http://www.geomar.de/ en http://www.geomar.de/typo3conf/ext/tt_news/ext_icon.gif http://www.geomar.de/ 18 16 TYPO3 - get.content.right http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Fri, 24 May 2013 16:13:00 +0200 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/die-geburtsstunde-des-atlantiks/ 24 May 2013/Kiel/Southampton. An international team of marine scientists is taking off this week... It's been quite a long time, an estimated 250 million years, since it was possible to reach Newfoundland from Spain on dry land. Then about 200 million years ago, the former continent of "Laurasia" broke apart, and the Atlantic was born. Since that time, the "Big Pond" widens by a few centimeters each year. Exactly how this birth of the Atlantic took place, however, has remained a bit of a mystery. Therefore, scientists from Britain, the U.S. and Germany are now departing on two research vessels in order to gain more information about the birth process. Using the American research vessel MARCUS G. LANGSETH and the German research vessel POSEIDON from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, the largest and entirely scientific 3D seismic survey to date will be conducted over the next two months. Over the course of the expedition, 3D images of the water column and up to 15 kilometers below the seabed over an area of 64 by 22 kilometers on the continental slope off the coast of Galicia (northern Spain) will be taken. In preparation for the large-scale experiment, GEOMAR scientists and their British colleagues will deploy 78 ocean-bottom seismometers (OBS) in the study area in May and June from R/V POSEIDON. The seismometers will then record the acoustic signals of the seismic system and provide additional information about the rock of the continental crust and upper mantle. This unprecedented record will then be used to further our understanding of the processes in the lithosphere during the breakup of continents. At the same time, the data will allow the study of possibilities and limitations for oceanographic investigations using seismic methods. "It took nearly nine years of preparation for the experiment to finally take place," says Professor Tim Minshull of the University of Southampton Ocean and Earth Science (SOES) at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (UK). Professor Minshull, together with Dr. Dirk Kläschen from GEOMAR, coordinates the deployment of the ocean bottom seismometers. "The relatively young method of 3D seismology, which we also apply at GEOMAR, allows us much richer insight into the structure of the seabed," said Dr. Kläschen. "Such an experiment is only possible as a well-coordinated international collaboration since no individual institute alone has all the necessary resources," said Kläschen. "We are excited about the upcoming results that will surely provide us with another piece to the puzzle of how our Earth works," explains Dr. Kläschen upon his departure. News of this expedition will be made available in the coming weeks on an expedition blog at http://galicia3d.blogspot.co.uk/. Contact: Dr. Dirk Kläschen, dklaeschen@geomar.de Dr. Andreas Villwock (Communication & Media), Phone: +49-431 600-2802, avillwock@geomar.de ]]> Presse2013 GEOMAR TopNews Aktuelles2013 FB4News plate tectonics natural hazards Fri, 24 May 2013 16:13:00 +0200 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/jede-schicht-eine-naturkatastrophe/ 14 May 2013/Kiel. The volcanic centre of Soufrière Hills on the Caribbean island of Montserrat has...
This on-going sequence of eruptions offers scientists the opportunity to learn more about the behaviour of volcanoes and their associated natural hazards. An expedition aboard the British research vessel RRS James Cook in May of 2010 was targeted at improving this understanding. Volcanic deposits offshore of the east coast of the island were mapped out during this research cruise. Some of these deposits were emplaced during the most recent eruptive phase, while others were deposited thousands of years ago. For the detailed mapping, GEOMAR’s further-developed P-Cable system was mobilised in the first ever deployment for this type of investigation. The system produces high-resolution, three-dimensional images of the sub-seafloor. A team of geophysicists from GEOMAR, under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Christian Berndt, were responsible for acquisition and processing of data with this equipment. The Kiel-based scientists have presented the results of this work together with their British colleagues in publications that have appeared in international journals since the beginning of the year. „Thanks to 3D technology, we were able to develop a much better understanding of how volcanic material is deposited in the ocean and which processes play key roles in this emplacement“, summarises Professor Berndt of the individual analyses.

A good understanding of these processes is particularly important for hazard assessment because volcanoes do not only pose a threat when they erupt material directly over populated areas. „Through the course of their existence, parts of the Soufrière Hills volcano have broken off and slipped into the sea. Some of the older landslides had volumes in excess of five cubic kilometres and moved more than ten kilometres through the ocean. They also very probably caused tsunamis“, explains Professor Berndt. Indeed, even smaller volcanic flank collapses have the potential to generate tsunamis. In 2013, a pyroclastic flow that resulted from a partial collapse of the volcanic dome caused a tsunami that was 15 m high on the east coat of Montserrat and still one meter high when it reached the neighbouring island where it destroyed several fishing boats.

With the help of 3D seismic data, the Kiel-based scientists were able to distinguish between various offshore deposits and their temporal evolution better than would have been possible with previously employed scientific methods. Their data enabled them to closely observe bounding layers between individual deposits and the seafloor. „We were surprised, for example, that pyroclastic flows that extend into the ocean have barely eroded the substrate beneath the seafloor onto which they were emplaced. This is markedly different behaviour from that which we know of pyroclastic flows on land“, explains the geophysicist Jens Karstens from GEOMAR. „In contrast to that, the much larger flank collapses can be highly-erosive, which could lead to more rapid deceleration and thereby smaller tsunamis than what has been previously assumed“, adds his colleague Dr. Gareth Crutchley.

The insight that the scientists have gained into the behaviour of volcanic deposition into the ocean does not only help to unravel the history of the Soufrière Hills volcano. „Our 3D data can also be used to calibrate geological computer models with which one can better predict the potential future hazards of island volcanoes“, explains the leader of the research group Professor Berndt. „In this respect, our seismic system has proven itself as a worthwhile tool for volcanic research“.
Refernces:
Crutchley, G.J., J. Karstens, C. Berndt, P.J. Talling, S.F.L. Watt, M.E. Vardy, V. Hühnerbach, M. Urlaub, S. Sarkar, D. Klaeschen, M. Paulatto, A. Le Friant, E. Lebas, F. Maeno (2013): Insights into the emplacement dynamics of volcanic landslides from high-resolution 3D seismic data acquired offshore Montserrat, Lesser Antilles. Marine Geology, Vol. 335, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2012.10.004

