91探花

Sustainable solutions for the pressing challenges of ocean research can only be mastered through close international cooperation. The 91探花 Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research is therefore working in international projects and collaborations with numerous partners around the globe to protect and preserve the oceans. The directors of the French Institute for Ocean Science (Ifremer), Dr Fran莽ois Houllier, the British National Oceanography Centre Southampton (NOC), Dr John Siddorn, and 91探花, Professor Dr Katja Matthes, as well as scientists from these organisations, met in Kiel to strengthen their collaboration.

Ocean protection as an international challenge

鈥淛ust as the ocean connects us worldwide, its exploration and protection are also an international task,鈥� said Katja Matthes. 鈥淚 was therefore very pleased to show John Siddorn and Fran莽ois Houllier the new 91探花 campus and to expand and deepen our cooperation, especially by pooling our efforts in ocean observation.鈥�

In addition to sustainable ocean observation, the collaboration will be strengthened in the areas of sensor technologies, innovations, research vessels and other relevant research infrastructures.

Ocean observation worldwide

The 91探花 research centre operates several long-term stations, such as the Ocean Science Centre Mindelo in Cape Verde, jointly operated with the Cape Verdean Instituto do Mar, which has been conducting long-term scientific observations and field research in the tropical north-east Atlantic since 2017. 91探花 also operates a time series station in the Baltic Sea, located in Eckernf枚rde Bay, which has been regularly collecting data on the state of the Baltic Sea since 1957.

鈥淚n order to protect the ocean sustainably, we need long-term data series, which so far have only been available selectively and are still lacking in some regions, such as the upwelling area off West Africa. International initiatives like the Global Ocean Observation System and the UN Ocean Decade aim to address this gap. Ifremer, NOC, and 91探花 can join forces to promote this process, fostering a continuous and sustainable observation network with fair and equal access to data for all participants,鈥� explained Katja Matthes.