Challenge #19
Understanding the ocean.
At GEOMAR, we analyze sediment cores, corals, and the characteristics of modern oceans and combine our results with climate models. This allows us to understand the ocean’s role as the balance wheel and long-term memory of the climate system.
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The oceans are a decisive factor in our climate system. They store enormous amounts of energy and carbon and redistribute these around the world in the ocean currents. Heat and gas exchange with the atmosphere creates natural climate variations on various time scales, from years to millennia. Because they can soak up massive amounts of heat and CO2, the oceans are currently dampening human-induced global warming, but this is only delaying the climate system’s response. Therefore, even if we rapidly and drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions now, the current warming, sea level rise, and ocean acidification will continue for many decades, or perhaps even centuries to come.
At GEOMAR, we are working to understand the natural processes and past variability of the oceans so that we can provide more accurate estimates of future ocean circulation and climate dynamics.
(Header: Sören Janssen/Briese)
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