The Institute belongs to the CSIC’s Natural Resources Area and is the largest marine research center in Spain and one of the most important in the Mediterranean region. It is entirely devoted to the study of oceans and seas.
The Institute’s long experience and a team of over 200 specialists in different fields of oceanographic research (physics, chemistry, geology and biology) give the ICM a broad vision of the marine ecosystem, and the ability to assess changes and human impacts on the environment and seek appropriate solutions.
The ICM is constituted by four departments: 1. Marine Biology and Oceanography 2. Marine Geosciences 3. Physical and Technological Oceanography 4.Renewable Marine Resources.
The researchers of these departments take part in national and international projects and in oceanographic surveys in almost all the seas and oceans of the world.
To facilitate the scientific work of its staff, the ICM also has various technical and support services, which are presented briefly below. Some of these services (Chemical Analysis, Coastal Ocean Observatory, Electron Microscopy, Biological and Geological Collections and Flow Cytometry) can be used by researchers from other institutions and by the general public (Library). In conjunction with the CSIC's publications service, the ICM publishes Scientia Marina, the only scientific journal dedicated to oceanography that is published in Spain.
As public institutions, the ICM is also committed to communicating and disseminating the knowledge acquired through their activities.