Organisation

Some 35 people work at Stockholm University Baltic Sea Centre. Most are researchers who work primarily with marine modeling or with analysis and synthesis of marine issues relevant for the society.

The administrative staff includes several employees who work with communication, policy and environmental monitoring. A small group of technical staff work at the Askö Laboratory, managing the field station and ships for research and education.

How we are governed

Stockholm University Baltic Sea Centre is part of the Faculty of Science. The centre has a board appointed by the vice chancellor, with both external and internal members, who decide on budgets, operational plans and issues of a strategic nature.

The Baltic Sea Centre shall focus on the major challenges facing the Baltic Sea environment and contribute to ensuring that scientific knowledge supports the action work of various societal actors.

The Baltic Sea Centre shall support and develop the marine activities at Stockholm University by providing infrastructure resources for research and education, and be a unifying force in terms of research, communication and environmental analysis.

According to statutes established by the Vice-Chancellor

Five goals

Provide field station and research vessels that enable successful research and education.
Conduct research in areas that are important for the Baltic Sea environment, and initiate and coordinate cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary collaborations within Baltic Sea research.
Contribute to education in issues related to the Baltic Sea environment, marine modeling and societal measures.
Increase societys knowledge, interest and commitment for marine environmental issues and marine research, and highlight marine activities at Stockholm University.
Through collaboration, external analysis and communication of research results, contribute to ensuring that Baltic Sea-related decisions and measures are based on a sound scientific foundation.

Management team

The operational responsibility lies with our director and our scientific leader. At their assistance, there is a management team with representatives from the centre's different parts.

Tina Elfwing
Director, Head of Communication

Christoph Humborg
Scientific leader, Baltic Sea Centre

Bo Gustafsson
Scientific leader, Baltic Nest Institute

Gun Rudquist
Head of Policy

Eva Lindell
Head of Askö Laboratory

Thomas Strömsnäs
Commander R/V Electra

Diana Demir
Financial Officer

The Board

Stockholm University Baltic Sea Centre is part of the Faculty of Science. The centre has a board appointed by the Vice-Chancellor who decide on budgets, operational plans and issues of a strategic nature.

Chair

Göran Enander
Former Governor of Uppsala County

Board members

Martin Jakobsson
Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University

Christina Rudén
Department of Environmental Science, Stockholm University

Michael Tedengren
Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University

Gustaf Hugelius
Vice director, Bolin Centre for Climate Research &
Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University

Niklas Eriksson
Department for Archaeology and Classical Studies, Stockholm University

Mats Svensson
Head of Department at the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management

Our working groups

at the Baltic Sea Center is briefly presented here.

Askö laboratory and marine research vessels

The Askö laboratory is beautifully situated on the island of Askö in the Trosa archipelago. It is a national resource, open to anyone who wishes to conduct marine research in the Baltic Proper, hold marine courses at University level or arrange research meetings with a marine focus. In addition to specialized laboratory spaces and teaching halls, there are also several associated ships and boats that are adapted for marine research and teaching.

Analysis and Synthesis

Our researchers form an interdisciplinary team whose projects have a strong focus on being applied and able to support decision-making and administrative processes. The environmental challenges we study are eutrophication, environmental pollutants, fisheries, coastal exploitation and climate change. We apply a source-to-sea approach since:

Many environmental problems in the Baltic Sea are caused by human activities in the catchment area and ...
... the strong gradients of the semi-enclosed sea and stratified character with significant material transport from rivers to coastal waters and open Baltic Sea.

Baltic Nest Institute, decision-support and marine modelling

The Baltic Sea Center focuses on scientific issues that are important for understanding and managing the Baltic Sea and its catchment area. It can be analyzes and syntheses on all scales, from individual bays in the Stockholm archipelago and up to the entire Baltic Sea scale. We work to increase knowledge of important processes in the coastal area, assess how the environmental condition develops and evaluate the effectiveness of various measures.

In this scientific work, models of various kinds are often an important foundation. They are used, among other things, to assist others who work with managing the marine environment with decision-making material. We have, for instance, the Baltic Nest Institute Sweden (BNI), which assists HELCOM with scientific data and calculating emission ceilings for nitrogen and phosphorus within the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan.

Communication and policy analysis

To make important scientific knowledge reach the right recipient at the right time to be included in society's measures for marine environmental issues, the Baltic Sea Center's researchers work closely with a team of advocacy/policy analysts and communications officers. Together, we ensure that Baltic Sea research of societal relevance reaches decision-makers both in the Baltic Sea region and in the EU.

The communication work is also broader to increase interest and knowledge about marine issues. With a wide range of digital channels, printed journals, meetings and events, we reach most people who work with marine research, management and Baltic Sea issues.