The Institute of Oceanography, University of Gdansk is the only scientific and academic institution in Poland, which conducts systematic research in marine sciences. Individual teams work on various problems of the Baltic Sea, from physical processes, chemistry of seawater and marine sediments, geological changes in the seafloor and the coast, to the biology and ecology of marine organisms. All these problems are closely related to the issue of the Baltic environment protection. Thanks to the well-defined direction of the research and interdisciplinary approach, the Institute of Oceanography has made an important contribution to better understanding of the processes proceeding in the marine environment. The research programmes of the Institute are realised within four departments: Physical Oceanography, Marine Biology and Ecology, Marine Chemistry and Environmental Protection, Marine Geology, and the Marine Station at Hel. Special emphasis is placed on investigations into the state of the coastal ecosystems and the impact of human activity on its living and non-living resources.

The Department of Physical Oceanography is involved in studies of sea dynamics and the abiotic factors of coastal water ecosystems. Problem of ocean surface waves, ocean currents and interactions between terrestrial and open-sea waters are of special interest. The properties of seawater are investigated by field measurements, numerical modelling and by remote satellite sensing techniques.

The Institute has an excellent computer base, including a wide access to the Academic Computer Centre in Gdansk (TASK). TASK is one of the biggest and most modern metropolitan area networks in Poland. It is an inter-university unit, administrating the computer network and the Supercomputer Centre. The Supercomputer Centre is an integral part of TASK, and is equipped in modern mainframe computers IBM, SGI and SUN together with a large archive system. Very rich software installed on computers of our Centre makes it possible to perform the large-scale calculations within various fields of science and technology.

Institute of Oceanography has a successful tradition in both the co-ordination of and participation at different sorts of national research projects. In the last five years researchers at the Institute have been participating in some 30-research projects funded by the State Committee for Scientific Research (KBN). Additionally, more than 100 individual projects have been supported by KBN via the University of Gdansk. The unquestionable success is the fact that, on the basis of the Committee for Scientific Research evaluation of Polish Institutes engaged in Natural Sciences, the Institute of Oceanography, University of Gdansk was assigned to the highest category A and ranked second on the list. Due to its high position the Institute has gained recognition of other scientific institutes and is well prepared to play the leading role in the Polish Marine Research Network.

Among the research programs of the Institute there is an ongoing project in which a coupled wave-current model based on wave forecasting models, on the one hand, and the hydrodynamic current model on the other hand is being developed. Within the project the wind wave field in the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Gdansk is modelled using the WAM (WAve Model) Cycle 4 and SWAN (Simulating WAves Nearshore) Cycle III models in a nested model chain. Both the WAM and SWAN are third-generation wave forecasting models. The wind-driven currents in the Baltic Sea ? Gulf of Gdansk area are modelled with the POM (Princeton Ocean Model) model.