June 2003

Science on the lawn

The premiere of the "Saturday of Science" took place in 2002, the Year of Geosciences. On Saturday, July 28, 2003, comes the "repeat performance". That's the date for this year's "scienceday" on the Wallanlage behind the Kunsthalle. The interested public is invited to experience science up close from 11:00 in the morning until around midnight. The motto for the event could be: "curiosity is all you need". A stage, seven open tents, and the "Prof-mobile" provide an inviting atmosphere for science and live entertainment.

The Research Center Ocean Margins, together with the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, will be undertaking numerous raft expeditions on the "Wallantic". During these cruises on the "model ocean" of the Wall moat, water samples will be taken and the "sea" floor will be investigated. You will also be able to listen to the sounds of the moat through an underwater microphone, and colleagues from the geosciences collection will hold a question-and-answer session on the topic of fossils. Visitors can bring the fossils or rocks they have found, perhaps while on vacition, and have them identified and explained by the experts.

It all looks good, even the weather. The German Weather Service predicts a high of 27 degrees Celsius for Saturday, variable cloudy and sunny conditions with only a chance of scattered showers.

Three evenings for the Sea

From 23 to 27 June, Bremen is hosting the Ministerial Meetings of the two most important European commissions for the protection of the seas (HELCOM and OSPAR). For the first time these commissions will meet jointly. The conference aims at developing a European strategy for the protection and conservation of the marine environment. On this occasion, the Research Center Ocean Margins, the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research and the NordwestRadio invite the interested public to interact with representatives from science, conservation and politics.

The three evenings have the following topics: Everything blowing the right way - are offshore wind parks ecologically sound? (Sunday, 22.6.), Coast, Climate, Sea level - how will the North Sea change? (Monday, 23.6.) and The North Sea as an economic area - what about marine organisms? (Tuesday, 24.6.). The events are free of charge and will take place from 19.30 till approx. 21.00 at the Guest House of the University of Bremen, Teerhof 58. You are cordially invited. (The discussions will be held in German)

 flyer2.pdf

Here you can download a flyer with more information (in German)

Science by phone

This week the new edition of the magazine "mare - The Magazine of the Seas" was published. For over four years the Public Relations department of the Research Center and MARUM have been delivering a column called "The Blue Telephone" to mare`s editorial staff in Hamburg.

Those who are interested can post questions dealing with oceans, climate, and environment to the Bremen scientists via email () or via a telephone hotline (0800 - 218 218 2) that is toll-free throughout Germany. With the help of their colleagues in the various university departments or at other research institutions the incoming and sometimes tricky questions are being capably answered. Many "mysteries" have been solved so far: whether fish sleep; when ships first started using position lights; the total length of the world's coasts; how the uptake of carbon dioxide affects the oceans; and so on, and so on...

mare readers have responded to The Blue Telephone with great interest. In the latest several editions the widely read column has provided the highlight of the bimonthly published magzine. Questions and answers - sorry to say, in German only - can be viewed either under www.marum.de or on this website. Please click here.

If you want to post a questions please do so using: