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Climate Change

The ocean regulates the climate and slows down global warming by absorbing large amounts of carbon dioxide and heat. However, as a result, the water is becoming warmer and more acidic, and sea levels are rising.

Overview
> Climate Change

The Ocean in a changing climate

The ocean regulates the climate and mitigates global warming in two ways: by absorbing atmospheric heat and by capturing greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide.

Meere Online
Insight
Cumulonimbus Wolke über Meereshorizont vom Forschungsschiff Sonne aus fotografiert.
> The Ocean as a Climate Buffer

The Ocean as a Climate Buffer

Only in the past few decades, we have become aware that the ocean plays a crucial role in the Earth's climate system and how it is changing itself due to climate change.

Meere Online
Insight
Seedeich bei Büsum, Kreis Dithmarschen
User Southpark on de.wikipedia - eigenes Foto. Fotograf Dirk Franke CC BY-SA 2.0
> Sea Level Rise

Sea Level Rise

Climate change is causing sea levels to rise at an accelerated speed. Since the use of satellite measurements, it has been recognised that the rate of rise has doubled.

Meere Online
Insight
Detailaufnahme einer Flügenschnecke
Foto: Dirk Schories
> Ocean Acidification

Ocean Acidification

The absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere leads to fundamental changes in the chemistry of the ocean, impacting biological processes across a variety of life forms.

Meere Online
Insight
Am Horizont geht die Sonne im Meer unter
Foto: DAM
> Ocean Warming

Ocean Warming

The ocean absorbes a huge amount of heat at its surface, which is stored at increasing depths. This leads to an increase in water temperature, impacting the climate and the marine life.

Meere Online
Focus
Große Algen unter Wasser aufgenommen
Bild: Dirk Schories
> Ocean Warming

Sauerstoffarmut in den Meeren

Die Meere und Ozeane verlieren Sauerstoff – und damit einen der wichtigsten Bausteine des Lebens. Die Hauptursachen: Erwärmung und Überdüngung der Meer.

Meere Online
Website
> Ocean Warming

Oxygen and Ocean

The European Marine Board Future Science letter No. 10 summarises how important the ocean is for oxygen on our planet and answers the question whether “every second breath we take comes from the ocean”.

European Marine Board
Multimedia
> Sea Level Rise

Sea level monitor

How much has the sea level risen along the northern coasts of Germany in the last century? These and other questions are answered by the sea level monitor of the North German Coastal and Climate Office of the Helmholtz Centre Hereon.

Hereon
Website
> The Ocean as a Climate Buffer

Oceans as carbondioxide storage facility

Information material from the DAM research mission CDRmare (CDR: Carbon Dioxide Removal) about the role of the ocean in the absorption and storage of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

CDRmare
Multimedia
> Sea Level Rise

Sea ice portal

Sea ice is rapidly melting due to climate change. The sea ice portal of the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) is a logbook of a fading world, in which experts share their knowledge about sea ice.

AWI
Website
> The Ocean as a Climate Buffer

Climate Saviour Ocean?

The World Ocean Review (WOR) ‘Climate Saviour Ocean?’ describes the role of the ocean in the Earth's carbon cycle and presents the benefits, risks and knowledge gaps of the most important ocean-based carbon dioxide removal processes.

WOR
Multimedia
> Sea Level Rise

North German Coastal and Climate Office

The North German Coastal and Climate Office provides practical results from coastal and climate research for northern Germany - from storm surge monitors to interactive maps for coastal protection. Available in German only.

Hereon
Website
> The Ocean as a Climate Buffer

Climate knowledge - the latest facts

In cooperation with klimafakten.de, the Helmholtz Climate Initiative presents compact information on the current state of climate research.

Helmholtz climate initiative
Multimedia
> Sea Level Rise

Danger on the coast - how do we adapt to rising sea levels?

The Association of German Engineers (VDI) released episode 135 of the podcast ‘Technology on your ear’, which is about the potential threat to coastal regions caused by rising sea levels. Available in German only.

VDI
Website
> The Ocean as a Climate Buffer

The ocean as a climate protector

As part of GEOMAR's ‘Discover’ information series, the role of the ocean as a climate protector is explained in a compact way and linked with vivid graphics.

GEOMAR
PDF
> Sea Level Rise

Sea level rise on the German Baltic coast

This brochure summarises the current state of knowledge on sea level rise, coastal development and coastal protection on the German Baltic Sea coast in the context of climate change. Available in German only.

Hereon
Website
> Ocean Acidification

Facts about ocean acidification

The oceans are absorbing large amounts of carbon dioxide, resulting in sea water that increasingly becomes more acidic. The Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) summarises the consequences for marine life in this thematic focus.

AWI
Website
> Ocean Acidification

Biological effects of ocean acidification

On the website of the ‘BIOACID’ research programme, you can learn interesting facts about the impact of ocean acidification on marine organisms and habitats. Besides informative texts and brochures, the website also contains interviews with experts.

GEOMAR
PDF
> Sea Level Rise

North Sea storm surges in a changing climate - prospects for coastal development

How does climate change affect storm surges on the North Sea coast and what is necessary for coastal defences in the future? This brochure answers these and other questions and summarises the current state of knowledge. Available in German only.

