The National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS) is responsible for "promoting, coordinating and conducting study and research concerned with knowledge of the earth and its resources ... in collaboration with other national, international, community and foreign institutions."

The institute participates in international networks linking centres of excellence for the implementation of research and development projects requiring complex organization and large-scale infrastructure.

OGS's most valuable and unique faculty is the research vessel OGS-Explora, acquired in 1988 for the National Antarctic Research Programme. Studies and research conducted onboard the OGS-Explora are designed to promote greater understanding of the dynamics and interaction of the sea with the lithosphere and atmosphere.

Buoys and seabed-anchored underwater instruments in the Trieste Gulf provide valuable information about the evolving state of the sea surrounding the city.