Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel

GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) is a worldwide leading Institute in marine research. It is located in Kiel, Germany, spread over two locations, one on each side of the Kiel Fjord. The Institute investigates chemical, physical, biological and geological processes of the seafloor, oceans and ocean margins and their interactions with the atmosphere. It also bridges the gap between basic and applied science in several areas. With this broad spectrum of research initiatives GEOMAR is globally unique.

The GEOMAR is a foundation under public law jointly funded by the German federal (90%) and Schleswig-Holstein state (10%) governments. GEOMAR has a staff of approximately 1,000 (2018) individuals and an annual budget of ~80 Million Euros. The Institute’s mandate is the interdisciplinary investigation of all relevant aspects of modern marine sciences, from sea floor geology to marine meteorology. Research is conducted globally in all oceans and adjacent seas. The Institute has four major research divisions: Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics, Marine Biogeochemistry, Marine Ecology, and Dynamics of the Ocean Floor. GEOMAR cooperates closely with the University of Kiel in the education of future marine scientists. Curricula include “Physics of the Earth System: Meteorology – Oceanography – Geophysics” for the Bachelor’s degree and internationally oriented Master’s courses such as “Climate Physics: Meteorology and Physical Oceanography” and “Biological Oceanography.” The Institute also provides additional contributions to other curricula, such as “Geology and Geophysics”. GEOMAR also has cooperative programs with other universities around the world, and special programs for pupils and teachers whose aim is to stimulate interest in the marine sciences at an early stage. GEOMAR is among the three leading institutions in the field of marine sciences in Europe. Jointly with the National Oceanography Centre in the United Kingdom and IFREMER in France, GEOMAR has established the “G3 group” of national marine research centers. In addition, GEOMAR is active in a number of national and international committees and strategic alliances such as the German Alliance for Marine Research (DAM), the German Marine Research Consortium (KDM), the German Climate Consortium (DKK), the European Marine Board and the Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO).

The FishBase group, within the Marine Ecology Research Division has been active in marine and freshwater research since its establishment in 2001. It is GEOMAR’s representative to the FishBase Consortium and provides the database and web programming support for AquaMaps, one of the consortium’s long-standing projects. The group develops scientific methods that contributes to the improvement of fisheries management and nature conservation in Europe and elsewhere. It collaborates with scientists from disciplines of fisheries biology, ichthyology, nature conservation, and niche (e.g. AquaMaps) and ecological (e.g. Ecopath) modelling.

https://www.geomar.de/en/mscotti

https://www.geomar.de/en/researchgroup-mscotti

Role In Project

Participation in all WPs

Leader of the Baltic Sea case study

Ecosystem models and indicators; stock assessments; species distributions mapping