Department of Paleoceanography IOPAN

15/07/2026

15/07/2026

Our colleague from the Department of Paleoceanography, Dr. Natalia Szymańska, is currently taking part in an extraordinary scientific expedition aboard R/V OceanXplorer OceanX- one of the world's most advanced ocean research vessels.

As a member of the OceanX × High Seas: Roo Rise 2026 mission, she is exploring the waters surrounding Christmas Island and the Roo Rise, south of Java, collecting marine sediment cores from previously unexplored areas of the seafloor at depths reaching 3,500 metres.

The recovered sediments will help our team investigate the genetic diversity of deep-sea foraminifera, search for species new to science, and better understand the role these tiny organisms play in long-term carbon sequestration in the deep ocean- research that is highly relevant to our understanding of the global carbon cycle and climate change.

🚢 R/V OceanXplorer is a true flagship of modern ocean exploration. Equipped with cutting-edge laboratories, crewed submersibles, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), advanced mapping systems and a helicopter, it enables scientists to investigate some of the least explored parts of our planet.

The vessel has hosted world-leading researchers and has featured in major international productions, including the National Geographic series OceanXplorers, executive produced by James Cameron (Titanic, Avatar), as well as documentaries narrated by Sir David Attenborough, including Deep Ocean: Kingdom of the Coelacanth, bringing groundbreaking marine science to audiences around the world.

We are incredibly proud that researchers from our Instytut Oceanologii PAN contribute to international expeditions of this calibre.

Good luck, Natalia! We wish you calm seas, successful sampling, and many exciting discoveries! 🌍⚓🔬

Foundation Technological University, Singapore Museum Boola Bardip

13/07/2026

🎉 We are delighted to announce that our team, led by Dr. Magdalena Łącka, has been awarded PLN 1.1 million (approximately €258,000) in funding from the National Science Centre (NCN) under the prestigious OPUS programme.

The project will investigate whether massive freshwater outbursts from the Baltic Ice Lake and Ancylus Lake played a key role in shaping the climate and ocean circulation of the Arctic and North Atlantic during the Early Holocene. Our preliminary results suggest that these dramatic drainage events may have been responsible for freshwater signals recorded in Arctic marine sediments, potentially influencing major climatic events such as the Preboreal Oscillation.

To test this hypothesis, we will analyse strategically selected sediment cores from the Baltic Sea and the Norwegian margin using a state-of-the-art multiproxy approach. The project combines micropaleontology, pollen, diatoms, biomarkers, radiocarbon dating, and- for the first time ever in Baltic Ice Lake and Ancylus Lake deposits- sedimentary ancient DNA (aDNA). This innovative approach will allow us to identify unique fingerprints of Baltic freshwater exported to the Arctic Ocean.

07/07/2026

The first leg of the AREX 2026 expedition has come to a successful conclusion. Led by our department head, Prof. Marek Zajączkowski, the cruise achieved all of its primary scientific objectives despite the challenging weather conditions in the Norwegian and Barents Seas.

The main goal of this expedition was to recover long sediment cores and collect modern oceanographic samples to investigate the pathways of freshwater from the Baltic region into the Nordic Seas, both under present-day conditions and during the final stages of the last deglaciation, when the Baltic Ice Lake existed approximately 11,000 years ago. These records will help improve our understanding of past changes in ocean circulation and climate in the North Atlantic-Arctic region.

A huge thank you to the captain and crew of the R/V Oceania and to the entire scientific team for their dedication and teamwork. We are looking forward to the exciting scientific discoveries that these unique samples will bring.

Stay tuned- the laboratory work is just beginning!

10/03/2026

Today our colleague from the department, Dr. Maciej Telesiński, held his habilitation colloquium, during which he presented the achievements of his recent years of research entitled “Development of Thermohaline Circulation in the Nordic Seas Since the Last Glacial Maximum.”

During the presentation, he discussed six papers published in prestigious international scientific journals that form the core of his habilitation work.

The habilitation committee issued a positive recommendation, which will be presented at the upcoming meeting of the Scientific Council.

Congratulations to our future professor!

28/11/2025

Today, the National Science Centre (NCN)- the most important source of funding for basic research in Poland- announced the results of its latest grant call. We are proud to share that Dr. Dhanushka Devendra, Assistant Professor in our department, has been awarded over 1 million PLN for his research project! 👏🔥

The project, TRACE: Tracing the footprints of deglacial and early Holocene meltwater pulses in the European Arctic from Barents Sea sediments, will focus on reconstructing past meltwater influxes in the Barents Sea region.

Our key objective:
We aim to determine when and where freshwater pulses occurred and how they may have influenced thermohaline circulation.

🧊 Why is this important?
For the first time, the project will link data on ancient lake outbursts from the Baltic region with environmental conditions in the Arctic seas. TRACE will therefore fill an important gap in our understanding of deglacial and early Holocene climate change.

These processes are especially relevant today, as similar mechanisms are taking place due to the ongoing melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Understanding how marine environments respond to freshwater input, and the long-term consequences, is crucial for improving predictions of future climate change in the Arctic.

💙 Congratulations to Dhanushka! This is a major achievement and an exciting opportunity to further advance paleoclimate research within our team.

Photo credits: Magdalena Łącka