Karstens, J., G.J. Crutchley, C. Berndt, P.J. Talling, S.F.L. Watt, V. Hühnerbach, A. Le Friant, E. Lebas, J. Trofimovs (2013): Emplacement of pyroclastic deposits offshore Montserrat: Insights from 3D seismic data. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, Vol. 257, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2013.03.004 Images in higher resolution: Launch of the P-Cable 3d seismic system during cruise JC45 off the coast of Montserrat. Photo: J. Karstens, GEOMAR
In the background the Soufrière Hills volcano. Photo: J. Karstens, GEOMAR
At the foot of Soufrière Hills deposits of pyroclastic flows are visible. Photo: J. Karstens, GEOMAR
Plymouth, the capital of the island of Montserrat, is buried in volcanic ash. Photo: J. Karstens, GEOMAR Contacts:
Prof. Dr. Christian Berndt (GEOMAR, FB4-Geodynamics ), cberndt@geomar.de 
Jan Steffen (GEOMAR, Communication and Media), Tel.: +49 431 600-2811, jsteffen@geomar.de  ]]> GEOMAR TopNews Presse2013 FB4News Mobile Website plate tectonics natural hazards Tue, 14 May 2013 10:53:00 +0200 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/kiel-und-seoul-ruecken-enger-zusammen/ May 7, 2013. Not only in the field of ship and car building or the consumer electronics, South... South Korea is not only a powerful economic nation. The country in the Far East is also excellent in science and research. The leading institution in the field of marine research is the Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology (KIOST). On May 6 and 7, the high-level delegation headed by the president of KIOST, Dr. Jung-Keuk Kang, visited GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and Kiel University. After fruitful discussions and multiple consultations about a broad spectrum of marine research topics the three partners signed a cooperation agreement in order to foster future collaboration. “For GEOMAR KIOST is a reliable partner in a region where we have vital research interests”, states Professor Peter Herzig, director of GEOMAR. “Marine resources such as gas hydrates but also marine hazards like earth quakes and volcanism are topics where we see potential for future cooperation”, Herzig continues. In addition, there is an already existing partnership in the field of ocean and climate modelling. “Such cooperation lives by the people, the scientists, who have identified a common interest for a research field”, Professor Herzig says. “With such cooperation agreements we can set cornerstones that hopefully provide a solid basis for a prospering science. Therefore we are happy to facilitate this process and we are hoping for a vital cooperation”, Professor Herzig resumes. Links: http://eng.kiost.ac/kordi_eng/main/ KIOST Website www.geomar.de GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel www.uni-kiel.de Kiel University Contact: Prof. Dr. Peter Herzig, pherzig@geomar.de Dr. Andreas Villwock, Communication & Media, Phone: +49-431-600-2802, avillwock@geomar.de  ]]> Presse2013 Aktuelles2013 GEOMAR TopNews Mobile Website Tue, 07 May 2013 08:58:00 +0200 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/internationale-kooperation-in-klima-und-meeresforschung/ May 07, 2013/Kiel. How does our climate vary naturally? What is the role of the ocean in the... When the World Climate Research Programme discussed the implementation of a new internationally coordinated climate research effort in the mid 1990s, the first hot public discussion of human-induced (anthropogenic) climate change just reached its summit. Scientists of the Max-Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, Germany stated that with a probability of 95% the observed increase in global temperature can be attributed of processes linked to human activities. Even though this result might sound convincing climate scientists still faced many open questions. In particular the role of the oceans in the climate system was widely unknown. This was one of the major reasons for the establishment of the CLIVAR programme by the World Climate Research Programme in 1995. The scope of CLIVAR includes both natural climate variations as well as future climate change. Through internationally coordinated projects, global data sets are generated, model intercomparison experiments are performed, and regional studies of key climate phenomena like the themohaline circulation in the Atlantic or climate variability in the Tropical Atlantic are carried out. “Such internationally coordinated projects allow scientific problems to be addressed that could not be answered by an individual scientist or a single institution”, states Professor Martin Visbeck from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel who is chairing the CLIVAR Scientific Steering Group (SSG) jointly with Dr. Lisa Goddard, director of the International Research Institute in New York, USA. This week, the CLIVAR SSG convenes for its 20^th session in Kiel, Germany. More than 30 scientists from 16 countries are participating. The meeting is supported by GEOMAR and the excellence cluster “The Future Ocean”. “During the past 20 years internationally coordinated programmes such as CLIVAR have helped enormously to generate an excellent framework for research in Germany as well as in Europe”, Martin Visbeck continues. An outstanding example is the so-called Argo programme. Within few years a global observational network with more than 3000 deep sea drifters has been established that enables study of the variability in the interior of the ocean for the first time. “Without CLIVAR, understanding of the global climate system as well as regional phenomena such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation or the North Atlantic Oscillation would not be as advanced”, Lisa Goddard agrees. “The benefits to society of this research far outweighs the cost”, Goddard continues. A major topic of the SSG meeting in Kiel is the discussion of new directions for the CLIVAR programme in the coming years. “We adjust the goals of the programme according to new findings and frameworks in order to ensure to ensure CLIVAR achieves its aim of providing the knowledge of climate variability and change society needs to prepare for the future”, explains Professor Visbeck. Links: www.clivar.org Climate Variability and Predictability Programme (CLIVAR) www.geomar.de GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel www.ozean-der-zukunft.de Excellence cluster “The Future Ocean”  Contact: Prof. Dr. Martin Visbeck (GEOMAR, RD1: Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics, chair excellence cluster “The Future Ocean”, mvisbeck@geomar.de  Dr. Andreas Villwock (GEOMAR, Communication & Media), Phone: +49-431 600-2802, avillwock@geomar.de   ]]> Presse2013 Aktuelles2013 GEOMAR TopNews Climate FB1News Mobile Website Tue, 07 May 2013 08:02:00 +0200 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/loest-climate-engineering-das-klima-problem/ 19 April 2013/Kiel. Spraying sulfur particles into the atmosphere or fertilizing the oceans with... The easiest way would theoretically be to quickly decrease carbon dioxide emissions. However with a fast growing world population and the current impetus for industrialization in large emerging countries, this would prove rather difficult in practice. Therefore industrial measures are being increasingly discussed. These could be applied specifically to lower the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere or to diminish the intensity of solar radiation. “These industrial measures are summed up in the term ‘climate engineering’,” describes Professor Andreas Oschlies from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. “Yet so far there is no reliable information on the potential of these measures, nor their side effects,” continues Oschlies.
In order to form a scientific basis for the discussion of climate engineering, the German Research Foundation (DFG) has now approved a priority program called “Climate Engineering: Risks, Challenges, Opportunities?” The application by Professor Oschlies was an initiative of the Kiel Earth Institute (KEI), supported by the Cluster of Excellence “The Future Ocean” and a core group of 18 scientists from universities and institutions all over Germany. In the next six years the priority program, divided into eight sub-projects, will examine the considerable uncertainties associated with the concept of climate engineering. The DFG is allocating five million Euros for the first three years of the project. 1.3 million Euros will go to the coordinating office in Kiel and two sub-projects that will be carried out by GEOMAR and the Kiel Earth Institute together with the Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, Kiel University and the “Institute for Technology” (KIT) in Karlsruhe.
The participating scientists concern themselves not only with the natural science dimension but with the social, political, judicial and ethical aspects of the discussed measures as well. “In all the concepts suggested so far, climate engineering would have at least interregional and frequently also time-delayed consequences. This makes the evaluation difficult,” emphasizes Professor Oschlies. Who would actually be allowed to decide on the use of climate engineering? Who would be responsible for the side effects? “These questions must also be examined. Exactly this multidimensionality has not been given enough thought in international research up to now,” says Oschlies. The approved priority program will examine this topic with an internationally unique breadth of expertise. Thus a solid basis for the elaborate consideration of possible pros and cons will be established.
This can provide arguments for today’s international climate-political discussions where some players are turning away from CO2 emission avoidance in the face of climate engineering. Ultimately the extensive analysis of the risks and (side) effects of climate engineering is meant to build a basis for well-founded social decisions about the possible use of climate engineering. A well informed public is therefore also very important for the scientists. In September 2011 the Kiel Earth Institute set up a website www.climate-engineering.eu for this purpose. News and information on climate engineering is brought together daily in order to provide more transparency to the debate. The website will also be used for the priority program. Background Information: The Kiel Earth Institute
The Kiel Earth Institute (KEI) researches important topics on global change and its social consequences. KEI is the result of an initiative by GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and the Institute for the World Economy (IfW). Contact:
Prof. Dr. Andreas Oschlies (GEOMAR, FB2-Biogeochemical Modeling), Tel.: +49 431 600 1936, aoschlies@geomar.de
Jan Steffen (GEOMAR, Communication & Media), Tel.: +49 431 600 2811
jsteffen@geomar.de   ]]> GEOMAR TopNews Presse2013 FB2News Climate Fri, 19 Apr 2013 11:21:00 +0200 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/gashydratforschung-im-suedchinesischen-meer/ 27 March 2013/Kiel, Kaoshiung. All around the world, states and companies are on the starting block...
GEOMAR belongs to the world’s leading institutions in the field of gas hydrate research. In the mid-1990’s Professor Erwin Suess from Kiel, meanwhile emeritus professor, was the first to discover large natural gas hydrate resources under sediments on the ocean floor. Back then, the investigations concentrated on the west coast of the USA. Meanwhile however, natural gas hydrates have been found in ocean margins all around the world. “The amount of energy, that is stored in natural gas hydrate in the oceans exceeds the presently known oil and conventional natural gas deposits by far“, Professor Berndt from GEOMAR explains.

