As I write this, the world is stumbling from the Covid-19 pandemic that has barely passed, into a fresh crisis, the war in Ukraine. When I joined the institute in November 2021, there was some hope that the worst of the Covid-19 crisis was over. Yet, it would take another lockdown to get back on our feet, and while by now, most restrictions are gone, we face the uncertainty associated with the Ukraine crisis. NIOZ and its employees share the fear and anxieties of all of us as we move into this era of increased geopolitical uncertainty.

The past two years have not been easy for, in particular, PhDs and postdocs who saw their fieldwork cancelled, access to laboratories restricted, and research cruises postponed. While we have been able to provide some support by extending the contracts of those students that were most severely affected by the lockdowns and postponement of fieldwork, there is now a generation of PhDs that have had to do a considerable amount of their work in sub-optimal conditions. This requires our attention not only to their scientific performance but also their mental well-being. Just before my arrival, Alex Cofino, the head of the department of National Marine Research Facilities suddenly passed away. This was a severe loss, first of all to his family but also to NIOZ where Alex was a key player in the web of the fleet renewal.

It is a sign of the strength of NIOZ and a tribute to the previous director Henk Brinkhuis and his management team, that despite these setbacks, in 2021 NIOZ saw a significant scientific output, acquisition of new grants and important progress in the fleet renewal. We also saw a large number of new PhDs join us as part of the collaboration between Utrecht University and NIOZ, and several tenure track candidates were able to achieve tenure. NIOZ is healthy, vibrant and ready to play an increasingly important role in Netherlands Marine Research as put forth in our Strategic Science plan.

Climate change and biodiversity are intrinsically linked to how we humans deal with our environment. Oceans and coastal areas are under pressure from humans in ways never experienced before. However, they can also provide solutions to some of our problems. The oceans play an important role in mitigating climate change as they absorb virtually all of the energy caused by the greenhouse gas effect and take up a significant amount of carbon that is released from our burning of fossil fuels. Coastal areas are under pressure, while building with nature solutions are being developed to adapt to steadily increasing sea levels. NIOZ researchers continue to contribute in a variety of impressive ways to climate monitoring, sea level predictions and nature-based solutions.