News
This page contains latest news regarding the institute. Some entries are only available in German.
To end the eutrophication of the Baltic Sea: Do the measures show effects?
Between 1995 and 2014, river discharges of the two main drivers of eutrophication, nitrogen and phosphorus, were significantly reduced in the western Baltic Sea. But are these measures also having an effect in the open Baltic Sea? The marine chemists of the IOW have not yet found any clearly discernible changes there. In a recently published study, they report on a method they used to track the fate of nutrients from river mouths into the Baltic Sea.
» Read more … To end the eutrophication of the Baltic Sea: Do the measures show effects?
Evaluation: Leibniz Association praises the IOW’s performance and recommends expansion of research with additional funds
The Leibniz Association senate concluded the regular evaluation of the IOW with a very positive assessment and recommends that the federal and state governments continue their joint funding of the institute. It states that the IOW has successfully advanced its scientific profile, focusing both on the unique ecosystem of the Baltic Sea and on more global issues such as climate change impacts, marine litter and biodiversity. The senate strongly supports the plan to expand the institute's technical and methodological spectrum through an additional 2 million euros per year in order to conduct more research on shallow coastal waters.
Our “top athletes” on the seafloor: Hediste diversicolor, Arctica islandica, Echinocardium cordatum, Amphiura filiformis
A comparative study in four sea regions (German Baltic Sea, German North Sea, Belgian part of the North Sea and Eastern Channel) identified the organisms behind these Latin names as the most important actors in wide areas of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea in terms of bioturbation. They ensure that the bottom is supplied with oxygen, which triggers a chain of other vital processes. In different environments, only the ranking within this group changes. An international team led by the Warnemünde biologists Mayya Gogina and Michael Zettler now published the results. Using maps of the bioturbation potential, they defined areas of high ecosystem service particularly worthy of protection.
Upwards with the “bubble shuttle”: How sea floor microbes get involved with methane reduction in the water column
For the first time, an IOW research team has been able to determine the efficiency with which methane-oxidising bacteria from the seafloor can travel with gas bubbles from submarine methane seeps into the open water column and influence biogeochemical processes there.
When every particle counts: IOW develops comprehensive guidelines for microplastic extraction from environmental samples
Today, microplastics can be detected in almost every ecosystem in the world. Despite intensive research into this massive environmental problem, it is still a challenge to identify and quantify these synthetic particles made of various types of plastic in environmental samples. A team of researchers at the IOW has now for the first time compiled a comprehensive overview of methods that enables the use of standardized microplastics extraction workflows optimized for samples with very different properties.
Contact persons in all matters of press and public relation at the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research are
Dr. Kristin Beck
Tel.: 0381 5197 135
E-Mail: kristin.beck@io-warnemuende.de
Dr. Barbara Hentzsch
Tel.: 0381 5197 102
E-Mail: barbara.hentzsch@io-warnemuende.de
Satellite image of the month
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