PANGAEA ranks as a globally recognized data publisher that publishes and archives scientific data from the fields of geo and environmental sciences. The platform is operated jointly by MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). It ensures that high-quality, well-structured, and interoperable datasets are maintained and made available under open access conditions. 

"PANGAEA is held in the highest regard and widely appreciated in climate and environmental research," underscored Henrike Müller, Senator for the Environment, Climate, and Science of Bremen State. “I am delighted that the DFG has given approval for funding for this project. Given current global political developments, this data is both vulnerable and a precious treasure for international academic science. The fact that we can secure it here in Germany benefits us all.”

Thanks to the DFG funding, three scientists at PANGAEA will now be able to continue supporting data rescue in the areas data scouting, data curation, and software development this year and the next, as well as working on sustainable national and international strategies. The aim is to identify datasets of high scientific value through international exchange that may be jeopardized by political developments, for example, and to proactively secure them in PANGAEA. "This means that data from the climate and environmental sector will be permanently available to the academic community," explained Frank Oliver Glöckner, a professor of Earth system data science at MARUM at the University of Bremen and head of the Data division at AWI, adding: „Through intelligent redundancy of data infrastructures, the project will strengthen resilience and data sovereignty in Europe.”

The data experts were already able to gain initial experience with these tasks in 2025. Last year, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) explicitly pointed out the risks to data sets, which were then transferred to PANGAEA and thereby saved. "The particular value of this data lies in the fact that it comprises long time series," adds Dr. Janine Felden, co-applicant and head of PANGAEA at AWI and MARUM. "The loss of said series would lead to significant gaps in these areas that are so essential for humanity." 

Part of the DFG funding will also be approved retroactively for the year 2025. According to the reviewers’ statement, AWI has made a significant contribution to data preservation by investing personnel and financial resources in advance.