Centre for Sustainable Ocean Science

07/09/2026

Have you familiarized yourself with the workshops for the SOS Annual Meeting 6-7.10.2026?

The first workshop “Biodiversity Markets for Watershed Resilience” will be led by:
🔷 Magnus Gustafsson - Head of Research, Laboratory of Industrial Management, ÅAU
🔷 Magnus Hellström - Professor, Laboratory of Industrial Management, ÅAU
🔷 Heidi Herlevi - Project Researcher, Environmental and Marine Biology, ÅAU

Climate change is increasing both flood and drought risks, while degraded catchments and drainage have reduced the landscape’s ability to regulate water and nutrient flows from land to sea. Restoring watershed resilience is essential for enhancing water retention, reducing nutrient losses, and improving water quality, biodiversity and ecosystem health. Achieving this at scale requires robust methods to quantify and value the multiple benefits of restoration, including climate adaptation, environmental improvements and enhanced land productivity.

This workshop will introduce a new research initiative and pilot case that aims to combine nature-based catchment restoration with novel financial instruments, creating pathways to link environmental outcomes with economic value through biodiversity markets.

Participants will identify key knowledge gaps, uncertainties and implementation barriers that currently limit large-scale action. Discussions will focus on evidence needs, monitoring approaches, benefit valuation, and financing mechanisms capable of mobilizing both public and private investment. The results will help shape scalable solutions for resilient catchment restoration across the Archipelago Sea and beyond.

👉 Program and registration: https://sites.abo.fi/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science/annual-meeting-2026/

Åbo Akademi
Stiftelsen för Åbo Akademi

02/09/2026

⏰ Have you already registered for the symposium Thinking with the Sea – Interactions and New Perspectives Inspired by the Blue Humanities? If not, there is still time to register until 21 September!

🎟️ The registration fee (90 €) includes access to all sessions in the program as well as coffee and lunch on both days. Dinner tickets are sold separately for 60 €.

Bachelor’s and master’s students may participate free of charge without separate registration (lunch and dinner not included).

🗓️ When? - 30.9.–1.10.2026
📍 Where? - Forum Marinum, Turku, Finland

👉 Program & registration is available on the symposium website: https://www.abo.fi/en/institute-of-maritime-history/thinking-with-the-sea/

Sjöhistoriska institutet vid Åbo Akademi

10/08/2026

SOS is excited to join over 300 entrepreneurs, business leaders, researchers, investors and innovators next week for the A'Pelago Initiative!

We look forward to contributing to the program and plunging into conversations and collaborations that shape the future of the Blue Economy. 🌊

https://www.apelago.fi/events/apelago-initiative-2026-we-are-the-ocean/

05/08/2026

A great opportunity for MA Arts students, doctoral researchers and newly graduated doctors in the arts, humanities, and sciences!

👇Read more below and apply for the workshop series by Aug. 15:

04/08/2026

What happened when marine ecologists, opera creators, artists, and students gathered on an island to talk about the sea? 🌊

A 90-minute research information session quietly stretched into nearly four hours, and what emerged was something special:
not the usual scientists presenting data and artists presenting artworks, but a genuinely shared space where everyone contributed on equal terms. 🫶

Read the latest SOS blog post on Marine Science, Opera, and Island Time at Korpoström by Einat Amir-Ahola & Christian Pansch-Hattich here: https://sites.abo.fi/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science/blog_marine-science-opera-and-island-time-at-korpostrom/

Åbo Akademi
Skärgårdscentrum Korpoström Saaristokeskus
Pro Artibus

What happened when marine ecologists, opera creators, artists, and students gathered on an island to talk about the sea? A 90-minute research information session quietly stretched into nearly four…

29/07/2026

Innan sommaren kom uppgifter om att Finlands miljöcentral, till följd av budgetnedskärningar, inte kommer att publicera några veckorapporter om blomningen av cyanobakterier, så kallade blågröna alger, i år.

För att råda bot på situationen har marinbiologen Conny Sjöqvist från Fern Orchestra och Åbo Akademis Centre for Sustainable Ocean Science under sommaren granskat satellitbilder och publicerat rapporter om cyanobakterier i Östersjön på sitt Instagram-konto . Uppdateringarna publiceras även på Fern Orchestras Instagram-konto ().

☀️ Sommaren är inte över än och arbetet fortsätter – det lönar sig alltså att följa de nämnda kontona!

Dessutom kan man följa de observationer som SYKE har sammanställt på www.jarviwiki.fi

👉Läs mer: https://yle.fi/a/7-10102252

Conny Sjöqvist delar varje onsdag lägesrapporter om blomningen av cyanobakterier i Östersjön. Han hoppas att folk inte ska glömma bort problemet.

29/07/2026

Ennen kesää kuultiin, että rahoitusleikkausten myötä Suomen ympäristökeskus ei tänä vuonna julkaise viikoittaisia sinileväkatsauksia.

Tilanteen paikkaamiseksi Fern Orchestrasta ja Åbo Akademin Centre for Sustainable Ocean Sciencesta tuttu meribiologi Conny Sjöqvist on kesän ajan tarkistanut satelliittikuvat ja julkaissut tiedotteen Itämeren sinilevätilanteesta Instagram-tilillään . Tiedotteet julkaistaan myös Fern Orchestran Instagram-tilillä ().

☀️ Kesää on vielä jäljellä ja työ jatkuu - kannattaa siis ottaa mainitut tilit seurantaan!

Lisäksi SYKEn kokoamia havaintoja voi tarkkailla osoitteessa www.jarviwiki.fi

MR. CYANOBACTERIA 👑
Annonsbladet/Ilmoituslehti

16/06/2026

Registration is now open for the SOS Annual Meeting!

🗓️ 6–7 October 2026
📍 Åbo Akademi University, Astra (Porthaninkatu 3, Turku)

Join us as we discuss the latest developments at the Centre for Sustainable Ocean Science!

Under the overarching theme of interdisciplinary marine research, we will share results from SOS research that examines maritime traffic, offshore wind development, restoration, and governance challenges in the Archipelago Sea area, as well as the opportunities and obstacles of interdisciplinary and art-science collaborations. We also invite stakeholders to offer their input as we cross the halfway mark of our five-year research plan.

For broader perspectives on tackling critical sustainability and biodiversity challenges, we will hear keynote talks by:
▪️Kirsi-Marja Lonkila (Senior Specialist, Ministry of the Environment)
▪️Satu Teerikangas (Professor of Management and Organization, University of Turku).

The event is free of charge and registration is now open. More details on the program will be made available during the summer!

👉 Program and registration: https://sites.abo.fi/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science/annual-meeting-2026/

Åbo Akademi
Stiftelsen för Åbo Akademi

13/06/2026

Midsummer and the vacation season are just around the corner, but before that, a quick reminder:

⏰ The early bird registration for our symposium "Thinking with the Sea" is open for only a couple more days, until Monday, 15 June!

🎟️ The early bird price is 70 €, and the regular price (valid from 16 June onwards) is 90 €. The registration fee includes access to all sessions in the program as well as coffee and lunch on both days. Dinner tickets are sold separately for 60 €.

Bachelor’s and master’s students may participate free of charge without separate registration (lunch and dinner not included).

The final deadline for registering is 21 September.

👉 Program & registration: https://www.abo.fi/en/institute-of-maritime-history/thinking-with-the-sea/

Sjöhistoriska institutet vid Åbo Akademi

The symposium Thinking with the Sea – Interactions and new perspectives inspired by the Blue Humanities takes place in Turku, Finland in autumn 2026. Within the theme Blue Humanities, we hope to bring…

12/06/2026