It is now three years since the German Collaborative Research Group RACE “Regional Atlantic Circulation in Global Change” started its investigation of climate-relevant Atlantic currents from the Arctic Ocean to the tropics. Over the next three years the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) will be supporting the project in an amount of 4.4 million euros. As of January 2016, the research group will be coordinated by Professor Monika Rhein from the Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (MARUM) and the University of Bremen’s Institute for Environmental Physics (IUP).
Efficient observations in the Atlantic
The project focuses on possible effects on the Atlantic climate system, on the European shelf, and on coastal protection in Germany. The researchers will be basing their work on a combination of efficient observations in key regions of the Atlantic and realistic modeling. Five large climate research institutes and the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency are also part of the collaborative research group. In Western Europe, sea currents exert a major climatic influence because they transport warmth from the tropics into the North Atlantic. The most known North Atlantic current, the Gulf Stream, can be likened to heating system that transports warm water into the central and northern latitudes of the North Atlantic, making a significant contribution to the mild climatic conditions in Northern and Western Europe. As the Bremen oceanographer Monika Rhein points out, “Systematic long-lasting changes affecting the circulation of Atlantic waters can lead to fundamental climatic change in Germany and neighboring countries with severe consequences for the economy and the environment”.
Scientists expect climate warming will have a substantial impact on currents and circulation in the oceans. The RACE project will deliver findings leading to a deeper understanding of fluctuations in the circulation of Atlantic waters and their role in the climate system, which in turn will make it possible to predict accordant developments. Moreover, RACE will also contribute to the sixth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Fluctuations in Atlantic circulation not only affect the climate, but also the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere as well as sea levels along the coasts of Western Europe. They are thus important for developing measures of coastal protection. This is why the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency is also participating in the collaborative research group.
A North German cooperation project
The RACE project partners
- AWI Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research
- BSH Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency
- CEN Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, University of Hamburg
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel
- MPI Max Planck Institute of Meteorology Hamburg
- MARUM-IUP Center for Marine Environmental Sciences – Institute for Environmental Physics, University of Bremen
For further information on this topic, please contact:
University of Bremen
IUP-MARUM
Prof.Dr. Monika Rhein
Phone: +49 421 218-62160
e-mail: mrheinprotect me ?!physik.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