Methane hydrates form in the sea floor whenever there is enough methane available, the pressure is sufficiently high and the water temperature low enough. Under these conditions the water molecules create cage-like structures in which they capture large quantities of methane molecules.

In the southwest of Taiwan these conditions exist. There, the formation of hydrate is also fostered by plate tectonics. The Eurasian tectonic plate is being pushed under the Philippine plate, compressing huge quantities of sediments. Natural gases and fluids escape through these sediment packages forming gas hydrate on their way to the sea floor.

The five week long expedition now starting shall help in understanding the role plate tectonics play in the formation of gas hydrates. To understand the geological processes the scientists will use the latest geophysical methods, for example seismic systems which can create 3D images of the subsurface. “With the new methods we can detect where gas hydrate is stored in the seafloor and quantify the amount ten times better than before”, notes Professor Berndt.


The cruise is also about a better understanding of how hydrate is formed and dissolved as well as the impact of hydrate on the stability of the sea floor. “These are fundamental scientific questions that need to be answered in order to assess the risks of hydrate mining.“, the geophysicists points out.
 
The expedition is the culmination of six years of collaboration between Taiwanese and German scientists. It will be continued in a second excursion in June with an entirely new Taiwanese research vessel under the leadership of Dr. Wu-Cheng Chi of the Taiwanese academy of sciences, Academia Sinica. The German Ministry of Research and Education is financing this project with 1.2 million Euros while Taiwan contributes another 300.000 euros.

“The exploitation of gas hydrate can only be done safely, if we understand the system. We are very pleased with the opportunity to work on this matter together with our colleagues from Taiwan”, says Professor Berndt.
Expedition at a glance:
RV SONNE SO227
Duration: 30 March – 3 May 2013
Chief Scientist: Professor Dr Christian Berndt, GEOMAR
Departure: Kaoshiung (Taiwan)
Return: Kaoshiung (Taiwan)
You can find detailed information about the cruise at the GEOMAR expedition pages.   Contact:
Prof Dr Christian Berndt (GEOMAR, RD4-Marine Geodynamics), cberndt@geomar.de  
Jan Steffen (GEOMAR, Communication & Media), Tel.: 0049 431 600-2811, jsteffen@geomar.de ]]> GEOMAR TopNews Presse2013 Mobile Website Marine resources Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:18:00 +0100 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/beginnt-der-wettlauf-um-erze-aus-der-tiefsee/ 15 March 2013/Kiel. Whether smart phones, solar panels or electricity cables – nearly every... Joint press release of the Cluster of Excellence "Future Ocean" and the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel It began at least 7,000 years ago. Back then humans began using tools made not only of stone but also of copper. Since then a culture without metals is unimaginable. This is also very true for the digital age. Whether smart phone, tablet computer or server – metals play a vital role. In addition there is a fast growing world population that needs not only mobiles but also houses, cars and refrigerators. The mineral raw materials required for these are mined almost exclusively on the continents. They, however, account for less than a third of the earth’s total surface. “With growing demand and rising prices, deposits in the remaining two thirds, the ocean, come to the attention of the industry,” explains the marine geologist Professor Dr Colin Devey from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. Whether, when and under what circumstances deep sea mining will take place will be discussed by approximately 150 national and international experts and students during the workshop “Seafloor Mineral Resources: scientific, environmental, and societal issues” in Kiel. Organizers of the workshop are the Cluster of Excellence “The Future Ocean” together with GEOMAR.

The focus of the current discussion particularly focuses on three types of mineral raw materials: manganese nodules usually found on the sea bed at 5,000 meters depth, cobalt crusts that form at the slopes of underwater mountain ranges at depths between 1,000 and 2,500 meters, as well as massive sulfides that develop in areas of volcanic activity along plate boundaries in the ocean between 500 and 5,000 meters depth. They all contain elements that are of particular importance for the high-tech industry such as cobalt, nickel, and copper. “As most of these deposits lie in the hardly explored deep sea and lie moreover in international waters, not only economic and technical aspects but also the civil aspects must be clarified before possible mining,” emphasizes Prof. Devey.

Therefore the workshop in Kiel aims to inform not only about the scientific fundamentals and technical developments in marine mining, but also about the legal conditions for mining licenses as well as the effects on biodiversity and habitat in the deep sea. Some of the most renowned deep sea geologists are traveling to Kiel, together with representatives of industry, specialists for deep sea biology and civil and marine law, representatives of different UN organizations and delegates from NGOs such as the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

“The demand for information from industry but also from policy makers and science on the topic is very great. It is our goal to discuss a sustainable solution for environmentally responsible mining of resources together with all the stakeholders,” says Prof. Devey. “The scientifically based dialog is extremely important for us, before technology causes damage to nature and humans alike.”

Program links:
http://fileserver.futureocean.org/forschung/r3/semesterthema_resources.pdf 
http://www.futureocean.org/resources  Contact:
Professor Dr Colin Devey (GEOMAR, FB4-Magmatic und Hydrothermal Systems)
cdevey@geomar.de  
Friederike Balzereit, Public Outreach, Cluster of Excellence „Future Ocean“, (+49) 431-880-3032; fbalzereit@uv.uni-kiel.de   
Jan Steffen (GEOMAR, Communication & Media), Tel.: (+49) 431 600-2811, jsteffen@geomar.de   ]]> GEOMAR TopNews Presse2013 FB4News Mobile Website Marine resources Ocean Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:16:00 +0100 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/sauerstoffminimumzonen-weiten-sich-aus/ 15 March 2013/Kiel. Two research vessels, two oceans and six expeditions: Between October 2012 and...
Researchers from very different fields participated in the expeditions, as the processes within and at the rim of the oxygen minimum zones are complex. Nutrients ensure good growth of phytoplankton which produce oxygen through photosynthesis. When the plankton organisms die off, they are decomposed by bacteria that use up oxygen. Some release nitrogen which leaves the ocean as a gas and is thus missing as a nutrient in the water. Moreover all these processes are influenced by water and air temperatures, currents, winds, sunlight, by the composition of species in a certain ocean area, and many other factors. “Therefore we can only understand the development of the oxygen minimum zones if oceanographers, biologists, biogeochemists, marine chemists, physicists and atmospheric researchers work closely together,” explains Dr. Stramma.

