5. Bremen Ocean Day

An event for learning groups at upper secondary level

Dec 17, 2024

View into the lecture hall during the 4th Ocean Day 2024. Photo: Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology/A. Krüger

Oceans cover more than two thirds of the earth's surface. They provide a huge habitat and their biodiversity is enormous. They keep our climate stable and provide us with food. And they are still full of mysteries and secrets!
Bremen Ocean Day allows up to 500 schoolchildren to immerse themselves in the ocean and modern marine research. Bremen researchers talk about their work, their latest findings and the joys and pitfalls of research life. They explain why exploring the oceans is not only incredibly exciting but at least as important.

Participation is free of charge. Registration by the accompanying teacher is necessary.

When: 25.02.2025, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m

Where? Lecture hall building of the University of Bremen

Registration for SEK II courses is possible until 12.01.2024.

Registration and further information at www.uni-bremen.de/oceanday .

Program will be in German.

Lecture program:

9:30 am: Welcome: Aspetsberger/Harder

9:45 am: Lecture: Dr. Julian Kiefer (Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen): From deep-sea mussels to coastal worms: The secrets of marine symbioses

10:15 am: Lecture: Elena Schiller (MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen): Lights on! How do we see in the deep sea?

10:45 am: Break

11:15 am: Interview and discussion with students: NN

11:45 am: Lecture: Dr. Mirco Wölfelschneider (Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Bremen): Mangroves as climate saviors? What is behind them and what makes tropical trees so unique?

12:15 pm: Conclusion

The presentations in detail

Dr. Julian Kiefer
Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (MPIMM), Bremen

From deep-sea mussels to coastal worms: The secrets of marine symbioses

The sea is full of fascinating symbiotic communities. They appear inconspicuous at first glance, but provide deep insights into biology and evolution. From mussels at hot springs in the deep sea to gutless worms in the shallow waters of the Mediterranean, many marine animals live in close partnership with microbes that help them survive in extreme habitats. In his lecture, Julian Kiefer explains how these symbioses work, how we study the animals and their microbes and what stories their DNA tells us about their evolution.

Julian Kiefer started out on land, investigating symbioses between insects and bacteria. Now he is investigating gutless worms and their bacterial subtenants in the Mediterranean. Using a mixture of field research, molecular analyses and bioinformatics, he is trying to understand the evolution of these fascinating communities.

A person in snorkeling gear, consisting of a diving mask and snorkel, swims in turquoise blue, clear sea water. The person is wearing a blue long-sleeved shirt and holding a white bucket. The sky is bright blue, and the scene conveys a calm, sunny atmosphere in a tropical or subtropical marine area.photo: Harald Gruber-Vodicka / Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology — Sample name in tropical sea. Photo: Harald Gruber-Vodicka / Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology

Elena Schiller
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen

Lights on! How do we see in the deep sea?

Why are photos from the deep sea so dark and often look as if someone has put a rainbow filter over them? What is the color of a place where it is always dark and which we humans cannot see with our own eyes, but only with the help of cameras? In her lecture, Elena Schiller explains how water swallows light, how colors are created and what light we need to bring with us into the deep sea to get real pictures of the underwater world.

Elena Schiller studied mechanical engineering and is a scientific diver. She spent a few years building deep-sea robots for marine research at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven. Now she is researching at the University of Bremen how colors are created underwater and what lighting we need to get real images of the underwater world.

Impressions of working with a deep-sea robot. Photo: Elena Schiller/ROV MARUM-SQUID, MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen — Impressions of working with a deep-sea robot. Photo: Elena Schiller/ROV MARUM-SQUID, MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen

Dr. Mirco Wölfelschneider
Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Bremen

Mangroves as climate savers? What's behind them and what makes these tropical trees so unique.

What are mangroves and why do they help us in the fight against climate change? Mirco Wölfelschneider researches these fascinating trees, which can even survive in salt water. The mangrove ecologist invites you on a voyage of discovery to tropical coasts. He shows what he finds so exciting about the trees and why mangrove forests are not only (super)vital for people in the tropics, but are also being treated as "climate savers" these days.

Mirco Wölfelschneider conducts research into carbon storage in densely vegetated coastal ecosystems and is particularly interested in the question of how carbon gets into the seabed there.

Dense mangrove ecosystem with a complex network of exposed roots that spread out in the shallow water. The green, shiny leaves of the mangrove trees form a dense canopy, while the branching roots below provide stability. The calm water in the foreground reflects parts of the roots and leaves. The scene shows the natural diversity and the important role of mangroves in coastal ecosystems. — Dense mangrove ecosystem. Photo: Carolina Hortúa Romero