
Marine and Polar Life
About Topic 6
Mission:
Topic 6 will provide the scientific foundation for a sustainable management of the ocean by determining the functions and dynamics of marine ecosystems and assessing options to remedy and mitigate human impacts.
Vision:
About 70 percent of the Earth is covered by oceans. But only 13 percent of this huge area can be considered pristine. Most marine and polar habitats are suffering as a result of shipping, commercial fishing, pollution, global warming, and rising levels of CO2. All of this has a serious impact on biodiversity and on ecosystems, including the services they provide. Normally, the oceans absorb large quantities of the carbon dioxide generated by human activity, thereby reducing the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere.
We want to investigate how marine biodiversity is responding to this pressure through adaptation, habitat shift, or changes in the composition of biotic communities. We will analyze the impact that these changes have on food webs, on the uptake and release of carbon, and on other fundamental cycles. Examples of subjects we aim to explore include the extent to which marine ecosystems are able to continue storing sufficient quantities of CO2 in the oceans, especially under the influence of climate change, and what the long-term impacts of deep-sea mining are on ecosystem functions and microbial communities on the seafloor.
Our research into marine and polar biodiversity draws on a range of sources, such as data collected on the Polarstern research icebreaker during the international MOSAiC expedition in the Arctic. The Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg (HIFMB) will develop scientific grounds for marine protection and management measures by analyzing the roles and functions of biodiversity in ocean ecosystems. The Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), and the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel will also pool their expertise in biology and biogeochemistry to describe how the entire Atlantic Ocean is responding to and coping with changes in the global climate for the first time. We will contribute these findings to international expert bodies, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
Structure
Graphic Representation of Subtopics
Subtopics in detail
Links to CARFS/CCA
Earth System Modeling (ESM)
DAM & HI-CAM
MOSES
Digital Earth
Arches
Extremes
Impressions
A vast icefish breeding colony discovered in the Antarctic: Extremely high benthic biomass provides food for predators and scavengers. Oceanographic conditions influence brooding habitat suitability for icefish. Unique ecosystem supports establishment of a marine protected area (MPA). © PS124 OFOBS Team / AWI
These mesocosms were deployed near Peru 2017 in the framework of the KOSMOS project. Mesocosms are an important part of Topic 6 experiments. © Ulf Riebesell / GEOMAR (CC BY 4.0)
These mesocosms were deployed near Hawai'i in 2011 in the framework of the KOSMOS project. Mesocosms are an important part of Topic 6 experiments. © David Pence / University of Hawai'i (CC BY 4.0)
© Jens Greinert / GEOMAR (CC BY 4.0)
© JAGO-Team / GEOMAR (CC BY 4.0)
© Mark Lenz / GEOMAR (CC BY 4.0)
Am GEOMAR wird in einer technisch aufwendigen Anlage ein tropisches Korallenriff unter Laborbedingungen kultiviert, so dass alle Bedingungen, die für das Leben der Korallen wichtig sind, vorhanden sind. Dazu gehören auch Wasserschnecken, Algen, grasende Fische und auch das richtige mikrobielle Milieu. Die Laborbedingungen erlauben dann die Messungen aller physikalischen und chemischen Parameter angefangen von der Wassertemperatur über den Säuregrad bis hin zum Spurenmetallverbrauch der wachsenden Korallen. Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler der Forschunsgeinheit "Marine Isotopengeochemie" können hier quasi Kalzifizierungsprozesse präzise im "Riff-Maßstab" untersuchen. © Jan Steffen / GEOMAR (CC BY 4.0)
Manganese nodules on the sea floor in the Clarion Clipperton zone (CCZ). This picture was taken with ROV KIEL 6000 during expedition SO239 by RV SONNE in April 2015. © ROV KIEL 6000 / GEOMAR (CC BY 4.0)
Zostera marina (seegrass) in planting pots in one of the 12 benthocosms on the Kiel fjord during a long-term experiment on the effects of heat waves on coast ecosystems. © Christian Pansch / GEOMAR (CC BY 4.0)
Typical plankton community of the western Baltic Sea (enriched by catching with net) © Annegret Stuhr / GEOMAR (CC BY 4.0)
POSEIDON cruise POS455: cold water coral reef through the window of research submarine JAGO © JAGO-TEAM / GEOMAR (CC BY 4.0)