150 years NIOZ - Photo exhibition

On 8 July 1876, the movable field station of the Netherlands Zoological Society, little more than a wooden hut, was placed on the sea dike of Den Helder. This moment marked the start of an institute dedicated to marine research in the Netherlands, directly on the coast.

Now, 150 years later, NIOZ has grown into a fully-fledged institute with around 350 staff members, working at two locations on the Wadden Sea and North Sea (Texel) and the Southwest Delta (Yerseke), and supported by a modern research fleet. NIOZ is the national oceanographic institute of the Netherlands and the country’s centre of expertise on the sea. We empower marine science from across the Netherlands.

Photo 1: Movable field station (around 1880)
Photo 2: RV Adriaen Coenen (2022) transporting the Richel tidal tower

Marine research often began on fishing or naval vessels. In 1933, the first dedicated research vessel was introduced: a motor cutter of about 15 meters with a laboratory on board. The ship was named after zoologist Max Weber and christened by his wife and fellow scientist, the phycologist Anna Weber-van Bosse.

Almost a century later, the nearly 80-metre ocean-going flagship of the Dutch research fleet is named after her. With three modern vessels, NIOZ is ready for today’s and tomorrow’s generations of marine researchers seeking knowledge about the seas, climate and biodiversity, and answers to new scientific questions.

Photo 1: Paddle tug Wodan hired for North Sea research (1910s)
Photo 2: RV Anna Weber-van Bosse (sea trials 2026)

Different marine environments require different types of research vessels. Today, NIOZ operates a fleet of modern vessels that enable research in a wide range of environments, each equipped with instruments and facilities suited to its specific tasks.

Photo 1: RV Max Weber for Wadden Sea research (from 1933)
Photo 2: RV Wim Wolff for Wadden Sea research (from 2024)

In 1957 it was decided that research would focus on the four pillars of oceanography: biology, chemistry, physics and geology. Today this also includes fields such as biogeochemistry, marine microbiology and palaeoclimatology. For example, we study the past through sediments on the seafloor, investigating ancient climates and even the evolution of microbes, the “tree of life” from which the human cell ultimately emerged. Today, NIOZ research spans topics from climate to biodiversity.

Photo 1: Zoological Station laboratory (1890)
Photo 2: Marine microbiology laboratory (2020)

Where research once began with counting and describing species, NIOZ scientists now focus more on understanding complex ecosystems. For example, we study how species work together to build stable deltas and protect coastlines. 

We measure processes at sea to map ocean currents and the cycles of heat, elements and greenhouse gases. Using powerful computing, we translate large datasets into models that predict how the sea will behave in the future. Understanding systems and their connections helps us look ahead.

Photo 1: Teacher training course (1933)
Photo 2: Field flume experiment, Sweden (2018) – photo: Eduardo Infantes Oanes
 

From the beginning, researchers have been driven by curiosity about what lives and moves in and around the sea. After 150 years, that curiosity remains unchanged.

How does an ocean current work? What happens when seawater warms or absorbs more CO₂? How does coastal vegetation protect shorelines, and which types are most effective? Which species live in sediments today, and which lived there in the distant past?

The urge to understand drives our researchers to carry out their work all over the world, sometimes in extreme conditions.

Photo 1: Course of the Netherlands Zoological Society (1933)
Photo 2: Migratory bird fieldwork in Alaska (2023)

Over 150 years, much changes, yet some things remain the same. A sediment sample from the Wadden Sea is still taken with a simple coring tube. By working in the same way year after year, sometimes for decades, scientists can build exceptionally long time series of measurements.

Since 1861, the temperature of the seawater in the Marsdiep has been measured daily. And since 1959, NIOZ has used a fish fyke in the Marsdiep near Texel to monitor how many fish occur there and which species are present. Only then do very slow changes in ecosystems become visible: more southern fish species such as gilthead seabream now have appeared in the North Sea. Faster changes are visible as well: since 1980 the temperature of Wadden Sea water has already risen by more than 2.0 degrees.

Photo 1: Fish fyke in the Marsdiep (from 1959)
Photo 2: Fish fyke in the Marsdiep (around 2004)

Marine research often requires advanced technology. Instruments must withstand the pressure of the deep sea, and autonomous gliders can travel through the ocean for months while collecting data.

In our laboratories we analyse samples with exceptional precision. What makes NIOZ unique is that much of this equipment is developed in-house. Scientists and technicians work closely together to design and build complex instruments that do exactly what the research requires.

Photo 1: Light measurements in seawater (1930s)
Photo 2: Collecting water samples with a CTD rosette (2022)