ZMT - Leibniz Zentrum für Marine Tropenforschung

8.6.16 | Over the coming years the oceans will be at the centre of research:
On June 7, Johanna Wanka, Federal Minster of Education and Research (BMBF) launched the Year of Science 2016*2017 focusing on the seas and the oceans. She also announced a new ocean research programme by the Federal Government.

“In the past we discovered new countries by crossing the oceans. Today we still need to discover more about the oceans themselves: Only if we properly understand the oceans and the seas, we can use them sustainably and protract them efficiently”, the Federal Minister said. “We need to start a turnaround towards a sustainable use to the oceans because climate changes, overfishing and litter and are threatening the largest habitat on the planet.”

The new Year of Science shows the fascinating world of the oceans and the astonishing results of marine research. Making the people aware of the largest ecosystem on Earth, which is under immense ecological pressure as a result of global warming, economic exploitation and pollution.

During the Year Of Science, a joint initiative with Wissenschaft im Dialog, a number of different activities for the public have been planned as well as project funding and media cooperations.

The Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research is also taking part in the Year of Science. Visitors of the MS Wissenschaft can dive into a coral reef using a virtual reality headset and experience what strains and stresses the reefs are exposed to. The exhibit has been developed by Robin Remmers, software developer at the IT Department of the ZMT, in collaboration with biologists Dr. Sebastian Ferse and Dr. Hauke Reuter as well as the communications department. The exhibition vessel is currently on tour throughout Germany.

In addition the ZMT has contributed a 2-D version of the virtual coral reef model to the Science Station. The mobile science exhibition will stop at German train stations. Until October the show features a combination of fascinating interactive experiments and exhibits.

With the launch of the Year of Science an exhibition titled “The Ocean Starts Here…” in the foyer of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research has also opened its doors. Every four to five months the topics will change ranging from Coasts (summer / autumn 2016), the Arctic and Antarctica (winter 2016/2017) and the deep sea (spring / summer 2017).

Media partners of the Year of Science are the German-French cultural broadcaster ARTE and the German magazine mare.

On the occasion of the launch Federal Minister Johanna Wanka also announced a joint new research programme in marine sciences called MARE:N which aims at developing research strategies against pollution, overfishing and acidification of the oceans. The initiative combines measures of different Federal Ministries – the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Consumer Protection and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety.

Over the next ten years, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research will make 450 million Euro available to fund projects. Combined with financial support for research centres, and the renovation of the German research fleet more than 4 billion Euro will be invested in the future of the oceans in the next ten years.

From June onwards, the BMBF will also fund projects to scientifically examine the route of plastic litter from production and consumption via transport from land into rivers and finally into the oceans. A complete picture of the problem is still missing in order to find solutions. More than 28 million Euro wil be made available over a period of three years.

MARE:N, the programme “Plastics in the environment”, the G7 action plan for the “protection of the marine environment” and a strong commitment on a European level in particular with regards to the micro plastics in the oceans, are part of the German contributions to more research into the role of the oceans and the threats they are facing.

More information on MARE:N:
MARE_N.pdf

More information on the Year of Sceince 2016*17 – Seas and Oceans
www.wissenschaftsjahr.de
www.ms-wissenschaft.de