Page path:
Esther Thomsen
Report of GLOMAR PhD student Esther Thomsen about her participation in the Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association Conference in Bremen, Germany from 4 - 7 September 2016
On September 4 - 7 the "ECSA 56 – Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association" conference with the title "Coastal Systems in transition: from a natural to an anthropogenically-modified state" was held in Bremen. The conference was hosted by the Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology (ZMT). It addressed the cause and consequences of global change on coastal ecosystems.
In 5 parallel sessions over 320 oral presentations were held. 10 minute synchronization breaks allowed attendants to change in between the sessions and hear the talks from all fields they were interested in. During four poster sessions about 220 posters were presented. The atmosphere was very constructive and respectful.
As a student assistant I helped with the registration, equipped the speakers with microphones and handle the sound during the sessions. Additionally we took photos and assisted anyone with questions. The long days were rewarded by many inspiring and good quality talks from senior scientists as well as from students.
I was fortunate to give an oral presentation myself. I talked about data I collected in April during my field work in Hainan. Even though the preparation was intense it was worth it. The talk initiated interesting discussions with scientists working on seagrasses worldwide. Apart from this I meet scientists who used an in-situ method measuring respiration. I would like to apply this method during my next field phase. It was a great opportunity to get first-hand information and useful tips for the implementation. It was a great experience. I would recommend every PhD student to take the advantage to present their work to a large number of experts during a conference. This allows getting feedback but also inspiration and new ideas for research.
In 5 parallel sessions over 320 oral presentations were held. 10 minute synchronization breaks allowed attendants to change in between the sessions and hear the talks from all fields they were interested in. During four poster sessions about 220 posters were presented. The atmosphere was very constructive and respectful.
As a student assistant I helped with the registration, equipped the speakers with microphones and handle the sound during the sessions. Additionally we took photos and assisted anyone with questions. The long days were rewarded by many inspiring and good quality talks from senior scientists as well as from students.
I was fortunate to give an oral presentation myself. I talked about data I collected in April during my field work in Hainan. Even though the preparation was intense it was worth it. The talk initiated interesting discussions with scientists working on seagrasses worldwide. Apart from this I meet scientists who used an in-situ method measuring respiration. I would like to apply this method during my next field phase. It was a great opportunity to get first-hand information and useful tips for the implementation. It was a great experience. I would recommend every PhD student to take the advantage to present their work to a large number of experts during a conference. This allows getting feedback but also inspiration and new ideas for research.
Esther Thomsen and Claudia Pogoreutz (photo: Elham Kamyab)
The student assistants at the closing session, together with Dr. Kate Spencer (ECSA president) and the ELSEVIER team (photo: Jan Meier, ZMT)