SO-CHIC Helmholtz centre for Ocean Resea

Partner Presentation

GEOMAR is among the largest non-university research institutions in the field of marine sciences in Germany (1000 staff, incl. 450 experienced scientists and about 200 doctoral candidates), and a member of the Helmholtz Association, Germany’s largest non-university scientific organisation. The centre’s mandate is the inter- and multidisciplinary investigation of all relevant aspects of modern marine sciences, from sea floor geology through physical, chemical and biological oceanography to marine meteorology. Research is conducted worldwide in all oceans. The main research topics are grouped in four divisions: Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics, Marine Biogeochemistry, Marine Ecology, and Dynamics of the Ocean Floor. GEOMAR cooperates closely with national and international research institutions and with a number of SMEs active in marine technology and science.

The scientific breadth and the state-of-the-art infrastructure, including open ocean observations and modelling, gives GEOMAR a unique profile and a central collaborative role within the German and international marine science community. Its modern observational infrastructure includes four research vessels, three deep-sea robots with diving depths up to 6000 m, a large number of innovative ship-based and autonomous observing systems (one of the largest fleets of autonomously-operated underwater gliders in Europe) as well as measuring and experimental platforms, state-of-the-art analytical facilities. Ocean and climate modelling employ a hierarchy of models to understand ocean and climate variability. In particular, nested ocean refinement hosted in ocean only and in coupled atmosphere-ocean model is strongly applied to ocean and climate models.

Role in project

GEOMAR leads WP5 (Impact on the coupled climate system) and contributes to coupled model simulations and high-resolution atmosphere simulations.

Key Personnel