Sandy Boehnert

Anthropogenic impact on the development of coastal marine ecosystems

Human influence on the environment, like deforestation and mining associated with potential river contaminations, varied strongly in intensity and depending on geographic region throughout historical timescales. The North Sea experienced a continuous intensification of anthropogenic impact since the early mining activities (approx. 1000 BC), whereas the anthropogenic impact on New Zealand`s coastal ecosystems are mainly influenced by the two major settlement steps, the arrivals of Polynesians (end of 13th century) and of the Europeans (1840 AD). Both regions went through significant environmental changes such as the utilization of coastal areas for settlement, industry, recreation etc. Additional trigger mechanisms of paleoenvironmental variability are natural climate variations like the Little Ice Age (1350-1850 AD) and the 20th century global warming. Marine sediments recorded these changes and provide an archive of the long-term development of coastal marine ecosystems. My project aims to compare a presumably high (North Sea) with a low impact (New Zealand) region in order to provide a framework allowing a better assessment of the baseline on which future developments might impact.

My personal motivation for this science communication project is to target people to whom scientists are “strange folks” working on topics nobody could ever possibly understand anyways. Science is not easy, though it’s not impossible to understand either. I believe if we manage to make people understand we make people care. Especially with regards to our environment I hope we will manage to raise more interest and awareness.