Instituto Español de Oceanografía – IEO CSIC

The Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO-CSIC) is a scientific research centre affiliated with the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). The IEO represents Spain at numerous international scientific and technological forums regarding the sea and its resources.

It has nine coastal oceanographic centres, five experimental facilities for marine cultures, 12 tide gauge stations, one satellite image receiving station, and a fleet of five oceanographic vessels.

The IEO’s Marine Contamination Group was created in 1984, and it has been responsible at the national level for the systematic study of contamination along the Spanish coastline since 1990, in compliance with the requirements of the OSPAR Convention, which was signed by fifteen European countries. Since 2010, the group has been responsible for implementing Descriptor 8 (Contaminants) of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) at the national level.

The group’s members advise the Public Administration and represent Spain in various scientific forums, work groups and international committees related to the study of marine contamination.