The group studies active geological processes in the marine environment and their interrelationship with biodiversity.

The Unit for Coherence in Climate and Ocean Governance (UC²OG) investigates the institutional architecture linking climate and ocean systems at the global scale. Its aim is to analyse how science, finance, climate justice and international policy instruments can be aligned coherently to strengthen implementation of the Paris Agreement and related multilateral frameworks. The unit combines structural analysis, comparative evaluation of global regimes and scientific synthesis to support governance processes and decision-making.

The research group 'Harmful Microalgae and Plankton Ecology' (VGOHAB; https://vgohab.com/en/) is located at the Oceanographic Center of Vigo (COV) and is included in the Department of 'Oceanography and Global Change' of the Spanish National Institute of Oceanography (CNIEO-CSIC). The lines of research focus on the study of harmful algal blooms (HAB) and plankton ecology and the processes and dynamics that characterize them, at the level of organisms and planktonic communities.

The VULCANA research group focuses on studying the effects of volcanic processes on the marine environment of the Canary Islands, such as submarine volcanism, hydrothermal emissions, and lava inputs into the sea. It assesses their impacts on physical, chemical, and biological properties, as well as the associated geological, petrological, and geochemical processes. It highlights the long-term monitoring of the submarine volcano Tagoro in El Hierro, active since 2011, and involvement in the eruption of La Palma in 2021.

The EPRA Research Group (Plankton Ecology and Environmental Response) focuses on the study of plankton ecology and its interaction with the main processes that regulate and affect marine ecosystems.

The Marine Pollution Group of the IEO-CSIC is responsible for studying the environmental quality of the marine environment through the integration of chemical and biological parameters, determining the effects of pollutants on marine ecosystems, and establishing scientific bases to evaluate the effectiveness of measures to protect the marine environment and adequate coastal management. The group's strategic lines include the study of the spatial distribution and temporal trends of regulated and emerging pollutants in the marine environment; the study of the biological effects of chemical pollu

Research focus: Analysis and modeling of time series of physical, biological and biogeochemical variables especially based on sustained observations Coupled hydrodynamical-ecosystem models, physical-biological interactions Analysis of abundance, biomass, diversity and function of phyto-, zoo- and bacterioplankton Nutrient and greenhouse gas cycles, ocean acidification Analysis of food webs using stable isotopes Development of ocean services for marine users in aquaculture (e.g. harmful algal bloom forecasts) and fisheries

The underwater acoustics group at the IEO (Spanish Oceanographic Institute) is currently developing various lines of research, primarily related to passive acoustics. Among the activities carried out, monitoring underwater noise stands out through a dual approach to the problem.

Inorganic Chemical Oceanography, INOCEN, is a recently formed and small-sized group comprising personnel from two IEO centers (Galicia and Balearic Islands), engaging in cross-center activities at the national level. INOCEN is focused on studying the impact of global change on the biogeochemical cycles of the ocean, particularly emphasizing its inorganic components, such as the CO2 system in seawater, dissolved oxygen, and dissolved inorganic nutrients in coastal and oceanic areas.

BEME is an interdisciplinary group formed by IEO researchers in Gijón/Xixón and the Balearic Islands. It focuses on the study of plankton, micronecton and benthos, with the common goal of understanding and quantifying the role of the diversity of organisms in the functioning of marine ecosystems. In the field of plankton and micronekton, the studies focus on the understanding of their long-term variations (time series), their ecology and diversity, the definition of their role in biogeochemical cycles and in the dynamics of food webs, and the modeling of their ecology and evolution.