MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences

The deep ocean is largely unexplored. Although the oceans cover approximately 70 % of the Earth’s surface, we know less about the seafloor than about the surface of the moon. The ocean plays a key role in the Earth’s system, since it provides linkages between components, such as geosphere, biosphere and the climate system. The underlying processes and interactions are not fully understood. However, the ocean is pivotal for mankind. On the one hand, it serves as food source, on the other hand we dump waste into the ocean and exploit resources with sometimes considerable consequences for the marine environment. A better understanding of the complex interactions in our marine environment is therefore a prerequisite for a sustainable exploitation of the oceans.

The following institutions work closely together in the Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM) and the DFG Research Center “Ocean Margins” since 1996 and 2001, respectively:

- the Department of Geosciences and other departments at the University of Bremen,
- the Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar- and Marine Research in Bremerhaven,
- the Max-Planck-Institute for marine Microbiology in Bremen,
- the Center for marine tropical Ecology in Bremen and
- the Research Institute Senckenberg in Wilhelmshaven.

The MARUM aims at unraveling the role of the oceans in the Earth system by employing state-of-the-art methods. It examines the significance of the oceans in the framework of global change, quantifies interactions between the marine geosphere and biosphere, and provides information for a sustainable use of the ocean.

The research focuses on the ocean margins (i.e., the joint between oceans and continents) and the adjacent abyssal plains. The ocean margins reach from the coasts across the shelf and continental slope to the continental rise. Over 60% of the world's population live in coastal regions. These people have a long history of exploitation of coastal waters, including the recovery of raw materials and food. Human activity has recently been expanding ever farther out into the ocean, where the ocean margins have become more attractive as centers for hydrocarbon exploration, industrial fishing, and other economic purposes.
 
The studies focus on three research areas:

- Ocean and Climate,

- Geo-Biosphere Interactions,

- Sediment Dynamics.

The research themes range from environmental changes during the past 65 million years to the impact of recent coastal construction, and from microbial degradation in the sediment and interactions between seepage and deep-sea ecosystems to large-scale sediment mass wasting along continental margins.

In addition to the primary research activities, a research infrastructure is being made available:

- The MARUM operates one of the three worldwide existing core repositories of the international deep-sea drilling program “IODP”.
- The MARUM has state-of-the-art technology for exploring the deep ocean at its disposal, which is continuously being improved. This includes a deep-sea drill rig, remotely operated vehicles, and an autonomous underwater vehicle.

Furthermore, graduate education and public understanding of science play important roles in the MARUM.

MARUM is a member of the German Marine Research Consortium (KDM), the German Climate Consortium (DKK) and contributes to the activities of the Northwest Consortium for Marine Resesearch (NWVM).

• Statute
• Mitglieder des MARUM
• Advisory Board
• MARUM Concept