The IOW is a non-university institute dedicated to interdisciplinary marine research on coastal and marginal seas with a special focus on the ecosystems of the Baltic Sea. It comprises five departments:
Physical Oceanography, Marine Chemistry, Biological Oceanography, Marine Geosciences and Marine Observations. The institue's scientific activities are based on the ten-year research programme ‘Perspectives of Coastal Seas’ with three interdisciplinary research areas.
