I have over three decades of university teaching experience in marine sciences, with a focus on bio-optical oceanography and marine remote sensing. My teaching spans undergraduate, Master’s, and PhD levels, as well as international training and advisory roles in Sweden and across Europe.

I have been teaching at universities since 1989, covering a wide range of subjects including plant physiology, marine biology, the ecology of macroalgae and phytoplankton, physical oceanography, and marine remote sensing.

In recent years, my teaching has focused on Bio-optical Oceanography and Marine Remote Sensing at Stockholm University and KTH. From 2008 to 2016, I coordinated the Nordic Network for Baltic Sea Remote Sensing, where I organised PhD training courses and scientific workshops across the region.

I have also been invited as a lecturer in the ERASMUS Mundus Master’s Programme in Water and Coastal Management, teaching summer courses at Plymouth University (UK) and the University of the Algarve (Portugal) between 2005 and 2010.

Altogether, my teaching experience corresponds to 36 ECTS across basic, Master’s, and PhD levels. I have also completed more than 10 ECTS in formal pedagogical training. In addition, I have published four book chapters on bio-optics and ocean colour remote sensing and contributed to the film The Science of Ocean Colour (directed by Roland Doerffer, 46 min), including the section The Colour of the Baltic Sea (http://www.spicosa.eu/setnet/downloads/).

Beyond academia, I have acted as a national advisor in bio-optics and provided vocational training on bio-optical measurements to Sweden’s key monitoring groups (SMHI, Gothenburg, Umeå, and Stockholm universities). This work was funded by HaV, the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management.

As Principal Investigator of the Marine Remote Sensing Group at Stockholm University, I explore how satellites and bio-optical methods can reveal the hidden dynamics of aquatic ecosystems. From spring blooms in the Baltic Sea to underwater vegetation, my work connects cutting-edge science with practical applications for marine management.

Our research focuses on large-scale process studies of aquatic ecosystems, using bio-optical and remote sensing methods. My PhD thesis compared the bio-optical properties of the Irish Sea and the Baltic Sea, contributing both to ecological understanding and to the advancement of marine remote sensing applications.

The strength of ocean colour research lies in its use of multiple methods and scales of observation, providing a synoptic “window” into pelagic ecosystems. This approach yields new insights into ecosystem structure and functioning. Remote sensing data allow us to study physical drivers and productivity in the sea (e.g. light attenuation, wind, sea surface temperature) and to monitor phytoplankton dynamics. It is particularly valuable for identifying the onset of the spring bloom, tracking the development of summer cyanobacteria blooms, and assessing long-term changes in phenology.

A central focus of my work has been to characterise the inherent optical properties of the Baltic Sea and to develop regional remote sensing algorithms. I have over 20 years of experience in satellite data validation and am an active member of ESA’s MERIS and Sentinel-3 validation teams. I am also Principal Investigator of the NASA AERONET-OC station at Pålgrunden. My research has contributed to the implementation of marine remote sensing methods in coastal and Baltic Sea management. More recently, I have extended this work to include the remote sensing of submerged vegetation.

I have hosted several postdoctoral researchers and supervised six PhD students as main or acting supervisor. Most recently, Sean O’Kane (Maynooth University, Ireland) defended his thesis in May 2025. Sejal Pramlall joined my group for one year as a registered PhD student (May 2023–May 2024). Dr Dmytro Kyryliuk defended Baltic Sea from Space in September 2019. Dr Elina Kari defended Light Conditions in Seasonally Ice-Covered Waters in September 2018. In addition, I co-supervised Dr Krista Alikas at the Tartu Observatory, University of Tartu who defended her thesis in May 2016. Previously, Dr Jose Beltrán-Abaunza defended Remote Sensing in Optically Complex Waters (January 2016), and Dr Therese Harvey defended Bio-optics, Satellite Remote Sensing and Baltic Sea Ecosystems (October 2015).

I have also hosted several ERASMUS+ Master’s and BSc students from France: Martin Allart (INSA Lyon, 2022), Vicky Bravo (INSA Lyon, 2023), and Lise Suchet (Aix-Marseille, 2024). At Stockholm University, Department of Physical Geography, I have supervised Master’s students including Viven Holub, Noemi Marsico, Christian Vinterhav,and Miho Ishii.

My research is strongly collaborative, with close partnerships involving Umeå University; Strömbeck Consulting; Brockmann Geomatics Sweden AB; Pixalytics Ltd., Plymouth (UK); JRC, Ispra (Italy); Tartu Observatory, University of Tartu (Estonia); SYKE, Helsinki (Finland); Brockmann Consult GmbH and Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon (Germany); as well as Dublin City University and Maynooth University (Ireland).