From June 3 to 5, Deputy Director Chen Jianfang led the delegation of the SIO to visit the Italian National Research Council’s Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR-ISMAR) and Institute of Polar Sciences (CNR-ISP), aiming to enhance collaboration in the fields of marine and polar science.

During the visit, researchers from both China and Italy engaged in in-depth academic exchanges. At CNR-ISMAR, the Italian side presented its research activities and progress in remote sensing technology, ocean and climate dynamics, and the Bio-Argo project, and introduced the European CIMR satellite mission and its importance in ocean monitoring. The SIO showcased research advancements in the impacts of climate change and anthropogenic factors on marine environments and ecosystems, as well as observations and predictions regarding hypoxia in the Yangtze River Estuary. At CNR-ISP, Italian researchers highlighted their main research directions in polar science, including the study of polar marine and cryosphere interactions using organic biomarkers, reconstruction of historical physical and chemical conditions in the Southern Ocean, infrastructure and time series observations in the Arctic, and research on polar radiation and atmospheric components. The researchers from the SIO presented studies on acoustic observations in the Indian Ocean under the Ocean Decade Digital DEPTH program and on multi-platform joint detection of multi-layer dynamic cycles under the Arctic ice.

Both sides extensively discussed cooperation mechanisms and agreed to focus on jointly applying for and implementing projects in polar science, climate change, deep-sea habitats, and hosting related seminars and exchanges of scientific and technological personnel to jointly promote cooperation in marine and polar science research.