Italy Trieste

National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics

The National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale, OGS) is a public research body based in Trieste, whose lineage runs back to the Imperial and Royal Astronomical and Meteorological Observatory founded in 1753. It… The National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale, OGS) is a public research body based in Trieste, whose lineage runs back to the Imperial and Royal Astronomical and Meteorological Observatory founded in 1753. It became an autonomous national institute in 1958 and now reports to the Ministry of University and Research. OGS carries out research in oceanography, marine biology and ecology, seismology, exploration geophysics and polar science, and operates the research vessel Laura Bassi, Italy's only icebreaker, which supports the national programmes in Antarctica and the Arctic. It runs the national seismological network for north-eastern Italy, maintains long-term monitoring of the Adriatic and the Southern Ocean, and hosts substantial computing and marine data infrastructure serving the wider European research community.