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Sediment cores from the Southeast Pacific as an 8-million-year-old climate archive: Temperature influences global ocean currents

Researcher collects data below the ice.

Under the lead of the IOW, a sediment core from the Southeast Pacific was examined that reflects the last 8 million years of Earth's history. The study shows that the intensity of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which connects the world’s three major oceans, is particularly sensitive to temperature changes, which in turn significantly influences the exchange of CO2 between the ocean and the atmosphere.

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How does light change in the sea? European research initiative investigates changing underwater light conditions

Group photo (on a staircase) of the researchers who participated in the kick-off meeting for the two research projects ISOLUME and ALANIS in Hamburg.

Today, the two-day kick-off meeting for the international “Joint Action on Changing Marine Lightscapes” launched by JPI Oceans started in Hamburg with more than 50 participating researchers. The initiative aims at a better understanding of changing light conditions in the ocean and how this impacts marine ecosystems. Two projects are taking up work under the umbrella of a joint knowledge hub. The ISOLUME project coordinated by the IOW focuses primarily on ocean darkening; the ALANIS project, led by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, mainly addresses nocturnal light pollution.

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Saltwater intrusion threatens water supplies from tidal rivers worldwide

Aerial view of the Elbe estuary with container cargo ship

Worldwide, water obtained from tidal rivers for human use is threatened by saltwater intrusion. This is the result of a recent study by an international research team, in which the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW) also participated. The main causes are the effects of climate change, such as prolonged periods of drought and sea level rise.

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Construction start of a new IOW facility for extending the sediment core repository and other storage capacities

At the ground-breaking (f. r.): IOW Director Oliver Zielinski, MV Science Minister Bettina Martin, IOW Head of Admin Beatrix Blabusch, Carmen-Alina Botezatu, Sara Paetrow, and Anne Breuer, all from the State Building and Real Estate Office.

The construction of a new storage facility for the IOW began today with the traditional ground-breaking ceremony in Rostock’s fishing harbour. The building will provide additional capacity for equipment storage and climate-controlled sediment core storage as well as additional workshop space. The construction project has a total volume of around 2.44 million euros and is being realised with funds from the federal and state governments.

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Are there Stone Age megastructures on the Baltic Sea floor? Research project SEASCAPE starts with kick-off at the IOW

Group photo of scientists participating in today's SEASCAPE kick-off meeting at the IOW

The western Baltic Sea may harbour more of humanity’s cultural heritage than previously thought: underwater landscapes with monumental structures built by Stone Age hunter-gatherers. The interdisciplinary joint research project SEASCAPE, led by the IOW, now wants to investigate these unique traces. Today, researchers from all SEASCAPE partner institutions are meeting at the IOW to kick off the three-year collaboration.

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News

23rd Coastal Summer School

This year, the IOW was the main organizer of the 23rd Coastal Summer School which took place on Hiddensee Island (Germany) from 12 until 22 September 2026. The summer school was organized together with the Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon (Geesthacht, Germany). The topic of the summer school was 'Environmental monitoring-a powerful tool for sustainable management of our seas'.

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