Press Releases
A look back on 50,000 years of South Pacific hydroclimate shows:
How wet it gets on earth also depends on the planet’s tilt
Understanding the causes of changing humidity and precipitation in the earth's past is crucial for better assessments of the planet’s future hydroclimate changes through improved modelling. A research team led by the IOW has now for the first time analysed 50,000 years of mid-latitude hydroclimate of the South-East Pacific using special moisture related indicators in marine sediment cores. The most important result is that natural variations in the earth's orbital parameters exert a decisive influence.
Marine heatwaves in the Baltic Sea: IOW researchers investigate causes and effects
Marine heatwaves – periods in which the upper water layers in the sea temporarily become exceptionally warm – are occurring with increasing frequency worldwide. Recent studies by the IOW have now confirmed this trend also for the Baltic Sea.
» Read more … Marine heatwaves in the Baltic Sea: IOW researchers investigate causes and effects
Effects of bottom trawling: IOW leads large Baltic Sea field experiment with four research vessels
On July 16, 2024, a 19-day research cruise will start in the Baltic Sea led by the IOW to investigate the impact of bottom trawling on the seabed and the organisms living there. In addition to the IOW research vessel ELISABETH MANN BORGESE, three more research vessels from other institutions are involved in the large-scale bottom trawling simulation experiment near Warnemünde.
Microplastics, estrogens & Co: Ship expedition for the first time investigates “new” pollutants in the Indian Ocean
On July 16, 2024, the German research vessel SONNE starts a three-week expedition to previously little-studied regions of the Indian Ocean between Singapore and Mauritius under the lead of the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW). The aim is to determine the extent of human-induced environmental stress and, for the first time, to enable a risk assessment for this region. Newly emerging pollutants such as microplastics, artificial estrogens and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are in focus.
Energy crisis in Baltic cod and co.: How eutrophication and climate change alter food webs in the Baltic Sea
The eastern Baltic cod stock is in crisis since years. Despite historically low fishing pressure, it is not recovering. A conclusive explanation for this is still lacking. Scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde and the Thünen Institute of Baltic Sea Fisheries now proved for the first time that the food web for cod has lengthened in Baltic Sea regions with large-scale blooms of filamentous blue-green algae, which increasingly occur due to eutrophication and climate change.
Media and public relation contact:
Dr. Kristin Beck
Tel.: 0381 5197 135
Dr. Matthias Premke-Kraus
Tel.: 0381 5197 102
General e-mail:
presse@io-warnemuende.de