Glacier depth affects plankton blooms off Greenland

14 August 2018 / Kiel. The unusual timing of highly-productive summer plankton blooms off Greenland indicates a connection between increasing amounts of meltwater and nutrients in these coastal waters. In a new study published today in the international journal Nature Communications, an internationa...

Microplastics collected from the stomach of one Christmas Shearwater (Puffinus nativitatis) found dead on Salas y Gómez Island. Photo: Matías Portflitt Toro

Marine litter in remote regions of the oceans

10 August 2018 / Kiel. The Easter Island in the South Pacific is one of the most remote regions of our planet. Although thousands of miles away from the continents, the waste of human civilization in the form of plastic can be detected here as well as in the entire South Pacific. In a review paper p...

A last check before the launch: Patrick Leibold and Warith Al Sheibany controlling the Wave Glider aboard the AL SEERAH. Photo: Warner Brückmann / GEOMAR

Successful Technology Trial off the world’s hottest coast

02 August 2018 / Muscat, Kiel. Fed by onshore groundwater resources, freshwater discharges from the seafloor off many coasts of the earth and mixes with the saline seawater. However, if the near-shore groundwater reservoirs are overexploited, there is a risk of seawater entering the aquifer tainting...

Typhlocaris ayyaloni. Photo: Sasson Tiram.

Solving the cave shrimp mystery: geology and evolution in action

23 July 2018 / Kiel. Althoughthey live isolated for millions of years small shrimp that occur in various caves in Israel and Italy, are related. This has now been proven by a team of researchers from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and Israeli institutions using genetic and geolo...