Earthquakes, mass movements of slopes, volcanic eruptions are localised geological events but they can produce far-reaching tsunami, and thus pose a major threat to people and social infrastructure not only in their immediate vicinity but also over long distances.
These geohazards are not limited to the continents, but occur on and under large areas of the seabed. Landslides can be found, for example, at all tilded seabeds from shallow waters to the deep sea, underwater volcanoes endanger small seas (e.g. the Aegean) and oceans (e.g. the Pacific), and the most devastating earthquakes are triggered in subduction zones (e.g. the Pacific Ring of Fire).
Scientific knowledge of the extent of these geohazards, the spatial and temporal dimensions are essential for assessing and mitigating the risk to communities, critical infrastructure and the environment.
Marine geoscientists at MARUM work with social scientists and engineers to reduce impacts along the coasts and support the building of resilient societies in direct collaboration with those affected. Together, MARUM researchers are involved in various projects around Europe and other regions of the world.
A key focus of our research is not only on individual geological events, but also on the consequences of chain events that are difficult to predict - so-called cascading geohazard effects. For example, if an earthquake triggers landslides, both processes can significantly amplify the subsequent tsunami.
The Volcanic Island of Montserrat shaped by different eruption phases between 1995 and 2010. The topography of the Soufrière Hills volcano before 1995 (dashed line) and after 2010 (black line) the most recent series of eruptions. White arrows mark the material transport pathways of the collapsed volcanic cone materials. Slid masses were drilled offshore during METEOR Expedition M154-2. Photo: MARUM – Centre for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen; K. Huhn-Frehers
An international research expedition, in which Junli Zhang and Matt Ikari from MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen ...
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When one tectonic plate slips beneath another, it can trigger extremely powerful and destructive earthquakes and potential tsunami, as observed after the ...
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At the fourth edition of "MARUM im Dialog", nearly 60 representatives from science, politics, and practice came together to discuss how to deal with ...
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The uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) MARUM-Otter from the research group for Marine Environmental Technology and Deepsea Engineering successfully completed ...
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