About 70 percent of our planet is covered by seas, which are thus the largest living space on earth. Our oceans have an enormous influence on the climate, the metabolic cycles and therefore our daily environment! Reports such as the IPCC Special Report, the IPBES Global Assessment 2019, and reports from numerous other institutions show how alarming the state of the oceans on our earth is. The consequences of global warming are serious for the marine world and hence also for us. In addition, plastic pollution and acidification are changing the oceans.
In 2020, Senckenberg aims to answer fundamental questions: What impact does climate change have on marine life? How is humanity changing the oceans and how are oceans changing our actions and our future? As a part of the “Project Senckenberg - New Museum”, the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research is expanding its natural science museum in Frankfurt. Already this year, all kinds of interesting facts about aquatic habitats will be presented in the newly created "Marine Research" room and Senckenberg scientists can be accompanied on their exciting expeditions there.
Since it was founded, Senckenberg has been one of the world's leading institutions dedicated to researching biodiversity and describing previously undiscovered species in our oceans. Types of species and other material to document the variability of species are stored in the Senckenberg collections. However, the collections are not just archives - they provide important data, spatial and temporal information on the occurrence of certain organisms, their ecosystem functions, and interactions on environmental conditions. This data provides a basis for potential predictions of species behavior in response to climate or other man-made changes.