The Institute of Oceanology of CAS (IOCAS) – 中国科学院海洋研究所, located in Qingdao, Shandong Province, was founded in 1950. The institute currently employs nearly 500 scientific and technical personnel, including 175 senior research technicians and 101 doctoral instructors.
IOCAS is home to five CAS key laboratories in the following fields:
- Experimental marine biology
- Marine ecology and environmental sciences
- Ocean circulation and wave studies
- Marine geology and environment
- Marine corrosion and protection
The institute also has an institute-level key laboratory dedicated to the study of marine organism taxonomy and phylogeny.
Additionally, IOCAS hosts three R&D centers focused on marine biotechnology, marine environmental engineering, and marine corrosion and protection.
The institute operates several specialized facilities, including:
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Corrosion and Environment Sciences
- Jiaozhou Bay National Marine Ecosystem Research Station
- CAS Regional Center for Marine Science
- Supercomputing Center
Together, these form a multidisciplinary research system covering all major areas of marine science.
IOCAS is also home to the CAS Marine Biological Specimen Museum, which is the largest of its kind in China and houses the most comprehensive collection of marine biological specimens in Asia, with more than 778,000 specimens. The museum also holds 1,475 type specimens discovered and named by IOCAS scientists. Over 50,000 specimens have been digitized, and nearly 30,000 are available for digital sharing.
The CAS Mariculture Core Gene Bank has preserved 60 species of macro and micro marine algae and more than 1,000 culture systems, supporting the sustainable development of China’s aquaculture industry.
More information: http://english.qdio.cas.cn.
