Martin Visbeck is the CEO of OceanQuest, a Saudi Arabian not-for-profit foundation, incubated by KAUST, with a mission to accelerate ocean discovery, drive innovation in the field, support global cooperation, and excite the public.
His research interests revolve around ocean’s role in the climate system, ocean circulation, upwelling systems, integrated global ocean observation, digital-twins of the ocean and the ocean dimension of sustainable development. He led the ‘Future Ocean’ Network in Kiel to advance integrated marine sciences by bringing together different disciplines to work on marine issues.
He serves on a number of national and international advisory committees including the WMO Research Board, Joint Scientific Committee of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), leadership council of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), Interim Decade Advisory Board for the UN Decade of Ocean Science Decade for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 and the Assembly supporting the development of the EU Horizon Europe Ocean Mission. He is the past President of The Oceanography Society (TOS), and was elected fellow of the AGU, AMS, TOS and the European Academy of Sciences. Currently, he is on leave from his position as Chair in Physical Oceanography at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and Kiel University, Germany.
Visbeck is involved in strategic planning and decision-making processes about the ocean and sustainable development at a national, European and global level.
The page was updated in May 2025.
