How is it changing our oceans?
The ocean has absorbed 30% of anthropogenic CO2 emissions since the Industrial Revolution, increasing the ocean’s acidity by 26%. The effects of ocean acidification reach down to the ocean’s calcifying organisms and all the way up to human food security and more. The OASIS project is researching the changes in Ocean Acidification.
The stories corals tell us
In project OASIS, we aim to reconstruct seawater pH and ocean chemistry before and since the Industrial Revolution by using long living shallow reef corals to understand the development of ocean acidification in the tropical oceans.
the work that we do
Understanding Our Oceans Past
Climate Change
Since the Industrial Revolution, CO2 emissions have soared and are influencing our climate, creating issues that affect the natural systems of the earth and all those who live on it.
Ocean Acidification
Increased anthropogenic CO2 emissions get absorbed by the ocean, increasing the ocean’s acidity. The effects of ocean acidification highly impact calcifying organisms and create far-reaching effects on society as well.
Corals - Archives of the Past
Corals and coral reefs are also known as the rainforest of the sea, because they provide habitats and support for about 25% of all marine life. They also act as a protective wall for land and people against large waves and erosion, and provide resources and ecological services worth billions of USD per year for fisheries, food and tourism.
Our main sampling and chemistry labs are located at the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT). We also have standing cooperation agreements with the Centre for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM) and the Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) labs.
