Dr. Ali Mehdinia's conversation with Sinapress news agency
The Vice President of Research and Education of the National Institute of Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences announced the compilation of comprehensive information on the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, the preparation of an atlas of oceanographic maps of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, and the identification and introduction of more than 25 new biological species in the seas of Iran.
Dr. Ali Mehdinia, in a conversation with the reporter Sinapress news agency He said: Currently, this research institute has three research institutes of ocean sciences, technology and marine engineering, and atmospheric sciences and more than 35 faculty members in various fields of oceanic-atmospheric sciences. Also, to the Persian Gulf explorer (a fully research vessel of the country) and reference specialized laboratories in the fields of chemistry, biology and marine geology (as a certified laboratory of the Environmental Protection Organization ISO 17025) is equipped.
The member of the scientific staff of the National Research Institute of Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences discussed other capabilities of this research institute and added: This research institute is equipped with the most advanced sampling tools and oceanographic gauges in the country and has research stations in the coastal strip of the country in the cities of Nowshahr, Chabahar, Bandar Abbas and Bushehr. It also has national centers for oceanic and marine data, prediction and warning of marine hazards and Antarctic research.
He also pointed to the international capabilities of this research institute and said: The National Research Institute of Oceanography has the license of the West Asia Regional Center of Oceanography from UNESCO. Also as the national coordinator of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) affiliated with (UNESCO) operates as the most important international intergovernmental organization of oceanography in the world. This research institute, while being the national authority for Antarctic research, is the main authority of the international committee for the corresponding standard of water quality.TC147) is from ISO International Organization, he is responsible for the Union of Universities and Coastal and Marine Research Centers, the National Oceanographic Committee, the National Oceanographic Research and Technology Network, and the Education and Culture Committee of the Supreme Council of Oceanography.
Registration of 3 international patents and 11 national patents
Mehdinia noted: Now, with such national and international capabilities, we have been able to achieve many achievements. Publication of 518 articles ISI ، 473 Scopus article and 278 scientific-research articles are among these achievements.
Regarding this practical achievement, he said: Examining the scientific output of research institutes in the form of articles in publications indexed in reliable international databases is one of the tools for measuring and evaluating research institutes. Publications are often ranked in these databases and placed in categories based on quality. In citation databases, success in receiving citations is the main criterion for this ranking. base JCR It is one of the most reliable databases that can be used to obtain information about publications. According to the report ISC A review of the articles of Iranian research institutes that have been published in publications with an impact factor shows that the National Research Institute of Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences ranks 12th among 52 research institutes, institutes and research centers in the country with the number of articles by 1.43 faculty members per capita. The average impact factor of published articles by research institute researchers was 2.082.
According to the vice president of research and education of the National Research Institute of Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences, holding more than 10 comprehensive oceanographic tours of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, implementing 275 internal projects, 72 student projects and 91 projects related to industry, 20 international projects, launching 3 large-scale coastal, sea and climate monitoring programs and conducting regular research tours, registering 3 international patents, 11 national patents and 14 technologies with technological readiness level (TRL(equal to or higher than 6), the name of one of the scientific staff members of the research institute being among the top 2% scientists in the world, the executive arm of the marine environment monitoring research of the Environmental Protection Organization, the research arm of the Ministry of Petroleum in studies related to new sources of hydrocarbons in Iranian seas are other scientific and research achievements of this research institute.
A member of the scientific staff of the National Research Institute of Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences told Sinapress: This research institute is one of the main authorities for investigating the effects of climate change on the seas and coasts at the national and regional levels. It is also a leader in the research of Iranian seafaring history and underwater cultural heritage studies. He also has the title of the winner of the Iranian Science Promotion Award of the Ministry of Ataf in his record.
He added: Identification and introduction of more than 25 new biological species in Iranian seas and effective cooperation in revising master's and doctoral courses in marine biology, marine physics, marine geology, meteorology and marine chemistry are other scientific and research achievements of this collection.
