortality under prolonged stress.
Our study reveals pronounced temporal and spatial variability in CCA bleaching, linked to multiple environmental stressors associated with ongoing changes in Arctic fjord environment. Although bleaching can sometimes be reversible, our observations showed little evidence of recovery, with most bleached areas persisting for years. https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1nXV6W5UJZGrO

28/07/2026

We are happy to share that the scientific divers of the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IO PAN) are part of the newly established ReefSurviveNetwork (RSN), part of the GeoPlanet – Earth and Planetary Research Centre.

The network brings together researchers and institutions working on reef ecosystems, creating new opportunities for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and joint research activities.

More about the project:

The ReefSurviveNetwork (RSN) was established under the auspices of GeoPlanet – Earth and Planetary Research Centre in December 2025.

19/07/2026

One of our teams, consisting of four divers, is currently conducting fieldwork for the CARMA project in Isfjorden, Spitsbergen, while another team of two divers is preparing to depart for Hornsund soon. At the same time, we are returning to memories from our most recent expedition to the opposite pole and the Polish Antarctic Station Arctowski earlier this year. This is thanks to our friend, artist Ola Fronc, who carried out her project ARCYCISZA there. In one of the latest episodes, we talk with Ola about diving among the ice and listening to singing humpback whales underwater. For those interested in everyday life at an polar research station, the series includes many more episodes. The link to the conversation is available in the first comment.

15/07/2026

From 15–19 June 2026, the IOPAN Scientific Diving Team participated in the 9th European Conference on Scientific Diving (ECSD9) in Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal. The conference brought together scientists and scientific divers from across Europe to share the latest advances in underwater research and marine science. Poland was strongly represented, demonstrating the growing contribution of the Polish scientific diving community to European underwater research. Our team delivered two oral presentations and one poster, highlighting the results of our research in Arctic and sub-Antarctic ecosystems. Marta Ronowicz presented how climate warming and glacier retreat are reshaping Arctic kelp forests and the biodiversity they support. Małgorzata Krzemińska showed that species identity has a stronger influence than environmental variability on skeletal Mg/Ca ratios in Arctic marine calcifiers, providing new insights into biomineralization and the impacts of environmental change. Piotr Bałazy highlighted the ecological importance of kelp forests and seabirds for benthic communities, presenting studies conducted in both the Beagle Channel and Svalbard. We sincerely thank the organizers and collegueas for great time.

12/06/2026

The exhibition "Diving in Antarctic Waters"by Karina Kowalska at the Polar Research Museum with our "remote participation"

Dziś wspólnie z Dyrektorem Muzeum Badań Polarnych otworzyliśmy wystawę "Nurkowanie w wodach Antarktyki". Do tej wystawy przygotowaliśmy książeczkę, która powtarza informacje z opracowanych przez nas wystawowych plakatów o historii nurkowania w tych wodach. O cenie i terminie sprzedaży tej książeczki, której nakład jest mały, poinformuję osobno. Na zdjęciu ze mną przybyły na otwarcie jeden z zagorzałych fanów nasze strony i podarowana przez niego ośmiornica do naszych zbiorów. Na okładce książki zdjęcie zrobione Przez Piotra Balazy.

08/06/2026

Larwood Symposium is the leading international conference dedicated to bryozoan research. This year, the 19th edition took place in Oslo and brought together specialists from around the world working on the biology, ecology, evolution, paleobiology, and systematics of this group of organisms. A particularly inspiring aspect of the meeting was the opportunity to learn about the latest research findings presented by bryozoan specialists from across the globe. Numerous discussions held during the conference have already resulted in plans for new publications and collaborative research initiatives that will be developed through international cooperation in the coming years.
At the closing ceremony, Anna Piwoni-Piórewicz received an Honourable Mention for a presentation summarizing our team’s research on global mineralogical and geochemical variability in bryozoans.

During the conference, researchers from the Department of Marine Ecology, Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Sciences, presented the results of their studies:

~ Anna Piwoni-Piórewicz - The variability of skeletal mineralogy in cheilostome bryozoans across global and regional scales

~ Piotr Kukliński - Ecological investigation of bryozoans with support of high-resolution environmental monitoring in Maritime Antarctica (King George Island) – project overview

~ Małgorzata Krzemińska Patterns of zooid morphological variation among Baltic bryozoans

The samples used in the presented studies were collected primarily through the activities of the IO PAN Scientific Diving TEAM, during research cruises aboard RV Polaris II (University of Otago, New Zealand), through research conducted in natural history museums across multiple countries including London, Tel Aviv, Paris, Wellington, and Townsville, as well as through collaborations with bryozoan researchers worldwide.

The research was funded by the Polish National Science Centre (NCN) projects: CARMA (2023/51/D/ST10/01265) and POŁUDNIE (2024/53/B/ST10/01226).

More information about the International Bryozoology Association: International Bryozoology Association - IBA, https://www.bryozoology.org

30/05/2026

We're training..

26/05/2026

IO PAN Scientific Diving TEAM supports the action 3% for science. See the position of the Assembly of Directors of Scientific Institutes
of the Polish Academy of Sciences in the comments