The National Institute of Oceanography, is located in Haifa (Tel Shekmona) on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The institute engages in research and development in marine sciences and provides information and professional advice to the government and the public sector in the context of the sustainable utilization and conservation of Israel’s marine and coastal resources.
The institute includes four research departments:
The oceanographic studies at the Institute are engaged in research, monitoring, and collecting environmental data in the Mediterranean Sea and in studying natural and unnatural processes. The research topics at the institute include subjects such as; flow and mixing processes; oceaografic models; material cycles; sediment transportation and geological processes; the structure of the seabed; physiology, immunology, and ecology of marine organisms and the populations’ dynamics; the biological diversity in offshore waters and deep seas; effects of human activity on the open sea and coastal environment.
The Institute operates the National Marine Information Centers, which collects, records, and distributes data and information about Israel’s marine environment.
A significant part of the institute’s research deals with regional and global marine issues. The institute collaborates with a variety of universities and research institutes around the world and participates and presents Israel in multinational research and monitoring programs.
The professionals in the institute number about 80 researchers, engineers, research assistants, and technicians with specializations in various fields of marine sciences. In addition, students from higher education institutions in Israel and abroad work together with the institute and carry out postgraduate research under the guidance of the institute’s researchers.
IOLR operates advanced instruments and national infrastructures for marine research and monitoring, such as; the national research vessel “Bat Galim”, small ships, and autonomous underwater gliders. A variety of mapping, sampling, and data collection operated using the R/V, and independent systems placed at sea for continuous monitoring of environmental variables. The institute has analytical laboratories (chemical and biological) and pumping systems that supply 24/7 flowing seawater.
The institute provides a variety of professional services: marine mapping, marine surveys, laboratory tests, monitoring, active environmental surveys, and professional advice.
IOLR operates a science-seeking youth activity unit that holds seminars, classes, and science workshops for students from all over the country on marine environment issues.