The accumulated data helps in understanding the dynamics of the interaction between physical and biological processes in the oxygen minimum zones. “We can also improve the calibration of our computer models to predict future developments,” says SFB spokesman Prof. Andreas Oschlies from GEOMAR. The evaluation of all the expedition data will take months and will probably raise further questions. “There are many details in the oxygen minimum zones that we do not yet understand. Still it is already clear that there are processes in the ocean that one cannot see or feel but that can have a great effect – ultimately on us humans,” emphasizes SFB vice-spokesperson Prof. Ralph Schneider from the Institute of Geosciences at Kiel University.

The scientists are also impatiently awaiting the results of further measuring campaigns. Researchers form Kiel released a nontoxic trace substance off the West African coast in December 2012. Thanks to a specialized instrument, the Ocean Tracer Injection Systems (OTIS), the substance can be released very precisely in specific water layers. “The substance is distributed by the water. When we trace it in future expeditions, we can follow how water masses move in and around the oxygen minimum zone,” explains Prof. Oschlies. The first study of this type is planned for May. “Then we can hopefully add another puzzle piece to the still incomplete overall picture,” says the SFB spokesman. Contact: Prof. Andreas Oschlies, (GEOMAR, FB2 – Biogeochemical Modeling)
aoschlies@geomar.de Jan Steffen (GEOMAR, Communication und Media), Tel.: (+49) 431-600 2811
jsteffen@geomar.de ]]> GEOMAR TopNews Presse2013 FB1News FB2News FB3News Projekte Mobile Website Climate Marine ecosystems Ocean Fri, 15 Mar 2013 14:01:00 +0100 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/wie-roboter-die-ozeane-erforschen/ 31 January 2013/Kiel. Devastating natural hazards, climate relevant processes or urgently needed...
Nevertheless, large parts of the world oceans are still unexplored. As one of the world-largest marine research institutes, Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, California, has continously supported the development of ocean observing systems. As a director Dr. Tony Haymet is strongly advocating the further extension of these systems, amongst colleagues as well as in the general public.

Now Dr Haymet stays as a guest scientist at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (Germany). His visit is supported by the Prof. Dr. Werner Petersen Foundation as part of the “Excellence Award” granted to Dr. Haymet by the foundation. During his stay Dr. Haymet discussed future cooperations with the German ocean researchers. Furthermore he gave a short course about “Global Ocean Initiatives & Governance” for students and scientists at GEOMAR as well as a public evening lecture about “The Future of Global Observing Systems and Robotic Exploration and Monitoring of the Oceans”.

“We’re very pleased about Dr Haymet’s visit to GEOMAR. He is an excellent scientist with high international reputation and good connections to most of the world’s largest marine research institutions. Exploration of the oceans und the development of necessary technical systems is only possible in international cooperation”, GEOMAR director Professor Peter Herzig states.

Contact:
Dr Andreas Villwock (GEOMAR, Communication & Media), Tel.: 0049 431 600-2802, avillwock@geomar.de

]]> GEOMAR TopNews Presse2013 Mobile Website Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:05:00 +0100 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/erster-langzeit-einsatz-der-kieler-mesokosmen/ 18.01.2013/Kiel/Kristineberg. From January to June 2013, more than 60 European scientists will...
Ten mesocosm units, each enclosing a volume of 55 000 litres of seawater, will be deployed by GEOMAR-scientists from the research vessel ALKOR in the Swedish Gullmar Fjord. Over a period of five months, an international team of scientists will monitor the responses of the plankton community to ocean acidification. During this time, the tiny plankton organisms form many new generations and go through a variety of species assemblages”, Riebesell explains. "Because of the short generation times of planktonic organisms and the rapid succession of different populations, it becomes possible to study adaptation processes in the natural environment.” With this new approach, Riebesell and his colleagues hope to make better predictions about the long-term consequences of ocean acidification.

Another focus of this study lies in the effects of ocean acidification on the development of fish. If the community at the base of the food web changes, this can have consequences for the entire trophic cascade up to the fish. To address this question, researchers release herring and cod larvae in the mesocosms and investigate their development in relation to the degree of acidification. A recent study on cod larvae demonstrated that their development can also be affected directly by ocean acidification.

The scientists from Germany, Sweden, Finland, Great Britain and the Netherlands chose the Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences in Kristineberg as base of operations. From here they will go out by small boats to monitor the mesocosms daily and collect samples for laboratory analyses at the station. “Different teams investigate the development and productivity of the plankton community, changes in the food web, in the material and energy cycles and in the production of climate-active gases”, Riebesell describes the wide range of scientific questions addressed in this mesocosm campaign. “In total, 62 molecular, evolutionary, marine and fishery biologists, physiologists, ecologist, biogeochemists, marine and atmospheric chemists join this year’s KOSMOS experiment. With our multidisciplinary approach and the exceptionally long duration of the experiment, we expect many fundamentally new insights.”

The scientists will blog about their work at Kristineberg from the end of January. The KOSMOS 2013 Blog will be published on the BIOACID website at www.bioacid.de Film about the first weeks of the experiment.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Ulf Riebesell (GEOMAR, FB2-BI), Tel.: +49(0)431 600-4444, uriebesell(at)geomar.de
Maike Nicolai (GEOMAR Communication & Media) Tel.: +49(0)431 600-2807,
mnicolai(at)geomar.de]]> Presse2013 Aktuelles2013 FB2News Mobile Website GEOMAR TopNews Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:53:00 +0100 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/schmilzt-das-eis-spuckt-die-erde-feuer/ 19 December 2012/Kiel. It has long been known that volcanic activity can cause short-term... Reference:
Kutterolf, S., M. Jegen, J. X. Mitrovica, T. Kwasnitschka, A. Freundt, P. J. Huybers (2012): A detection of Milankovitch frequencies in global volcanic activity. Geology, G33419.1, http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/G33419.1 Pictures in high resolution: The Villarica volcanoe in Chile. Photo: M. Nicolai, GEOMAR
Ash layers in cores from the Pacific seafloor. Photo: S. Kutterolf, GEOMAR
Research vessel JOIDES Resolution in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Photo: S. Kutterolf, GEOMAR Contacts:
Dr Steffen Kutterolf (GEOMAR, FB4 - Geodynamics), skutterolf@geomar.de  
Dr Marion Jegen (GEOMAR, FB4 - Dynamics of the Ocean Floor), mjegen@geomar.de  
Jan Steffen (GEOMAR, Communication and Media), Phone +49 431 600 2811, jsteffen@geomar.de 

]]> GEOMAR TopNews Presse2012 FB4News plate tectonics natural hazards Mobile Website Wed, 19 Dec 2012 15:56:00 +0100 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/ozeanforscher-am-kaspischen-meer/ 26 November 2012/Kiel. They are a source of greenhouse gases, they are a natural hazard, yet they...
„One of the reasons we are so interested in mud volcanoes is that in central Asia they are regarded as a main source of atmospheric methane", Schmidt explains. The gas venting from mud volcanoes may contain up to 90% methane. They are thus relevant to climate. As a greenhouse gas, methane has about 20 times the effect of carbon dioxide. In addition, methane is easily flammable and may thus pose a natural threat. As recently as September this year, the mud volcano which was now sampled by the Kiel scientists erupted and went ablaze.

