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Ocean Science Lab

There is only one ocean. Only one Earth. With the Ocean Science Lab, Universeum aims to create engagement for sustainable oceans through increased knowledge and enhanced innovation.

The ocean and its resources belong to everyone. It is therefore also up to all of us to make sure that there is a healthy ocean for future generations, no matter where we live. Because the way we live our lives affects the ocean, both locally and globally. And nature doesn’t care about maps or national borders.

There is only one ocean on our one and only Earth, and it is our responsibility to use it sustainably.

The UN’s Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development

The UN has designated 2021-2030 as the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The aim is to improve the health of the world’s oceans and strengthen the conditions for the sustainable development of oceans and coastlines. Formas, the Swedish research council, is leading work to develop a Swedish implementation plan. A government mandate has been issued to Formas, the Swedish Maritime and Water Authority, SMHI and Sida, which are now planning Swedish priorities and activities.

Universeum’s Ocean Science Lab is a tangible activity in the Swedish Decade of the Ocean. The work will link in to the four priority areas identified: innovation, data modelling, ocean awareness and ecosystem-based ocean management. The Ocean Science Lab is a unique initiative for sustainable oceans that aims to apply a broad, cross-sectoral approach to illustrate mankind’s dependence on the ocean.

An interdisciplinary knowledge experience

The focus in the Ocean Science Lab will be on marine life and sustainable development. We intend to use the lab to create engagement, increased knowledge and enhanced innovation. Universeum will become an arena for Sweden to focus its energy on sustainable oceans.

The Ocean Science Lab consists of a totally new learning environment with strong, clear connections to the rest of Universeum. Together, this forms an interdisciplinary experience that increases knowledge about marine environments and shows how the ocean, biodiversity and climate are interconnected.

Research for sustainable oceans.

The University of Gothenburg, Chalmers, KTH, IVL Swedish Environmental Institute, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Innovatum Science Park and Lysekil Municipality have joined forces and are now building Kristineberg Center, the new research and innovation environment for marine research and innovation. With a close link to the Maritime Cluster of West Sweden, the Center enhances the opportunities to strive towards the global sustainability goals and implement the national and regional maritime strategies.

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Ocean Science will take its place on Universeum’s own west coast jetty. In this marine field station, knowledge of issues such as rising global sea levels, littering, pandemics and natural disasters will be shared and applied in demonstrations and laboratory sessions. Science and technology will be interwoven, for example through data visualization. We will be highlighting complex relationships and presenting relevant research results – even when they show problematic relationships.

But above all, the Ocean Science Lab is all about possibilities. The ocean houses solutions that can help us to combat and reduce the impact of climate change! By means of practical tips and clear connections to ourselves and our own lives, we will create both hope and agents. Through research, innovation and changing behavioural patterns, we can all contribute to a sustainable future.

In the lab, we draw on the Earth’s climate zones to give children and adults an understanding of the challenges of the ocean. Because even though the Earth can be divided into different zones, there is only one shared ocean. This is why we must maintain a global perspective on everything from fisheries policy and transport routes to the ecosystem’s sensitivity to climate change and littering.

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The marine field station is linked to Universeum’s other learning environments to illustrate how everything is interconnected – mankind, nature, society, innovation and the environment. Because we can’t solve part of it without understanding the big picture. And we can’t solve the big picture if we don’t understand the parts.

In learning environments such as The Hub and The Chemistry Lab, as well as the planned Stena Visualization Lab and the visualization dome, we will connect to and add content on the theme of the sustainable ocean. The Ocean Science Lab will allow us to challenge children and adults to take action for a sustainable world and contribute to the global goals.

Universeum is growing and gearing up to offer greater benefit to more people. Through a major focus on the digitalisation and visualization of scientific data, strengthening the focus on sustainable development and creating new content in the areas of science, technology and mathematics, Universeum will become the next-generation science centre. The The Ocean Science Lab is a crucial element of this development programme.

Hub for education and popular education about the sustainable ocean

Universeum’s Ocean Science Lab is integrated into the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. This gives Universeum the opportunity to become a cross-sectoral hub for learning about the sustainable ocean. Using Universeum as an arena, national and global actors can create a platform for collaboration and scientific communication, so that research, knowledge and innovations are disseminated internationally.

The Ocean Science Lab will be a concrete example of how Agenda 2030 can move from words to action.

In connection with World Ocean Day on 8 June, the Formas research council and Universeum held a webinar about the Swedish Decade of Ocean Science. This enabled Universeum’s CEO Carina Halvord to present how the Ocean Science Lab, in collaboration with other actors, will become a global node for capacity development and technology transfer in order to contribute to tangible solutions for a sustainable ocean.

If you missed this live broadcast, a summary is available here.

Havet.nu collects and highlights ongoing marine research projects. Swedish researchers are participating in Nordic research programmes about the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, in research structures and programmes funded by the EU and in international research structures and programmes. Some of these are presented at havet.nu

Sustainable marine environments

The ocean makes up 70% of the Earth’s surface and is a significant resource. It provides mankind with a host ecosystem services, such as oxygen, food, energy, carbon dioxide sinks and transport routes. But our knowledge of the ocean remains limited.

At the same time, we are putting the ocean under enormous pressure. Over-fishing, eutrophication, littering and climate change are compromising the marine ecosystem.

But if we start to use the ocean sustainably, it can also provide future generations with food, energy and water. The ocean contains solutions that can help us to combat and reduce the impact of climate change.

Goal 14 in Agenda 2030 is about conserving and using the ocean and marine resources in a sustainable way for sustainable development. Do you want to make a direct contribution to change? Here are four simple, but effective tips from the Global Sustainable Development Goals:

Reduce your fish consumption

Reduce your consumption of fish. This is good for fish stocks around the world. When you eat fish and shellfish in a restaurant or buy them in a shop, ask if their fish and shellfish are produced and caught in a sustainable way.
Shop responsibly

Don’t buy jewellery or other products made from coral, turtle shells or other marine life.
Reduce your use of plastic

Plastic in the ocean is a huge problem that threatens lives both in and near the ocean. Reduce your use of plastic by buying reusable products instead, such as carrier bags, straws and cotton buds.
Reduce your waste

A large part of the waste we generate on land ultimately ends up in the ocean. Act consciously and strive to reduce your waste - recycle and reuse!

The Ocean Science Lab is part of combined work within the UN’s Decade of Ocean Science and is being developed by Universeum in partnership with key actors. The Ocean Science Lab is the catalyst for Universeum’s knowledge initiative for sustainable marine environments. Other activities within this initiative are the updating of existing aquariums and the development of new programmes for the public and schools.