The ocean plays a central role for life on our planet: it forms the largest ecosystem on Earth and is home to more than two million species. It regulates the climate and the weather and stores heat. The seas and oceans also temporarily absorb certain amounts of carbon dioxide. Marine, coastal and polar research provides the knowledge base for sustainable use and protection strategies as well as for technological and social innovations in the marine context. The goal is to maintain the ecological equilibrium in order to ensure a healthy ocean for future generations.

The research funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) focuses on the following questions:

• What role does the ocean play as a heat store and carbon sink, as climate change progresses?
• What impact do rising sea levels and climate change-related extreme events have on the coastal regions?
• What impacts of climate change can we expect in the polar regions and how are changes in the polar regions impacting the climate?
• What are the consequences of ocean pollution and acidification for biological diversity and for how the ocean supplies humankind?
• How can we better protect and make sustainable use of the seas and oceans?

Marine Research

Many marine research issues can be better solved in cooperation with partners from the EU and beyond. That’s why the BMBF is actively involved in the Joint Programming Initiative Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans ( JPI Oceans). The initiative substantially improves the coordination of national research activities and makes a major contribution towards the European Research Area. The JPI Oceans is also part of the efforts to enhance the instruments of the current EU Framework Programme Horizon Europe, for example the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters” and the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership (SBEP).

German Marine Research Alliance

The Federal Government and the five North German Länder established the German Marine Research Alliance (DAM) with a view to expanding the global leadership of Germany’s marine, coastal and polar research and strengthening Germany as a centre of research. DAM pools the expertise of more than 20 marine research institutions and is one of the world’s biggest marine research alliances.

The alliance pursues three DAM research missions in the contexts of climate change mitigation, sustainability and disaster prevention:

• The CDRmare research mission plays a particularly important role for mitigating climate change. It examines novel technologies and approaches to increasing the carbon sink capacity of the ocean
• The sustainMare research mission focuses on the impact of human pressures on the ocean and on how to make sustainable use of marine areas. It develops viable management strategies for the future in close cooperation with relevant stakeholders.
• The mareXtreme research mission looks into extreme events in and around the seas as well as marine natural hazards, and develops new practical approaches to coastal protection.

Research technology for the seas and oceans

Efficient, application-oriented marine research is unthinkable without innovative research technology. That’s why the BMBF is investing in state-of-the-art sensors, complex measuring systems, autonomous underwater stations and high-tech diving robots such as remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) or autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). These tools gather large amounts of relevant ocean data and serve as measuring antenna in the complex marine ecosystem. New kinds of data transmission systems make the largely automated monitoring of environmental changes possible. The results of continuous serial measurements are then fed into computer models for the calculation of medium to long-term trends in changes in the ocean, weather and climate.

The platforms on which these sensor systems are deployed are very different: they range from drifters and monitoring buoys to unmanned observatories and research vessels. Research vessels are of particular importance for field research. Germany boasts a powerful research vessel (RV) fleet comprising seven large and medium-sized vessels:

• RV POLARSTERN
• RV SONNE
• RV METEOR
• RV MARIA S. MERIAN
• RV ALKOR
• RV HEINCKE
• RV ELISABETH MANN BORGESE.

Coastal research

The impact of climate change will be particularly acute in the coastal regions. Germany, too, is faced with rising sea levels, increasingly frequent storm surges and heightened coastal erosion. That’s why we support research projects that provide the basis for robust and sustainable coastal protection interventions and, at the same time, benefit all coastal populations. The research of the KFKI German Coastal Engineering Research Council, a collaboration between the Federal Government and the coastal Länder founded more than 50 years ago, is an excellent example of how to link together science and practice.

Polar research

Climate change is amplified in the Arctic: changes in the Arctic happen faster and earlier. They have a direct impact on the climate and weather in Europe. That’s why we need to gain a better understanding of climate change in the Arctic. Collaborative international research is the key to achieving this.

Largest Arctic expedition of all times funded by the BMBF

The BMBF-funded MOSAiC expedition in 2019/2020 is a unique example of the kind of international research that is required. During the largest Arctic expedition of all times, the German RV POLARSTERN was frozen into the Arctic sea ice. Researchers from 20 nations set up their measuring devices on the ice floe around the research vessel and worked under extreme conditions with temperatures as low as minus 45 degrees Celsius. The result of their hard work is a treasure trove of data of immense value for our future.

The BMBF has also supported international cooperation by hosting major conferences on polar research. This includes the 2018 Arctic Science Ministerial which resulted in a Joint Statement of the Science Ministers from 25 countries and the European Union. Another example is the international Arctic Circle Berlin Forum 2024 which involved discussions with high-ranking representatives from science, politics and industry about joint strategies for the future of the Arctic.

Ultramodern research technology for the polar regions

The German research stations, which are operated in extreme environments, are flagships of outstanding scientific expertise and of the forward-looking funding provided by the BMBF. Neumayer Station III is a beacon of excellence on a global scale. Located on the Ekström Ice Shelf in the eastern Weddell Sea, this research station is operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute and serves as the base of German Antarctic research.

Researchers live and work there year-round. They collect scientific data over long stretches of time, ranging from minute-by-minute weather observation to drilling ice cores that reveal the history of Earth’s climate. Researchers on Neumayer Station also monitor Antarctica’s ecosystems, for example penguin rookeries or cold-water corals.