Apart from that, however, mud volcanoes may indicate deep oil and gas reservoirs. This is reflected by emitted methane, which chemically is, in fact, natural gas, and by bitumen (earth pitch) and oil which can be sampled from the cones of mud volcanoes. “Azerbaijan was one of the first countries in the world to build up oil production in an area of active mud volcanism”, Schmidt says. Yet, geological, chemical and physical processes must be well understood to ensure safe production.

The GEOMAR scientists have been interested in the processes taking place inside mud volcanoes for some time. A large-scale project was carried out from 2007 to 2011 to examine mud volcanoes in the western Nile delta. In Azerbaijan, they have the opportunity to perform comparative studies on hydrocarbon vents on mud volcanoes on land as well as in shallow areas of the Caspian Sea. For this purpose, Prof Ibrahim Guliyev, Director of the Geology Institute of Azerbaijan, signed a cooperation agreement with GEOMAR during the visit of the scientists from Kiel. A first joint sampling campaign in the Caspian Sea is planned for 2013. “We greatly appreciate this opportunity. It will allow us to access a scientifically very interesting inland lake and draw comparisons to oceanic processes”, states ocean scientist Dr. Schmidt. Pictures in higher resolution: Both indicator for resources and natural hazard: the Lokbatan mud volcano near Baku in Azerbaijan: Photo: M. Schmidt, GEOMAR
Scientists from Germany and Azerbijan on the Lokbatan mud volcano. Photo: M. Schmidt, GEOMAR Contact:
Dr. Mark Schmidt (GEOMAR, FB2-Marine Geosysteme), mschmidt@geomar.de 
Jan Steffen (GEOMAR, Communications & Media), Tel.: 0431 600-2811, jsteffen@geomar.de  ]]> GEOMAR TopNews Presse2012 FB2News Marine resources plate tectonics natural hazards Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:15:00 +0100 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/expedition-vor-der-kueste-westafrikas/ 23 November 2012/Kiel. Scientists from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and Kiel’s... During the upcoming expedition, the scientists will be assisted by two pupils from Schleswig-Holstein. “Pupils were also part of the SFB’s 2008 research expedition. The experience was so positive that we wanted to repeat it” explains Professor Visbeck. Linnea Rulle and Rike-Sophie Pöhl were selected from a large number of candidates. Both are 15 years old and live close to Kiel. They have been involved in their schools’ scientific societies and have actively participated in GEOMAR’s school projects. “In the end, we chose them because they showed commitment and brought their own ideas for small projects. Social competence was also an important criterion. After all, they will have to fit in with the crew for four weeks” says Visbeck. The two girls are integrated into the strict daily schedule of the scientists where they will be helping with laboratory work and sampling, for example. Moreover they will document the journey for other students via film and texts. The expedition ends on the 20th of December in Walvis Bay, Namibia; so Rilke, Linnea and all other scientists will be able to spend Christmas at home.
The Expedition at a Glance:
MARIA S. MERIAN Expedition MSM 23
Project: SFB 754
Duration: 26.11.2012 – 20.12.2013
Chief Scientist: Prof. Dr. Martin Visbeck, GEOMAR
Start: Mindelo (Republic of Cape Verde)
End: Walvis Bay (Namibia)
Further Information and weekly reports on the GEOMAR expedition page Bildmaterial in höherer Auflösung: The Ocean Tracer Injection System is launched. Photo: M. Visbeck, GEOMAR
The German research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN. Photo: JAGO-Team, GEOMAR
The working area of expedition MSM23. (c) GEOMAR Contact:
Prof. Dr. Martin Visbeck (GEOMAR, FB1-Physical Oceanography), mvisbeck@geomar.de 
Dr. Toste Tanhua (GEOMAR, FB2-Chemical Oceanography), ttanhua@geomar.de 
Jan Steffen (GEOMAR, Communication & Media), Tel.: 0431 600-2811, jsteffen@geomar.de

]]> GEOMAR TopNews Presse2012 FB1News FB2News Projekte Climate Ocean Marine ecosystems Fri, 23 Nov 2012 17:11:00 +0100 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/saures-wasser-setzt-seeigeln-zu/ 24 October 2012/Kiel. Increasing ocean acidification can have negative effects on calcifying marine... Pluteus larvae of the green sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis are tiny, about 0.3 mm long “eating machines” which feed on algae for several weeks in plankton before they go through metamorphosis and begin their life on the sea bed. Thin skeletal elements support their transparent bodies. These spines are made of calcium carbonate and are formed by special cells. Only recently has it been discovered that pluteus larvae grow more slowly in acidified sea water and need more energy. An extended development period, however, increases the risk that the larvae will be eaten by the many predators in the open sea. As part of the BMBF coordinated project BIOACID, scientists from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and the Cluster of Excellence “The Future Ocean” at Kiel University examined which mechanisms lead to this decrease in growth rate. Using methods developed for research on mammals, the scientists were able to show that pluteus larvae cannot control the pH value in their cavities. These measurements were taken with tiny, 2 µm thin pH-electrodes. In contrast, measurements with pH sensitive colorants revealed that the cells in the bodies of larvae can control their internal pH value under the stress of acidification. This is important as the first skeletal elements are formed inside the cell itself – a process that only functions at very uniform conditions. Changes in the pH gradient between the calcifying cells and the cavities could be one of the reasons for the observed reduction in growth and calcification in an acidified sea environment. Under these conditions, more energy is necessary to control the pH value in the calcifying cells. This energy is thus missing for the growth process.   “We need further studies on the cell biology of calcification processes in order to better understand the mechanisms of sensitivity” explains Prof. Dr. Frank Melzner, head of the research group for ecophysiology at GEOMAR. “The pH regulation abilities of tiny larval stages can only be researched with sophisticated optical and electric methods” continues Melzner. “That is why the cooperation with human physiologists at the faculty of medicine is so very important, as they have developed methods over decades that are very useful for us marine biologists.” Prof. Dr. Markus Bleich, director of the Physiological Institute of Kiel University confirms this, “For the first time we can transfer techniques, which we have used successfully on mammals for a long time, to the cell processes of sea urchins. The interdisciplinary research for the coordinated project BIOACID and “The Future Ocean” allows us to examine the disturbances of the inner milieu of the cells of different organisms. Thus we can better understand the physiological processes necessary for vital functions.” The first co authors of the study, Dr. Meike Stumpp and Dr. Marian Hu, a former PhD student at GEOMAR and a former research assistant at Kiel University, are currently completing one-year postdoc positions at the University of Gothenburg. There they are continuing their research on sea urchin larvae. First results point towards further fundamental findings on the physiology of sea urchin larvae. “These studies show that our understanding of the functioning of early life stages of even the most common sea organisms is still in its infancy – exciting times for interdisciplinary marine research” sums up Prof. Melzner  Original Paper: Stumpp, M., Hu, M.Y., Melzner, F., Gutowska, M.A., Dorey, N., Himmerkus, N., Holtmann, W., Dupont, S.T., Thorndyke, M.C., Bleich, M., 2012: Acidified seawater impacts sea urchin larvae pH regulatory systems relevant for calcification. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1209174109. Links: BMBF coordinated project “Biological Impacts of Ocean ACIDification" (BIOACID), www.bioacid.de Cluster of Excellence “The Future Ocean”, www.futureocean.org and www.futureocean.org/evolving-ocean Contact: Prof. Dr. Frank Melzner, GEOMAR, fmelzner@geomar.de Prof. Dr. Markus Bleich, CAU Kiel, m.bleich@physiologie.uni-kiel.de Dr. Andreas Villwock, GEOMAR, Communication & Media, Tel.: (0049)431-600-2802, avillwock@geomar.de Friederike Balzereit, Cluster of Excellence “The Future Ocean”, Public Outreach, Tel.: (0049)431-880-3032, fbalzereit@uv.uni-kiel.de]]> GEOMAR TopNews Presse2012 Aktuelles FB3News Mobile Website Wed, 24 Oct 2012 09:40:00 +0200 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/neue-einblicke-in-den-marinen-mikrokosmos/ October 23, 2012/Kiel. The significance of small organic particles and organisms for the food webs...
The new € 200,000 microscope could be purchased with a grant for excellent female scientists conferred to Professor Engel by the Helmholtz Association. It will mainly be used to analyze so-called gel particles, which form from dissolved organic matter and play an important role in the organic carbon cycle of the oceans. “The knowledge of their composition and biological availability is rather scarce,” says Professor Engel and adds, “This microscope will allow us to directly investigate the structure, the biochemical composition and the microbial colonization of single gel particles.”

