Marine research infrastructure and Aranda

Marine research facilities of the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) include the research vessel Aranda and a wide range of research and analysis instruments and laboratory services.

Syke research facilities and instruments (FINMARI website)

Photo: Ilkka Lastumäki

Aranda – a modern, ice-strengthened marine research vessel

RV Aranda is a modern, ice-strengthened research vessel managed by the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) and owned by the state of Finland. The vessel is adapted to demanding biological, physical and chemical research in the open sea. Aranda is a key element of the infrastructure for research and monitoring of the Baltic Sea.

Read more about Aranda

Photo: Ilkka Lastumäki

Marine ecological research laboratory

The marine ecological research laboratory is part of Syke´s infrastructure supporting the marine research. The laboratory conducts experimental plankton research and is responsible for phytoplankton, zooplankton and benthos analytics.

The Marine Research Laboratory is involved in several international projects, which study the current state and future scenarios of the marine environment. In addition, Syke contributes to the development of the Utö Atmospheric and Marine Research Station, which is located in an excellent position for monitoring the state of the coastal sea and ship emissions.

Photo: Ilkka Lastumäki

FINMARI, Finnish Marine Research Infrastructure

FINMARI is the Finnish Marine Research Infrastructure consortium, coordinated by Finnish Environment Institute. FINMARI develops and maintains the national platform of facilities and instruments required for cutting-edge research of temporal and spatial marine processes and observation of the state and changes in the Baltic Sea through intensive, partly real-time, automatic measurements.

FINMARI enables long-term marine research and marine expertise in Finland which is high-quality even on a global scale. The information produced by FINMARI is not only utilized in basic research, but also in the development of monitoring and ecosystem models and the validation of satellite measurements.

Key projects

Blue Platform project
Funded through the EU Interreg Baltic Sea Region programme, the project compiles the information and materials produced in various blue bioeconomy projects in the Baltic Sea Region into an easily accessible form for all the relevant actors in the field. This information bank will also serve as a link to a bio bioeconomy network, composed of experts from different countries in the Baltic Sea Region and experts in various blue bioeconomy topics. The network will organize various events, produce more knowledge and provide information about topics in the field. The network will also produce reports to support decision-making in the EU.
Alliance+ project
Created in the previous Baltic Blue Biotechnology Alliance project, the purpose of the ALLIANCE network is to help new entrepreneurs in blue biotechnology to develop and test their ideas and turn them into products. Funded through the EU Interreg Baltic Sea Region programme, the Alliance+ project strengthens this existing network. New experts are recruited to the network and trained to act as mentors. The project also aims to identify investors interested in blue biotech to enable product development and business operations.
Spatial and Temporal Variability of Ambient Underwater Sound in the Baltic Sea
Application of hydrogen fuel cells in Arctic maritime transport (MARANDA)
Marine application of a new fuel cell powertrain validated in demanding arctic conditions