Another outstanding example is the Franco-German AWIPEV research station in Ny Ålesund on the Arctic island of Svalbard. Research in the Arctic is focused on atmospheric science, glaciology and biodiversity research.

Research institutes

Non-university research institutions form the institutional basis of German marine, coastal and polar research. These institutes are hosted by the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, the Leibniz Association and the Max Planck Society. The BMBF and the host Länder provide institutional funding. Other marine research institutions are located at universities in Germany’s coastal regions. (For examples see accordion module) Germany’s research institutions are well-connected internationally and rank among the top worldwide.

They also produce successful spin-offs and research applications, for example when findings from plankton research were used for designing bionic lightweight structures in the automotive, aviation and aerospace industries, based on the analysis of complex diatom structures.

Research programme featuring broad-based participation

Under the umbrella of the Federal Government’s Future Research and Innovation Strategy, the objectives of marine, coastal and polar research are embedded in the BMBF’s Research for Sustainable Development (FONA) framework programme and laid out in the MARE:N Federal Government research programme. Interdisciplinary teams of experts have published three MARE:N concept papers to date: “Coast in Transition” and “Blue Ocean” (2018) as well as “Polar Regions in Transition” (2021). They set the course of the BMBF’s future funding policy for marine, coastal and polar research.

International agreements providing the guardrails

The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement provide the political framework. The UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) offers a major opportunity to work towards achieving the marine SDGs. The BMBF plays an important role also in this context – as host of the international conference to launch the UN Ocean Decade in 2021 and as a stakeholder demonstrating international commitment. The interdisciplinary research that is conducted under the umbrella of the MARE:N programme also contributes towards ensuring the success of the UN Ocean Decade.

Germany’s major research and university institutions

AWI

The Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), in Bremerhaven is a centre of global excellence in polar and marine research. More than 1,000 members of staff are involved in the exploration of the Arctic and Antarctic as well as the North Sea and Germany’s coastal regions.

GEOMAR

The GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel is one of the world’s leading institutions in the field of marine science. It conducts global ocean research from the sea floor to the atmosphere as well as on the physical, chemical, biological and geological processes in the ocean.

Hereon

The work at Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon includes international cutting-edge research on the coasts. Part of its 1,100 members of staff work on the dynamics of the coastal oceans with a view to enhancing coastal management. Another focus is on understanding how climate change affects the ocean’s coasts.

IOW

The Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW) conducts research on marine ecosystems in coastal and marginal seas with a particular focus on the Baltic Sea. Its researchers collaborate across disciplines to shed light on key processes in the Baltic Sea and explore new technologies in coastal research.

ZMT

The Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) in Bremen is Germany’s only research institute with an exclusive focus on tropical and subtropical coastal ecosystems. In cooperation with its partners, the centre develops recommendations for action to protect these habitats.

Senckenberg am Meer

The research institute Senckenberg am Meer in Wilhelmshaven is part of the Senckenberg – Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research (SGN). It conducts biological and geological coastal and marine research in areas ranging from the North Sea coast to the deep ocean. The research institute also encompasses the German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research.

MPI-MM

The Max-Planck Institute Institute for Marine Microbiology (MPI-MM) in Bremen is a research institute with a strong international outlook focusing on microorganisms in the ocean. Little is known about microbial life to date. The institute’s researchers work in many different disciplines from microbiology to genome analysis and modelling.

ICBM

The Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) is an interdisciplinary institute at the University of Oldenburg. More than 20 working groups representing various natural sciences work at the institute which also runs the Spiekeroog Coastal Observatory.

MARUM

The MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen conducts research on the role of the ocean and the ocean floor in the overall Earth system. MARUM operates ultramodern large marine research equipment such as remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and sea-floor drill rigs.

CEN

The Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN) is a research centre at Universität Hamburg. It brings together interdisciplinary teams from various institutes to conduct research on global changes in the climate, environment and Earth system. The centre is also home to the Control Station German Research Vessels.

Kiel Marine Science

Kiel Marine Science (KMS) is the Centre for Interdisciplinary Marine Science at Kiel University. The centre works with stakeholders from outside the science world to find transdisciplinary solutions to the sustainable use and protection of the seas and coasts.

FZK

The Coastal Research Centre (FZK) is a joint institution of Leibniz University Hannover and Technische Universität Braunschweig. It pools the expertise of both universities in areas such as coastal engineering and operates large research facilities, most notably the Large Wave Flume (GWK).

MTS

The Department Maritime Systeme (MTS) at the University of Rostock brings together researchers from the University of Rostock, the IOW and other partners to conduct research on the ocean across disciplinary lines. Its interdisciplinary platform is aimed at developing innovative strategies.

TiHO

The University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (TiHo) conducts wildlife research with a focus on biodiversity and infectious diseases. At its location in Büsum on the North Sea, researchers examine the impacts of human activity on marine animal populations.

Meeresmuseum

The Ocean Museum Germany in Stralsund combines practical marine research and how to showcase this work to the broad public. The world-famous museum has four locations with scientific exhibitions and aquariums and is also active on social media platforms.

Editorial deadline for this text: 01.11.2024