As a key regulator of the global climate and an exceptional reservoir of biodiversity, the ocean is facing unprecedented anthropogenic and climatic pressures. In the face of these upheavals, traditional scientific expertise is showing its limitations: compartmentalized into disciplinary silos, it too often struggles to guide decision-making and action. In a perspective published in the prestigious journal npj Ocean Sustainability (Nature group), scientists from the Institute of Ocean Sciences at Aix Marseille Université and the EOREA (European Ocean Research and Education Alliance) assert that: interdisciplinarity is no longer merely a methodological ideal; it is a scientific and political necessity.
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Transcending disciplinary boundaries to take more effective action
Titled “Interdisciplinarity in marine sciences is key to addressing ocean challenges,” this perspective article advocates for making interdisciplinarity a cornerstone of marine science. To address issues as complex and ever-evolving as plastic pollution, the expansion of offshore wind energy, coastal erosion, and deep-sea mining, a single field of expertise is no longer sufficient. It is becoming essential to integrate methods, data, and perspectives.
For example, the creation of a marine protected area or a coastal infrastructure project is viable only if it integrates, from the very beginning, biogeochemistry, maritime law, and engineering, as well as sociology, economics, and local knowledge. The study and implementation of sustainable solutions and effective public policies require fostering dialogue among various fields of expertise and the stakeholders involved.
Interdisciplinarity does not come naturally, and funding, evaluation criteria, and career paths remain largely organized around individual disciplines. The authors therefore call for a shift in institutional practices: fostering long-term collaborations, recognizing collective work, training researchers in interdisciplinary methods, and more fully involving public and economic actors as well as civil society in knowledge production.
Transforming education and research
The group calls for a structural overhaul of research and higher education. This involves rethinking academic evaluation criteria—which still penalize hybrid career paths—and training a new generation of specialists capable of engaging in dialogue beyond their fields of expertise.
At amU, this momentum is already evident through 21 interdisciplinary university-wide institutes—including the OCEAN Institute—innovative degree programs such as the DESU in International Ocean Governance, and the Interdisciplinarity Mission, which is responsible for amplifying and supporting this transformation across the entire university.
According to the authors of the article, without higher education and research playing a leading role in this transition, short-term considerations risk dictating the agenda. Interdisciplinary collaboration must therefore become a shared responsibility—a new framework linking scientific excellence to justice, and science to society.
To learn more, read the full open-access article in Nature Portfolio / npj Ocean Sustainability:
Reference:
Thomas, S., Tribot, A.S., Carson, S.G. , et al. Interdisciplinarity in marine sciences is key to addressing ocean challenges. npj Ocean Sustain 5, 43 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-026-00209-x
Full list of authors: Sarah Thomas, Anne-Sophie Tribot, Siri Granum Carson, Loic Roulette, François Sabatier, Virginie Sanial, and Richard Sempéré
Article published on September 15, 2026
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