Press Release Archive

09.01.2018

Environmental history told by sludge: Global warming lets the dead zones in the Black Sea grow

Geoscientists IOW, the universities of Oldenburg and Hannover as well as Rutgers University (USA) succeeded now in reconstructing the depositional environment of the last interglacial (Eemian, 128,000 years ago) in the Black Sea with unprecedented details. This enabled for the first time a direct comparison between the current oxygen-depleted conditions in the deep water with those during the Eemian when the water temperatures in summer were 3° higher. It shows that the dead zones of the Black Sea will most probably expand by a future global warming, leading to a significant shrinking of the productive zone in the surface water.

11.12.2017

How do megacities impact coastal seas? Searching for evidence in Chinese marginal seas

Two research projects, which join several German and Chinese partner institutions, were launched into action with a kick-off meeting in Guangzhou, China, from December 4 to 8, 2017. They are supported by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research with a total of 1.25 Mio. Euros and aim at recognising the fingerprint of megacities in the marine sediments of Chinese marginal seas. On the German side, both projects are coordinated by IOW.

04.12.2017

New book from IOW experts: “Carbon dioxide glasses” sharpen view on the state of the Baltic Sea

Bernd Schneider and Jens Müller from IOW recently published a book on the biogeochemistry of the Baltic Sea. What is special is its novel perspective: The marine chemists use investigations into the marine CO2 cycle to obtain comprehensive and highly detailed analyses of marine biogeochemical processes. This new concept strikes new paths towards an efficient ecological monitoring of the sea.

10.11.2017

Rapid mid-Holocene warming triggered the onset of a farming society in Northern Europe

In a recently published article in the renowned journal Scientific Reports, IOW scientists present the outcome of detailed studies on the temperature development during the Holocene in the Baltic region which they conducted together with an international team of geologists, geochemists, archaeologists and fishery biologists. The resulting temperature record reveals explanations for simultaneously occurring human demographic and cultural changes.

21.08.2017

A new indicator for marine ecosystem changes: the diatom/dinoflagellate index

Marine biologist from Warnemünde presents indicator for the state of foodwebs in the Baltic Sea on the basis of long-term data series on the composition of spring blooms

09.08.2017

New BMBF funded project MicroCatch_Balt launched

Where does all the plastic come from? The new project "MicroCatch_Balt" funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research will investigate the sources of plastic particles within the catchment area of the Baltic Sea by taking the Warnow river catchment basin as an example.

27.07.2017

Amphipods of the Baltic Sea in focus – IOW scientists add new volume to renowned animal encyclopaedia

Anja and Michael Zettler are the authors of the recently published 83th volume of book series “Die Tierwelt Deutschlands” (“Fauna of Germany”). The two IOW macrozoobenthos experts complemented the extensive encyclopaedia, which was established in 1925, with an English-language monograph on Baltic Sea amphipods. It covers a total of 243 species, which are morphologically characterised down to the last detail, and also contains notes on their ecology and behaviour. The book therefore is a valuable tool for the monitoring of indicator species of this group.

09.06.2017

The 11th Baltic Sea Science Congress opens in Rostock: 350 Baltic Sea scientists meet to discuss their research results

It is the biggest “fare” for exchanging scientific findings in the field of Baltic Sea research: Every second year, scientists from all littoral states and beyond meet under the umbrella of the Baltic Sea Science Congress (BSSC) in order to present their new research results. This year, the BSSC is hosted by the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde and the University of Rostock.

08.06.2017

Recognizing patterns within the whirling biology of coastal seas

Biological long-term data series are valuable tools when it comes to identifying the human impact on ecosystems or to recognizing climate driven regime shifts. However, in coastal waters, where the freshwater inflow together with weather events and local currents leads to rapidly changing values in salinity, temperature and oxygen, their informative value is limited. The reason is that the marine communities primarily respond to these fast environmental changes, which more or less mask possible responses to any other impact factors. Yet, a group of scientists from Warnemünde has now succeeded in identifying further influences by means of specialized statistical approaches.

12.10.2016

Tracking down the greenhouse gases methane & Co: IOW heads a method standardization expedition

On October 15, 2016, an international research team under the lead of IOW heads out on the research vessel ELISABETH MANN BORGESE for a one-week cruise on the Baltic Sea. The goal of the 12 scientists from Germany, China, the UK, and the USA is to prepare the road for measuring the marine emissions of the greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide worldwide with highly precise and comparable methods. Therefore six measuring systems will participate in an on-board intercalibration campaign and the results will be communicated as recommendations to the SCOR.