A confocal laser scanning microscope produces sharp and detailed micrographs of optical sections through the samples. “Based on a series of micrographs of optical sections through different layers of the samples we can create precise three-dimensional visualizations,” explains Dr. Jan Michels, a marine biologist who is responsible for the supervision and the application of the new instrument. Before he became member of the working group of Professor Engel, Dr. Michels had already gained in-depth experience in the visualization of marine organisms with different microscopy techniques at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven and at the Institute of Zoology in Kiel.

Besides the investigation of gel particles, in the future, the new microscope will also enable the study of a large variety of other scientific questions related to the marine microcosm. “The more information we get about marine microorganisms, the more we realize how important they are for the climate and the health of the oceans and, therefore, also for us,” emphasizes Professor Engel. Photos: Confocal laser scanning micrograph showing the frustule (green) and the chloroplasts (red) of a diatom of the species Coscinodiscus wailesii. The length of the image edge corresponds to 300 µm. Photo: J. Michels, GEOMAR

Confocal laser scanning micrograph showing the ventral side of a female copepod of the species Temora longicornis. The length of the image edge corresponds to 1.28 mm. Photo: J. Michels, GEOMAR

Gel particle formed in water from the Kiel Fjord, visualized using confocal laser scan-ning microscopy (large micrograph) and conventional bright-field microscopy (small micrograph). The sugar compounds in the gel particle were stained with a blue dye (small micrograph) and a fluorescent dye (large micrograph, green). The length of the edge of the large image corresponds to 160 µm. Photo: J. Michels, GEOMAR

Dr. Jan Michels working on the new confocal laser scanning microscope. Photo: J. Steffen, GEOMAR

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Anja Engel (GEOMAR, FB2-Marine Biogeochemistry, Biological Oceanography), aengel@geomar.de 
Jan Michels (GEOMAR, FB2-Marine Biogeochemistry, Biological Oceanography), jmichels@geomar.de
Jan Steffen (GEOMAR, Communication & Media), Tel.: 0049 431 600-2811, jsteffen@geomar.de ]]> Presse2012 GEOMAR TopNews FB2News Mobile Website Tue, 23 Oct 2012 14:39:00 +0200 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/gasquellen-vor-spitzbergen-kein-neues-phaenomen/ September 19, 2012/Kiel. Marine scientists from Kiel, together with colleagues from Bremen, Great...
The reason for the expedition was the supposition that ice-like methane hydrates stored in the sea bed were dissolving due to rising water temperatures. “Methane hydrate is only stable at very low temperatures and under very high pressure. The gas outlets off Spitsbergen lie approximately at a depth which marks the border between stability and dissolution. Therefore we presumed that a measurable rise in water temperature in the Arctic could dissolve the hydrates from the top downwards” explained Professor Berndt. Methane could then be released into the water or even into the atmosphere, where it would act as a much stronger greenhouse gas than CO2.

In fact, what the researchers found in the area offers a much more differentiated picture. Above all the fear that the gas emanation is a consequence of the current rising sea temperature does not seem to apply. At least some of the gas outlets have been active for longer. Carbonate deposits, which form when microorganisms convert the escaping methane, were found on the vents. “At numerous emergences we found deposits that might already be hundreds of years old. This estimation is indeed only based on the size of the samples and empirical values as to how fast such deposits grow. On any account, the methane sources must be older” says Professor Berndt. The exact age of the carbonates will be determined from samples in GEOMAR’s laboratories.

“Details will only be known in a few months when the data has been analysed; however the observed gas emanations are probably not caused by human influence” says Berndt. There are two other possible explanations instead: Either they are symptoms of a long term temperature rise or they show a seasonal process where gas hydrates continuously melt and reform.

Another interesting observation made on the expedition, was that a very active microbial community that consumes the methane has established itself on the sea bed. “We were able to detect high concentrations of hydrogen sulphide, which is an indication of methane consuming microbes in the sea bed, and, with the help of JAGO, discovered typical biocoenoses that we recognised from other, older methane outlets” explained microbiologist Professor Dr. Tina Treude from GEOMAR, who also took part in the expedition. “Methane consuming microbes grow only slowly in the sea bed, thus their high activity indicates that the methane has not just recently begun effervescing.”

Colleagues from Bremen, Switzerland, Great Britain and Norway worked alongside marine scientists from GEOMAR and from the Cluster of Excellence “The Future Ocean”. “The study of the gas outlets in the Norwegian Sea is a good example for combined European research” stressed Professor Berndt. Hence German scientists recovered an ocean floor observatory, installed by the British research vessel James Clark Ross a year ago during a joint expedition of the National Oceanography Centre Southampton and the Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer (Ifremer). “Understanding the ocean as a system is a challenge that only works in international co-operations” emphasized Berndt. The analysis of the gathered data will also be carried out internationally.