Hereon
Website
> Sea Level Rise

The Future of the Gulf Stream Circulation

This brochure provides an overview about current scientific knowledge about the Gulf Stream circulation.

DKK | KDM
Multimedia
> Ocean Warming

The herring in the climate trap

In the multimedia report, the Thünen Institute explains how climate change is affecting herring stocks in the Baltic Sea.

Thünen Institute
Website
Schäumende Ostsee bei Strum im Hintergrund Blick auf das histrorische Hotel Fürstenhof in Sassnitz. Bild von Peggychoucair auf Pixabay
Bild von Peggychoucair auf Pixabay.
> Educational Materials

Climate change - understanding and acting

The educational programme of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich (LMU) deals with the causes and consequences of climate change using various teaching materials.

LMU Munich
Website
> Sea Level Rise

Future of sea levels

Experts from the German Climate Consortium and the German Marine Research Consortium explain facts and background information on the future of sea levels. Available in German only.

DKK | KDM
Website
> The Ocean as a Climate Buffer

Coasts as climate protectors

Coastal ecosystems can both emit and absorb greenhouse gases - an international team involving the Leibniz-Zentrum für Marine Tropenforschung (ZMT), Hereon and GEOMAR investigated, which regions of the world are of particular importance.

ZMT
Website
> Ocean Warming

Research programme on tropical climate variability and coral reefs

More than forty scientists from various disciplines are researching how tropical ecosystems are affected by increasing sea temperatures and the impacts on the livelihoods of millions of people.

MARUM | CAU
Website
> The Ocean as a Climate Buffer

The ocean as a climate saviour?

The website of the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) reports on the need for proactive management of negative emissions technologies.

RIFS Potsdam
Multimedia
Lighthouse on a hill by the sea
Courtney Corlew/Unsplash
> Sea Level Rise

Coastwards

Researching sea level rise via app: With the Coastwards app, coastal photos can be uploaded to help scientists assess the risks of sea level rise.

CRSLR | Kiel University
PDF
> The Ocean as a Climate Buffer

The role of the ocean in climate policy

This publication, issued by the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, describes the role of the ocean in European and global climate policy. Available in German only.

SWP
Multimedia
> The Ocean as a Climate Buffer

IMPACT2C Web Atlas

What does 2°C global warming mean? The web atlas summarises the results of the project ‘Impact 2°C’ // IMPACT2C. It emphasis for example the rising annual costs of storm surge events or the costs incurred in dyke construction.

IMPACT2C

Find Connections

More on "Climate Change" from other subject areas:

Website
> Nutrients

Assessment report Baltic Sea

In 2023, a new assessment report under the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM) was published – the ecological status of the Baltic Sea is poor in almost all areas. The report is available in English (State of the Baltic Sea 2023).

UBA
Website
> Ecosystem Services

FutureMARES

FutureMARES is an EU-funded research project that investigates the relationships between climate change, marine biodiversity, and ecosystem services.

FutureMARES
Website
> Ecosystem Services

Seagrass meadows – Ecosystem services, conservation, and restoration

Part of GEOMAR's “Discover” information series, this presentation highlights the importance of seagrass meadows as a vital habitat.

GEOMAR
PDF
> Ecosystem Change

Octopuses and climate change

Why cephalopods are better adapted to climate change than other marine animals, and what the significance of their spread in the North Sea could be for fish stocks and the fishing industry, is explained in this article. Available in German only.

Thünen Institute
Website
> Restoration

Protected reefs in the Indian Ocean are recovering after coral bleaching

Can coral reefs regain their functions after a bleaching event? What factors contribute to the recovery of these biodiverse ecosystems? This summary of an international study provides the answers!

ZMT
Website
> Ecosystem Change

Arctic species in climate change

Living conditions in the Arctic have changed as rapidly in recent decades as in hardly any other ecosystem on Earth. This thematic focus from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) provides the facts.

AWI
Multimedia
> Ecosystem Services

Information video about the upwelling area of the Humboldt Current

This short video introduces the upwelling area off the Pacific coast of South America, which provides millions of tonnes of fish and seafood annually and is considered a hotspot of marine biodiversity. Available in German only.

Humboldt Tipping
Multimedia
> Ecosystem Services

A dive through the coral reef

Dive into one of the most biodiverse marine regions in the world – the Coral Triangle in Southeast Asia. The video highlights the importance of coral reefs for humans, and the impacts of climate change on these unique ecosystems. Available in German only.

ZMT
Multimedia
Zwei Hände berühren einen Touchdisplay und interagieren mit dem Interaktiven Weltozean.
Foto: DAM Sinje Hasheider
> Educational Materials

Interactive world ocean

Touchscreen-based ocean map for schools, educational institutions and exhibitions - navigate simply and intuitively by touch and immerse yourself in the underwater world.

DAM

The federal government and the governments of the five northern German states support the current development and sponsor the DAM

Topics at a Glance

Biodiversity

Climate Change

Ocean Use

Pollution

Management

Research