idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft
30 April 2026 / Kiel / Mindelo. Tomorrow, fourteen Master’s students on the West African Master’s programme ‘Climate Change and Marine Sciences’ will begin their two-week training and research voyage aboard the research vessel POLARSTERN. Travelling from Mindelo in Cabo Verde to Bremerhaven, Germany, they will carry out physical, biogeochemical and biological measurements together with ten experienced scientists. This is the fourth time that the Floating University is taking place under the leadership of GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. This initiative is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) as part of the WASCAL programme.
A total of 2,840 nautical miles lie ahead of the 14 Master’s students in the West African Master’s programme ‘Climate Change and Marine Sciences’. Tomorrow they will set off on expedition PS154/2 aboard the research vessel POLARSTERN, travelling from Mindelo, Cabo Verde, to Bremerhaven, Germany. This is their first voyage on a research vessel. While on board, they will conduct research in close collaboration with ten experienced scientists, learning how to operate scientific instruments such as the rosette water sampler and filtration systems. Following their arrival in Germany, many of the students will continue with a research stay at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, where they will further develop their scientific projects.
First experiences aboard a research vessel
The ‘Floating University’ forms the practical, ship-based component of the Master’s programme “Climate Change and Marine Sciences” at the Universidade Técnica do Atlântico (UTA) in Cabo Verde. For the training voyage, the transit of the research vessel POLARSTERN from the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) to Bremerhaven via Mindelo in Cabo Verde is being utilised. The research vessel is operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI).
“During the Floating University, students learn how ocean research is conducted on a research vessel and how to collect high-quality data on marine ecosystems while working in an international team under challenging conditions. Many of the skills acquired will later be applied by the students in their own research projects in the region,” says Dr Björn Fiedler, a marine chemist at GEOMAR and the expedition’s chief scientist.
Measurements at depths of up to 4,900 metres
Throughout the transit, students and scientists conduct daily physical, biogeochemical and biological measurements at water depths of up to 4,900 metres. The main objectives are to document long-term changes in the ocean and to investigate marine biodiversity. The team continuously measures parameters such as temperature and CO2 at the sea surface. In order to deploy instruments and collect samples, the research vessel stops for several hours at one position each day to operate various devices within the water column.
The route also passes the two long-term monitoring stations: the Cape Verde Ocean Observatory (CVOO) and the European Station for Time-Series in the Ocean of the Canary Islands (ESTOC). Both sites allow processes in the ocean to be observed over many years. For instance, oxygen concentrations at a depth of 3,500 metres have been monitored at the CVOO mooring since 2006. As different parameters, including the presence of different zooplankton species and temperature, are measured simultaneously, it is possible to analyse the relationships between multiple parameters over time.
Learning, networking, shaping the future
In addition, the researchers will deploy three deep-sea drifters (Argo floats), which are autonomous measuring devices that provide temperature, salinity and current data from depths of up to 2,000 metres over many years. The international Argo programme is a collaboration between over 50 research organisations from more than 30 countries. Around 4,000 Argo floats are currently operating in the world’s oceans, continuously collecting data and contributing to an important global ocean observation system. In Germany, responsibility for the programme lies with the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH).
Tobias Hahn, scientific coordinator for WASCAL at GEOMAR: “People from 16 nations will come together for this year’s Floating University. During the two weeks on board, we work together, learn from one another, build networks and exchange ideas. Over the past years, this has resulted in the formation of a valuable global alumni network of students from West Africa.” Björn Fiedler adds: “We are confident that many of the alumni will play a key role in the planned FUTURO research campaign towards the end of this decade. The aim is to better understand the impacts of climate change on the marine ecosystem in West Africa and to derive the necessary actions from these findings.”
Expedition at a glance:
Name: PS154/2 (WASCAL IV) “Floating University”
Duration: 1 May 2026 – 15 May 2026
Chief Scientist: Dr Björn Fiedler
Departure: Mindelo (Cabo Verde)
Destination: Bremerhaven (Germany)
About: Floating University
In addition to participants from GEOMAR and UTA, scientists from the following institutions are taking part: Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW), Kiel Marine Science (KMS) at Kiel University (CAU), Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven, the Senegalese Centre de Recherche Océanographique de Dakar-Thiaroye (CRODT-ISRA), and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Scripps) in San Diego. There are 31 scientific expedition participants on board in total.
Seminar in Kiel
After the expedition, the students will attend a two-day follow-up seminar at GEOMAR in Kiel on 18 and 19 May. There, they will meet other early-career researchers from the “Foster Young Ocean Researcher Development” (FYORD) programme. This is an early-career funding initiative run by Kiel Marine Science (KMS) at Kiel University (CAU) and GEOMAR. It particularly promotes collaboration with international students in marine science.
WASCAL
The WASCAL programme (“West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use”) is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and aims to strengthen research infrastructure and academic education on climate change and its impacts in West Africa. The two-year Master’s programme “Climate Change and Marine Sciences”, coordinated by the Universidade Técnica do Atlântico (UTA) in Mindelo and closely supported by the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, equips students with the scientific skills needed for careers in research, environmental management and industry. Since 2021, the programme has been part of the international ‘UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development’.
The WASCAL alumni network and the Floating University also contribute to the large-scale international project FUTURO, which is currently being prepared at GEOMAR. FUTURO aims to develop sustainable management strategies for the West African marine ecosystem.
Research in Cabo Verde
The Cape Verde Islands are located around 600 kilometres off the coast of Senegal and have been an independent state, the Republic of Cabo Verde, since 1981. The region offers a unique range of scientifically relevant and highly topical research themes in which the ocean plays a central role. In collaboration with national and international partners, GEOMAR has conducted research in Cabo Verde for over 20 years and intends to expand its cooperation in the region in future. In 2017, the Ocean Science Centre Mindelo (OSCM) was inaugurated. This regional science and education hub serves the international scientific community. The OSCM is jointly operated by GEOMAR and the Cape Verdean Instituto do Mar (IMar).
https://www.geomar.de/n10263 – images for download
https://www.geomar.de/en/centre/research-in-cape-verde Research in Cabo Verde
https://www.geomar.de/en/discover/ocean-decade/floating-university Floating University
https://wascal.org/ WASCAL – Combating Climate Change. Improving Livelihoods
https://onexpedition.awi.de/polarstern/?lang=en RV POLARSTERN On Expedition
A pre-cruise seminar in Mindelo, Cabo Verde, prepared the students for the upcoming research cruise.
Source: Photo: Barbara Dombrowski
Copyright: Barbara Dombrowski
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