Life under extreme conditions at hot springs in the ocean

Nov 21, 2019

Marine researchers at Kiel University decipher adaptation mechanisms of biological communities to an active volcano in Taiwan
The volcanic island of Kueishantao in northeastern Taiwan is an extreme habitat for marine organisms. With an active volcano, the coastal area has a unique hydrothermal field with a multitude of hot springs and volcanic gases. The acidity of the study area was among the highest in the world. The easily accessible shallow water around the volcanic island therefore represents an ideal research environment for investigating the adaptability of marine organisms, some of which are highly specialised, such as crabs, to highly acidified and toxic seawater. Read more

The Sea in Audio-visual Media

Nov 06, 2019

The conference of the Department of Media Studies at Kiel University focused on the social and cultural role of ocean films
On October 24 and 25, 2019, around 80 students, researchers from the various humanities and natural science disciplines, filmmakers as well as interested parties from environmental organisations and the public met for the conference "Screening the Sea: The Audiovisual Media and the Sea" at the Kiel Innovation and Technology Centre (KITZ). The aim was to exchange views on the different dimensions of the representation and functionalisation of the sea in audio-visual media, and their potential for social impact. The conference, which was – for the first time – embedded in the programme of the CineMare International Ocean Film Festival Kiel, dealt with the significance of sea-related films and other audio-visual forms such as virtual reality, video games or YouTube videos for historical and contemporary media cultures and societies.Read more

Addressing climate change with seagrass meadows

Jul 30, 2019

Kiel University develops a new method for largescale mapping of seagrass in the Baltic Sea
Seagrass meadows belong to the most important ecosystems in the ocean. They are nursery grounds for many sea creatures and serve as coastal protection by weakening strong waves. However, these shallow water habitats are currently retreating worldwide. Also in the Baltic Sea they are considered critically endangered e.g. due to the increased input of nutrients in coastal areas. But, seagrass role as carbon storage is becoming ever more important. Seagrass meadows take up significantly more CO2 than a comparable area of forest on land and can therefore play an important role in buffering the effects of climate change. While modern satellites can be used to document wide swathes of habitats and their changes, like forest degradation, on land, this technology is not yet available in the ocean. The European project ECOMAP, which is coordinated at Kiel University, is testing new methods of efficient and precise mapping of seagrass meadows that were developed in cooperation with partners in Poland and Germany. These show that the area coverage of seagrass meadows can be mapped with previously unreached efficiency and accuracy in the decimeter range. Read more

Recycling on Earth for more than 3 billion years

Jul 17, 2019

Plate tectonics much older than previously thought
Only 100 years ago Alfred Wegener developed the theory of continental drift. However, the associated recycling process of crustal material began much earlier than previously thought. An international team of scientists with the participation of the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and Kiel University now presented evidence that this process started more than three billion years ago. The study was published in the international journal Nature. Read more

Living sustainably, at, from and with the ocean

Jul 05, 2019

Kiel University honoured as a European University with a focus on marine sciences - 5 million Euros awarded for international cooperation
Through the ERASMUS+ project "SEA-EU - The European University of the Seas", Kiel University (CAU) is a member of one of the 17 new European Universities alliances, which were selected from 54 proposals in the first round of applications. This has just been announced by the European Union (EU). The alliances selected will each receive funding of 5 million Euros over the next three years. Under the leadership of the University of Cádiz (Spain), and together with the partner universities of Western Brittany (Brest, France), Gdańsk (Poland), Split (Croatia) and Malta, Kiel University plans to align marine sciences degree programmes and courses across all faculties, as well as at all six locations, to enable unrestricted scientific mobility for students. In addition, virtual course offerings will be developed, and exchanges of staff members between the participating institutions supported. Read more

International workshop for environmental justice at Kiel University

Jun 05, 2019

The effects of climate change - be it storms, flooding or rising of the sea levels along with the resulting environmental crises- have a strong impact on humanity which raises the question of how to handle the consequences appropriately. A relatively small and wealthy part of the global population claims an ever-increasing share of the planet’s resources while polluting and destructing marine and terrestrial habitats. Especially negatively affected by these developments are those groups that are least responsible for them.Read more

Plankton as a climate driver instead of the sun?

May 23, 2019

Fluctuations in the orbital parameters of the Earth are considered to be the trigger for long-term climatic fluctuations such as ice ages. This includes the variation of the inclination angle of the Earth's axis with a cycle of about 40,000 years. Kiel-based marine scientists lead by GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel have shown by using a new model that biogeochemical interactions between ocean and atmosphere could also be responsible for climate fluctuations on this time scale. The study was recently published in the renowned journal Nature Geoscience.
The climate history of the earth is marked by periodic changes that are usually ascribed to the solar radiation reaching the surface of the earth. This insolation is not constant over geological time but modulated by cyclic changes in the earth’s orbital parameters. Read more

Kiel scientists receive UNESCO Chair of Integrated Marine Sciences

May 08, 2019

Joint press release of Kiel University (CAU) / Kiel Marine Science (KMS) und GEOMAR Helmholtz-Centre for Ocean Science Kiel

Professor Dr. Arne Körtzinger, a marine chemist at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel and a professor at Kiel University as well as Dr Jörn Schmidt, a fisheries biologist at Kiel University and adjunct in the Marine Affairs Programme at Dalhousie University, now share the UNESCO Chair for Integrated Marine Sciences following appointment by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Therefore, Kiel retains one of only twelve UNESCO Chair in Germany. The UNESCO awards these chairs to strengthen international relationships and promote young scientists in emerging and developing countries. Kiel University has held a UNESCO Chair in marine sciences since 1997. Read more

Kickoff for Humboldt Tipping Project in Kiel and Lima

Mar 18, 2019

The project „Social-Ecological Tipping Points of the Northern Humboldt Current Upwelling System, Economic Repercussions and Governance Strategies (Humboldt-Tipping)“ funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and led by the Kiel University started on 1 March 2019. Read more

How do we finance adaptation to climate change?

Feb 20, 2019

Electricity and heat production, transport, deforestation and livestock farming cause greenhouse gas emissions and contribute towards global climate change. Researchers have long agreed that current and future measures to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions will not be sufficient to prevent serious climate impacts for especially at-risk groups of people. It is now up to us to reduce future damage by adapting to climate change. Which measures are suited to such adaptations and how to finance them are the focus of an interdisciplinary workshop from 6 to 8 March, which is being organised by the Chair for Environmental Philosophy and Ethics at Kiel University (CAU). Anyone who is interested in this topic is welcome to attend the event, which will be held in English and will host international experts. Read more

Divers and Offshore Wind energy

Jan 30, 2019

Meeting on the impact of offshore wind energy on seabirds and marine mammals

On 4-5 February 2019 the Research and Technology Centre West Coast is organizing two day meeting on the topic :“Bird migration across the Ocean“ and  „ Offshore Wind energy“. Both meetings are the final conferences for the BIRDMOVE and MultiBird projects which look at the impacts of offshore wind-energy on marine birds and mammals. The conference will take place in the state representative office of Schleswig-Holstein in Berlin. Read more

Full carbonate chemistry at the site of calcification in a tropical coral

Jan 28, 2019

Coral calcification: Microscope-guided microsensor measurements reveal full carbonate chemistry at the site of calcification in a tropical coral

Researchers from the Centre Scientifique de Monaco (CSM), the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen and the University of Kiel (CAU) have succeeded in directly measuring three key parameters necessary for skeleton formation in a live tropical coral. This way, they completely characterized the carbonate chemistry at the site of calcification. Read more