The expedition at a glance:
FS MARIA S. MERIAN journey: MSM21/4
Head of Expedition: Prof. Dr. Christian Berndt (GEOMAR)
Length of Expedition: 13th Aug. 2012-11th Sept. 2012
Place of Departure: Reykjavik
Research Area: West of Spitsbergen
Place of Arrival: Emden
Further Information on the GEOMAR expedition page  Images in higher resolution: The submersible JAGO and the German research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN off the coast of Spitsbergen. Photo: Karen Hissmann, GEOMAR
Microbial community that consumes the methane has established itself on the sea bed. Foto: JAGO-Team, GEOMAR Contact:
Prof. Dr. Christian Berndt (GEOMAR, FB4-Marine Geodynamik), cberndt@geomar.de 
Jan Steffen (GEOMAR, Kommunikation & Medien), Tel.: 0431 600-2811, jsteffen@geomar.de]]> GEOMAR TopNews Presse2012 FB2News FB4News Mobile Website Climate Marine ecosystems Wed, 19 Sep 2012 15:38:00 +0200 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/deutsches-forschungsprojekt-zur-ozeanversauerung-geht-in-die-zweite-phase/ 06.09.2012/Kiel. The German coordinated research project on ocean acidification BIOACID (Biological...
„There is no doubt anymore that oceans acidify as a result of human-induced carbon dioxide emissions. But we have only a vague idea of the full extent of the consequences”, says Ulf Riebesell, Professor of Biological Oceanography at GEOMAR | Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. Riebesell has coordinated the work of the 14 partner institutions of BIOACID (Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification) since September 2009. In September 2012, a second three-year period starts funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research with 8.77 million Euros.

Riebesell: “Building on the knowledge gained over the past three years we will further expand in some critical areas.” Important findings were, that many organisms are affected by ocean acidification particularly in their early life stages. For example, the development of cod larvae is negatively impacted. Long-term experiments demonstrated that some groups of organisms can adapt to ocean acidification. “A new focus of BIOACID II will be on ‘ocean services’ affected by acidification and who this impacts human welfare. When acting in combination with other stressors, such as overfishing, acidification can reduce the provision of food from the ocean considerably.”

The planned laboratory and field experiments will have a stronger focus on the interaction of multiple stressors. “BIOACID studies demonstrated that the influences of global warming and acidification are able to reinforce each other”, Riebesell explains. “Additional local stressors such as eutrophication or pollution could lead to reactions exceeding the sum of the individual responses.” In addition, ocean acidification impacts on competitive interactions and predator-prey relationships will be a focus of the upcoming work. BIOACID scientists will also benefit from analysing ecosystems which developed at natural CO2 venting sites. “Who are the winners and losers in a more acidified future ocean? How do elemental cycles change? These kind of questions can be answered by taking a closer look to natural communities.”

With the BIOACID II project, German research on ocean acidification continues its international top position. Crucially important for BIOACID’s leading role is the cooperation across institutions and scientific disciplines. In addition to the partnership of 14 institutions, BIOACID closely cooperates with other national and international research projects such as the UK Ocean Acidification Research Programme (UKOA) and the European project Mediterranean Sea Acidification in a Changing Climate (MedSeA), stakeholders such as the International Ocean Acidification Reference User Group (IOA-RUG) and the newly founded Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre (OA-ICC).

The partners of BIOACID:
Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven
Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg
Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf
Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG) Zentrum für Material und Küstenforschung
GEOMAR | Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel
Institut für Weltwirtschaft Kiel
Leibniz-Institut für Gewässerökologie und Binnenfischerei, Berlin
Leibniz-Institut für Ostseeforschung Warnemünde
Leibniz-Zentrum für Marine Tropenökologie, Bremen
MARUM – Zentrum für Marine Umweltwissenschaften, Bremen
Max-Planck-Institut für Marine Mikrobiologie, Bremen
Universität Bremen
Universität Rostock
Universität Koblenz-Landau

Links:
www.bioacid.de Contact:
Prof. Dr. Ulf Riebesell (GEOMAR, FB2-BI), Tel.: +49(0)431 600-4444, uriebesell@geomar.de
Maike Nicolai (GEOMAR Communication & Media) Tel.: +49(0)431 600-2807, mnicolai@geomar.de]]> Presse2012 GEOMAR TopNews Mobile Website FB2News Thu, 06 Sep 2012 14:56:00 +0200 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/eiszeit-an-der-oberflaeche-warmzeit-in-der-tiefe/ August 27, 2012/Kiel. Scientists from the US Geological Survey, Stockholm University, Duke... Today’s Arctic environment is under tremendous threat due to global warming. Special attention has been given to the strong reduction in sea ice cover during recent summers. The sea ice in the Arctic is the top layer of the ‘halocline’, a 200-300 m thick layer of low salinity. The low salinity in this layer is due to repeated annual melting and freezing processes as well as freshwater input from the large rivers flowing into the Arctic Ocean, particularly from the Siberian continent. But the halocline is also very cold, close to -2° C. In contrast, below the cold halocline the water is about +1° C due to warmer and more saline waters flowing into the Arctic Ocean from the North Atlantic. Scientists from the US Geological Survey, Stockholm University, Duke University and the Paleontological Institute in Moscow have published together with researchers from the Academy of Sciences, Humanities, and Literature Mainz (c/o GEOMAR | Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel) a new study in Nature Geoscience entitled "Deep Arctic Ocean warming during the last glacial cycle." The researchers reconstructed the intermediate and deep Arctic Ocean temperature history during the past 50,000 years using geochemical proxy techniques and sediment cores from across the central Arctic Ocean. They have utilized tiny microfossils, so-called mussel shrimps (ostracodes). “These ostracodes usually live on the sea floor, and because they have valves made of calcite, the measured Mg to Ca ratio can be used to estimate past temperatures of the bottom water” says Dr. Bauch, who has worked with Drs. Cronin of USGS and Dwyer of Duke University to use this fossil group to reconstruct bottom water conditions. Results show that in the last ice age, within the time span from about 50,000 and 11,000 years ago, the central Arctic Basin between 1,000 and 2,500 m water depth was occupied by a water mass that was 1–2° C warmer than in the modern Arctic. Deep Arctic warming peaked during or just before large millennial-scale climate reversals that characterize this period. The finding is therefore so interesting because “one would expect to see quite the contrary since in a glacial time, temperatures in the ocean were usually colder than today anywhere “ says Dr. Spielhagen. The opposite situation was actually found for historical times, as was recently published in the journal Science. For the Fram Strait, where substantial Atlantic water flows into the Arctic Ocean today, “our reconstructed temperatures indicate an increase over the last 150 years” says Dr. Spielhagen. The new study now also shows modelling results suggesting that the deep warming could result from a decrease in the influx of fresh water to the Arctic Ocean during the last glacial period, which would cause the strong salinity gradient in the halocline to deepen and push the warm Atlantic layer into intermediate depths.  The researchers concluded that the Arctic Ocean has previously unrecognized sensitivity to climate changes over multiple timescales. This is surprising because “only 20 years ago people thought of the polar glacial ocean as a cold and perennially ice-covered region but with rather stable environmental conditions. “ says Dr. Bauch.  There is growing evidence now from marine sediment records of the Nordic Seas that “the deep water temperature in that North Polar region was actually warmer than today during a glacial period”.  This was likely caused by a subduction of the inflowing Atlantic water implying that “the meridional overturning circulation never stops, not even in an ice age period” says Dr. Bauch who has recently published a study on the subject in the journal Geophyscial Research Letters. Reference:
Cronin, T. M., G. S. Dwyer, J. Farmer, H. A. Bauch, R. F. Spielhagen, M. Jakobsson, J. Nilsson, W. M. Briggs Jr, A. Stepanova (2012): Deep Arctic Ocean warming during the last glacial cycle. Nature Geoscience, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/NGEO1557 Contacts in Germany:
Dr. Henning Bauch (GEOMAR, RD1-Palaeooceanography), hbauch@geomar.de
Jan Steffen (GEOMAR, Communication and Media), +49 431 600 2811, jsteffen@geomar.de ]]> GEOMAR TopNews Presse2012 FB1News Mobile Website Climate Ocean Mon, 27 Aug 2012 13:29:00 +0200 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/methanhydrate-in-aufloesung/ August 13, 2012/Kiel, Reykjavik. West of Spitsbergen methane gas is effervescing out of the seabed.... The expedition builds on research conducted by marine scientists from Kiel who worked in this area of the sea in 2008. Back then they found over 250 places where gas was escaping the sea bed. “These spots lie directly on the border of the area of stable hydrates” explains Professor Berndt. “Therefore we presume that the hydrates are dissolving from the rim inwards.” During the upcoming expedition, the scientists from Kiel will be working together with colleagues from Bremen, Switzerland, Great Britain and Norway to discover whether the gas emanation shows signs of dissolved hydrates and whether this is due to warmer sea beds. With the help of echo sounders, researchers will seek out new gas sources in order to determine the total amount of escaping gas. With Germany’s only submersible JAGO, they will closely investigate the gas outlets in up to 400 metres depth. “It is interesting for us, for example, to find out whether special microorganisms that can break down the methane before it is released in the atmosphere have settled around the outlets” explains Professor Tina Treude from GEOMAR, who will be running the microbiological work during the expedition. Parallel to this, geophysicists, lead by Professor Sebastian Krastel from GEOMAR, will investigate the slopes under the gas outlet spots for signs of instability using acoustic and seismic methods. “The methane hydrates act like binding cement on these slopes. If they dissolve, chances are that parts of the slopes will slide”, explains Professor Krastel, who focuses on marine hazards at GEOMAR.

