Nebroc Background

The idea for NEBROC – the marine science co-operation between the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (Royal NIOZ) and the four Bremen marine science institutions (Geosciences Department of Bremen University (GeoB), Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Marine and Polar Sciences (AWI), Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (MPI) and the Center for Tropical Marine Ecology (ZMT), all combined in MARUM (Center for Marine Environmental Sciences) as an umbrella organisation for the German partnership, came up during initial contacts of Minister Dr. Ritzen, Bundesminister Dr. Rüttgers and Senator Mrs. Kahrs in spring 1996.

Based on a meeting of the Dutch and German institutes involved, a joint proposal concerning topics of collaborative research, sharing facilities and a formal basis of co-operation was developed. The proposal aimed to establish a NETWORK between Royal NIOZ and the Bremen Institutions (incorporated in MARUM), which links the respective research activities. Its focus was on the intensification of the co-operation in already existing projects in the fields of climate history and the oceanic carbon cycle, on the combination of existing expertise in coastal and continental margin sciences and in marine technology and on the initiation of innovative joint research projects. Along with the establishment of a "European Graduate College for Marine Sciences" (ECOLMAS), the NETWORK was supposed to be the basis for the development of mutual scientific programmes which employ new technologies and methods, as well as for the joint preparation of proposals for national and international (especially EU) funds. Based on the final proposal the term commenced on February 1, 1998.

The start-up was followed immediately by the 1st NEBROC workshop, which was held in Bremen on February 2-3, 1998. The annual NEBROC workshop (as well as the annual ECOLMAS course Introduction to Marine Sciences) is alternated between Texel and Bremen. In addition to these major NEBROC events, numerous smaller scale meetings between individual NEBROC scientists took place throughout the first four years of NEBROC funding. The main activities of ECOLMAS comprise a set of courses (including the annual 14-day basic course Introduction to Marine Sciences held in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001) offered to the NEBROC Ph.D. students, as well as to other Ph.D. students from all over Europe and an obligate, extended stay in a foreign lab for the Ph.D. students. Four years after the beginning of NEBROC, ECOLMAS has become an internationally recognized graduate program, with numerous participants to ECOLMAS courses coming from outside NEBROC, e.g. from Portugal, Norway, United Kingdom, France, Belgium. The joint teaching and learning within ECOLMAS has made this program an essential part of NEBROC.

Overseen by the Scientific Steering Committee, which meets twice a year, NEBROC has rapidly grown to a very active research NETWORK and although the development of the NEBROC co-operation is not yet fully established, some milestones already have been passed. One of the major aims of the NEBROC NETWORK is to stimulate and to support the development of mutual scientific programmes in the main scientific fields of the NEBROC co-operation but also in other fields. Although such a goal can only be reached step-by-step, considerable progress has already been made as can be seen from the joint proposals with Royal NIOZ as well as Bremen partners that have been funded under the 5. Framework Programme of the EU and the collaborative proposals (MOVE!) that have been submitted to NWO and BMBF in the field of advanced marine technology.

EU-Projects with bilateral NEBROC participation

BIOHAB Biological Control of Harmful Algal Blooms in European Coastal water: Role of Eutrophication. Funding 2000-2002.

CARUSO Carbon Dioxide Uptake by the Southern Ocean. Funding 1998-2000

COMET Composition of dissolved organic matter and its interaction with metals and ultraviolet radiation in river-ocean systems: impact on the microbial foodweb. Funding 2000-2002.

ECOMOUND Environmental Controls on Mound Formation along the European Margin. Funding: 2000-2002.

GEOMOUND The Mound Factory - Internal Controls. Funding: 2000-2002.

IRONAGES Iron Resources and Oceanic Nutrients - Advancement of Global Environment Simulations. Funding 2000-2002.

MATBIOPOL Role of Microbial Mats in Bioremediation of Hydrocarbon Polluted Coastal Zones. Funding 2000-2002.

CT-Net Rapid global change during the Cenomanian/Turonian oceanic anoxic event: Examination of a natural climatic experiment in Earth history. Funding 2000-2003.

6C Carbonate Chemistry, Carbon Cycle and Climate Change. (presently under negotiation with EU).

AFRIFANS Funded proposal for giant piston coring of the Niger and Congo fans with R/V Marion Dufresne probably in 2003. (Funded by an EU large facility program).


Further co-operative projects

CANOBA CArbon budget and carbon dioxide uptake in the NOrth Sea and BAltic (NWO/ALW and Netherlands LOICZ funding).

ACES Atlantic Coral Ecosystem Study (EU-funding 2000-2003).

HOLSMEER Late Holocene Shallow Marine Sequences in Europe (EU funding, 2001-2003).

TEX86 A new sea surface temperature proxy based on planktonic archaeal membrane lipids, the TEX86 (NWO-CLIVAR funding).

PUCK Relationship between productivity and environmental conditions along the Chilean continental slope (BMBF funding 2000-2003).

MUMM Methane in Gas Hydrate Bearing Sediments (MPI-Project 2001-2003).

PIONIER Anti-predation behaviour (mainly deep-burrowing) of M. balthica in response to avian predators (Dutch funding)

PRIORITEIT Sustainable use of Wadden Sea bivalves (NWO funding 1999-2003)

BIOFLOW Flume facility co-operation network for biological benthic boundary layer research (EU-funded network).


ODP-Proposals

SW-Atlantic Preliminary Proposal for the Ocean Drilling Program: Brazil-Falkland (Malvinas) Confluence: Paleoceanography of a Mixing Region.

SE-Atlantic ODP Leg 208 with R/V Joides Resolution to drill the Palaeogene sequences on the Walvis Ridge in 2003.

NE-Atlantic ODP proposal 573: Carbonate Mounds along the Celtic Continental Slope.


Marine Technology

MOVE! Complementary proposals of NIOZ and MARUM to NWO and BMBF to develop a new moving benthic lander (Funding started in 2002).


Other activities with bilateral NEBROC participation

Hanse Workshop on "ENDICI - European Network on Dissolved Inorganic Carbon Isotopes" organised by G. Ganssen (Delmenhorst, Nov. 1999).

Air-sea interaction cluster workshop of projects funded by the EU Environment and Climate Research Programme, organised by H. de Baar (Brussels, Nov. 30 - Dec. 2, 1998).

Hanse Workshop on "CARINA - CO2 in the Northern North Atlantic" organised by L. Mintrop and D. Wallace (Delmenhorst, June 9-11, 1999)

NSF-Workshop on "Alkenone-based Paleoceanographic Indicators" (Woods Hole, Oct. 3-6, 1999).

Hanse Workshop on "EPILOG - Global Ocean and Land Surface Temperatures during the Last Ice Age" organised by R. Schneider (Delmenhorst, May 3-6, 1999).

Hanse Conference on "Past Climate and its Significance for Human History in NW Europe, the Last 10,000 Years" organised by G. Wefer and W.H. Berger (Delmenhorst, Oct. 9-14, 1999).

Hanse Conference on "Ocean Margin Systems" organised by G. Wefer (Delmenhorst, Oct. 22-23, 2000).

INMARTECH 2000, International research Ship Operators Meeting & International Marine Technicians Workshop, organised by Royal NIOZ (Texel, Sep. 19-23, 2000).
Hanse Conference on "Marine Science Frontiers for Europe" organised by G. Wefer (Bremen, Feb. 18-21, 2001).

Hanse Workshop on “The Ocean Carbon Cycle and Climate Change” organised by J. Bijma and G. Ganssen (Delmenhorst, Sep. 2-5, 2001).