As part of the SEA-EU Master Research Internships programme, the University Department of Marine Studies at the University of Split recently hosted Bahne Thiel Peters from the University of Kiel, who successfully completed his research internship in Split. His visit was part of a wider SEA-EU alliance initiative aimed at strengthening international scientific cooperation and providing students with valuable hands-on research experience in an academic setting.
During his stay, Bahne worked on the project MedSea Spatio-Temporal Clustering, using Copernicus Global Ocean Physics Reanalysis data on temperature and salinity at depths of 50 m, 300 m, and 1000 m across the Mediterranean. Applying four different autoencoder architectures (AE, VAE, CAE, VCAE), he explored compact latent representations of oceanographic maps, which he then grouped into nine clusters to identify interannual changes. Traditional K-means clustering was also applied as a reference. By masking irrelevant regions and combining convolution-based spatial extraction with latent regularisation, the project enabled robust analyses of long-term thermohaline trends.
The research, conducted in collaboration with Frano Matić (Department of Marine Studies) and Hrvoje Kalinić (Department of Informatics), highlights the potential of neural networks and deep learning to enhance our understanding of complex changes in marine environments.
Bahne presented his findings in the lecture “Neural Networks in Oceanography” on 16 July in Split, which stimulated lively discussion on the role of artificial intelligence in oceanographic research.
Erasmus+ Perspective: Veronica from Politecnica delle Marche
In addition to Bahne, the Department also welcomed Veronica, a PhD student from Politecnica delle Marche, who is undertaking Erasmus+ mobility research on the impact of climate change on the phenology of benthic species in temperate marine areas. She focuses on red and yellow gorgonians, habitat-forming species currently threatened by marine heatwaves throughout the Mediterranean. Veronica is continuing her fieldwork on the island of Vis, monitoring gorgonian colonies following a significant mucilaginous event.
Opportunities for Students
The SEA-EU Master Research Internships programme offers Master’s students from SEA-EU partner universities, including UNIST, the opportunity to work with more than 100 research teams during the 2024/2025 academic year. Research areas include climate change, marine biology, engineering, sustainable tourism, and the application of artificial intelligence in marine science.
Students can apply by submitting a CV, motivation letter, and transcript of records directly to the research teams. Detailed instructions are available at:
🔗 University of Split – SEA-EU Master Research Internships
🔗 SEA-EU – Master Research Internships 2025
Join the Next Wave
Be part of the next generation of SEA-EU Master Research Internships. Expand your academic horizons, gain hands-on research experience, and join an international community of emerging marine scientists.