“Overall the program on this trip is very extensive. Now let us hope that the weather will play along so that we can conduct all planned tests”, says the head of the expedition Christian Berndt shortly before the departure to Iceland.

The expedition at a glance:
FS MARIA S. MERIAN journey: MSM21/4
Chief Scientist: Prof. Dr. Christian Berndt (GEOMAR)
Length of Expedition: 13.08.2012-11.09.2012
Place of Departure: Reykjavik
Research Area: West of Spitsbergen
Place of Arrival: Emden Further Information on the GEOMAR expedition page
  Picture in high resolution:
An approved team for ocean research: the German research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN and the submersible JAGO. Photo: JAGO-Team, GEOMAR
Contacts:
Professor Dr Christian Berndt (GEOMAR, FB4-Marine Geodynamics), cberndt@geomar.de   
Jan Steffen (GEOMAR, Communication and Media), Tel: +49 431 600-2811, jsteffen@geomar.de  ]]> GEOMAR TopNews Presse2012 FB2News FB4News Projekte Mobile Website Climate plate tectonics natural hazards Mon, 13 Aug 2012 15:48:00 +0200 http://www.geomar.de/en/news/article/wie-viel-stickstoff-bindet-der-ozean/ August 10, 2012/Kiel. In order to predict how the Earth’s climate develops scientists have to know...
Despite scientific efforts, the nitrogen budget suffers from an apparent dilemma. The analysis of ocean sediment as a long-term climate archive has shown that the amounts of fixed nitrogen equaled those of released nitrogen for the past 3000 years. However, modern measurements in the ocean demonstrate that the amounts of released nitrogen exceed the amounts of nitrogen being fixed. These results leave a “gap” in the nitrogen budget and show inconsistencies between past, long-term reconstruction and short-term measurements.

In 2010, the GEOMAR microbiologist Wiebke Mohr pointed out that these inconsistencies could be partially due to the methods widely used to measure modern biological nitrogen fixation. Following this finding, scientists from GEOMAR, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel (CAU), Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (MPI) Bremen and Dalhousie University in Halifax (Canada) tested a new approach in the Atlantic Ocean which had been suggested by Mohr: The results of the study are now presented in the international journal “Nature”.
 
The study, which was funded by the Collaborative Research Centre 754 and the SOPRAN project, was carried out aboard the German research vessels METEOR and POLARSTERN where the participating scientists took water samples at various spots in the tropical and equatorial Atlantic and the temperate South Atlantic. At each station, one sample was treated with the widely applied “old” method and one sample with the new method for assesing nitrogen fixation. The samples were  then measured at the MPI Bremen. “The results clearly showed that the old method very distinctly underestimated the nitrogen fixation rate by certain microorganisms”, says GEOMAR scientist Tobias Groβkopf, first author of the “Nature” article. The new method measured rates that were between 62 and 600 percent higher than with the old method.

Groβkopf and his colleagues also analyzed the composition of the microbial community and found a correlation between the kind of microorganisms in the water and the difference in rates that the two methods revealed. “With the old method, the rate measured changes according to where the microorganisms live, closer to the surface or deeper in the water. The new method circumvents this bias”, Groβkopf emphasizes.
The “gap” in the nitrogen budget, however, cannot be entirely closed even with improved measurements of nitrogen fixation. “This is also due to the fact that we still don’t know all the microorganisms responsible for all these processes”, Groβkopf says. Professor Ruth Schmitz-Streit, microbiologist at the CAU and co-author of the “Nature” article, adds: “Within the Collaborative Research Centre 754 we just identified seven new clusters of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms, and many species are still waiting to be found.”

For Professor Julie LaRoche, who leads the research group at GEOMAR, this study is an important demonstration that scientific methods have to be carefully tested before their application. During an international workshop at GEOMAR in February 2012 LaRoche already advocated uniform and reliable methods in the analysis of biogeochemical fluxes in the ocean. “We have to work globally on a common basis in order to compare our results”, LaRoche highlights.

Reference:
Großkopf, T., W. Mohr, T. Baustian, H. Schunck, D. Gill, M. M. M. Kuypers, G. Lavik, R. A. Schmitz, D. W. R. Wallace, J. LaRoche (2012): Doubling of marine N2 fixation rates based on direct measurements. Nature, 488, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature11338 Nature News & Views article about this topic: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11481.html High resolution pictures: Water sample on research vessel METEOR. These water samples are used to estimate the dinitrogen fixation in the ocean. Photo: K. Nachtigall, GEOMAR
One incubation chamber on RV POLARTSTERN. In this chamber the samples are prepared for later measurements. Photo: T. Baustian, GEOMAR
Closeup of water samples in an icubation chamber. Photo: M. Visbeck, GEOMAR Contacts:
Prof. Dr. Julie LaRoche (GEOMAR-FB2-Biological Oceanography), jlaroche@geomar.de
Jan Steffen (GEOMAR, Communication and Media), Tel: +49 431 600-2811, jsteffen@geomar.de  ]]> GEOMAR TopNews Presse2012 FB2News Mobile Website Climate Fri, 10 Aug 2012 15:48:00 +0200