Photo: R. Kautsky/Azote
The ocean is essential for human well-being. It shapes the Earth’s climate, provides a key source of food and livelihoods, and enables a growing range of economic activities.
An unprecedented expansion of human activity in the ocean has caused the connections between ocean health and people to become increasingly complex, diverse and dynamic.
Whole new ocean industries have emerged in recent decades, “blue food” gained new recognition at the nexus of nutrition, health and planetary boundaries, and stark equity and inclusivity challenges have grown increasingly pronounced. All, while ocean systems are being reshaped by a changing climate.
The ocean research at the Centre aims to produce the best possible science for a more sustainable and equitable future for the ocean. While embracing a diversity of research interests, this research area is placing particular emphasis around five focal research areas that together contribute towards a more equitable and sustainable future:
- Ocean dynamics – work in this topic captures the interconnected changes and understanding in climate, biogeochemistry, biodiversity, ecosystems, and ecosystem services that together shape the functioning and resilience of the ocean.
- Ocean health – this work focuses on comprehensive health assessments and how these can be used to manage the ocean sustainably from a social-ecological systems perspective
- Ocean equity – work within this focal area deals with understanding the dimensions and drivers of ocean inequity and identifying pathways to fairer distribution of ocean benefits.
- Ocean risk – risk exists across all levels of the ocean, from ecosystems to local communities and transnational corporations. Work in this area focuses on understanding, quantifying and addressing risk and potential transformation pathways across local to global scales and social and ecological dimensions.
- Ocean futures – the ocean and humanity’s relationship with it are rapidly changing, growing more complex and dynamic over time. Work within this focal area uses the full range of tools available to model, predict and imagine the future of the ocean.
At the core of the research, there is a commitment to understand the underlying processes of social and ecological system dynamics to sustainably manage the ocean, and seek constructive engagement with the full range of actors and stakeholders towards sustainable management and transformation pathways, ranging from local communities and NGOs to international policymakers and the private sector.
The Stockholm Resilience Centre is a member of Stockholm University’s Marine Research Network, launched in June 2025, together with the Baltic Sea Centre and the Bolin Centre for Climate Research.
Ocean projects
Key publications about Ocean
Crona, B.I., Wassénius, E., Jonell, M., Koehn, J.Z., Short, R., Tigchelaar, M., Daw, T.M., Golden, C.D., Gephart, J.A., Allison, E.H. and Bush, S.R., 2023. Four ways blue foods can help achieve food system ambitions across nations. Nature, 616(7955), pp.104-112.
Jouffray, J.B., Blasiak, R., Norström, A.V., Österblom, H. and Nyström, M., 2020. The blue acceleration: the trajectory of human expansion into the ocean. One earth, 2(1), pp.43-54
Jouffray, J.B., Blasiak, R., Norström, A.V., Österblom, H. and Nyström, M., 2020. The blue acceleration: the trajectory of human expansion into the ocean. One earth, 2(1), pp.43-54
Blasiak, R., Jouffray, J.B., Norström, A., Queiroz, C., Wabnitz, C.C. and Österblom, H., 2023. The Ocean Decade as an instrument of peace. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 64, p.101319.
Blasiak, R. and Claudet, J., 2024. Governance of the High Seas. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 49.
Blenckner, T., C. Möllmann, J. Stewart Lowndes, J. R. Griffiths, E. Campbell, A. De Cervo, A. Belgrano, C. Boström, et al. 2021. The Baltic Health Index (BHI): Assessing the social–ecological status of the Baltic Sea. People and Nature n/a. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. doi:10.1002/pan3.10178.
Bourgeois, T., G. T. Tran, A. Jeltsch-Thömmes, J. Schwinger, F. Fröb, T. L. Frölicher, T. Blenckner, O. Torres, et al. 2025. Mapping the safe operating space of marine ecosystems under contrasting emission pathways. Biogeosciences 22: 5435–5462. doi:10.5194/bg-22-5435-2025.
Heinze, C., T. Blenckner, H. Martins, D. Rusiecka, R. Döscher, M. Gehlen, N. Gruber, E. Holland, et al. 2021. The quiet crossing of ocean tipping points. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118: e2008478118. doi:10.1073/pnas.2008478118.
Ammar, Y., R. Voss, S. Niiranen, and T. Blenckner. 2021. Quantifying socio‐economic novelty in fisheries social‐ecological systems. Fish and Fisheries: faf.12626. doi:10.1111/faf.12626.