He emphasized: the establishment of the corresponding international ISO water quality committee in the research institute since 2017 and selection as a national and provincial model committee in two periods, compiling comprehensive information on the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, preparing oceanographic atlases of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, operational modeling of waves in the Iranian seas, launching the country's ocean data system, providing marine knowledge and technology in school textbooks, holding more than 25 conferences and specialized international scientific training courses with the participation of International and regional experts and specialists in the framework of the activities of the West Asian Regional Educational Research Center since 2016, receiving international certificates, including the quality framework for marine data management from UNESCO, which so far only a few countries have received the said certificate, is one of the other achievements of the National Research Institute of Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences.
Mehdinia reminded: Also, this research institute has succeeded in becoming the vice president of the Central Indian Ocean Regional Committee.IOCINDIO(affiliated with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, regional representative of the Biogeographical Information System in the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea)OBIS), vice president of the Inter-Islamic Oceanographic Science and Technology Network (INOC) and be the representative of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology in compiling the scientific research cooperation document of the Caspian Sea for 5 Caspian Sea countries and an active member of the Union of State Universities of the Caspian Sea Countries.
Implementation of sea-oriented development programs in cooperation with ministries
Mehdinia pointed out other activities of the research institute in line with the implementation of sea-oriented development programs and told Sinapress in this regard: In line with sea-oriented development programs, we have cooperated with the Ministry of Petroleum in the exploration project of gas hydrate resources in the Oman Sea and with the Ministry of Jihad and Agriculture to identify potential areas for the development of fish farming in cages in the Persian Gulf, the Oman Sea and the Caspian Sea. Also, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Energy, we have cooperated in the location of areas prone to the construction of desalination plants in the coastal areas of the south of the country.
The Vice President of Research and Education of the National Research Institute of Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences stated: the implementation of studies on the development and improvement of existing ports and the location and design of new ports and related industries with the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development (Ports and Maritime Organization), the identification plan of Iran's historical ports and the study of Iranian maritime history with the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development (Ports and Maritime Organization), the monitoring studies of Iranian seas and the preparation of maps of sensitive coral habitats and mangrove ecosystems with the Environmental Protection Organization, the possibility Taking advantage of the Persian Gulf explorer in the field of marine ecotourism with the Ministry of Tourism, implementing marine crafts training workshops especially for women in the southern coastal provinces, implementing specialized training workshops and science promotion programs focusing on the importance of sea-oriented development and marine protection among other programs. It is considered a research institute.
He stated: Conducting deep marine studies for the exploration of gas hydrate resources in the Oman Sea, holding a training course on social responsibility towards the marine environment for 200 primary school students in Bushehr, Bandar Abbas, Mazandaran and Sistan and Baluchistan provinces, holding the first national idea generation event in the field of ocean-atmospheric science and engineering, opening the largest marine library in Bushehr province, holding a marine crafts workshop for Bushehri women, selecting dozens of specialized workshops and several training courses in the field various ocean sciences, holding an international conference on the impact of climate change on the marine environment of the Indian Ocean, launching the ocean knowledge section on the new website of the research institute with the aim of improving the marine knowledge of the general public are among the research-educational activities of the research institute in the last one year.
Mehdinia stated: Conducting studies related to the identification of the sources and main points of entry of microplastics into the southern part of the Caspian Sea, conducting studies on changes in the level of the Caspian Sea and publishing it in the most important international journals, placing the name of the researcher of the research institute among the best in society and industry cooperation, obtaining the ISO 9001:2015 international standard certificate with the aim of achieving maximum satisfaction of the service users, registering the international sampling guide standard for the parameters of the ocean carbon system by the research institute in the international organization ISO, attending tourism exhibitions, implementing the quantity estimation project Soil and blue carbon deposited in Iran's mangrove forests along the Persian Gulf, registration of 7 new technologies in Iran's technology evaluation system is also one of the flagship research-educational programs of the research institute. In the last year.