We are a team of international scientists from different institutions and fields of expertise. The project starts in Bremen and Bremerhaven, Germany and then expands to other countries by cooperating with other scientists afield and with writers and artists. Our aim is to communicate scientific knowledge through short stories and promote a dialogue between scientists and the general public. We have written short stories related to our fields of research: from the marine realm and climate change, to the importance of the seas and oceans, to the discovery, protection and use of resources. We target children and adults from all over the world.
Phase 3: Volume III
in process... stay tuned ;)
Phase 1: Volume I
released in September 2017
The first phase took place in the framework of the “Science Year 2016/17: Seas and Oceans” (Wissenschaftsjahr 2016/17: Meere und Ozeane) thanks to the funding of the initiative Science in Dialog (Wissenschaft im Dialog) and the German Ministry of Education and Science (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF) through the competition “Show your research!” (Hochschulwettbewerb – Zeigt eure Forschung!). Our ‘Once upon a time’ project was one of three winners of the competition!
Phase 2: Volume II
released in February 2021
Motivated by the enthusiastic welcome of Volume 1 by different communities, we decided to continue our adventure in writing stories with scientific content. The association of Spanish researchers in Germany CERFA through the foundation Ramón Areces granted us funding to develop Volume 2 (Funding date April 2019).
Core Team
Volume III: 2022-2025 (Phase 3)
group photos and team member photos in the same format V. Diekamp/MARUM, others provided by member
Camila Neder
Doctor in Biology from University of Córdoba, Argentina. In my research, I focus on the distribution of Antarctic organisms and how they are facing climate change with good chances of habitat extension, but also extinction (small wording difference, but huge ecosystem divergence). As air temperatures increased and glaciers retreated, sediment input into the coastal areas became more important. This combined with my interest in science communication brought me to write Plumi’s story. I am founder of Comunica al Natural, for science communcation in Schools and organizational events. Member of OUAT since 2018. I love dark chocolate.
Rebecca Borges
Once upon a time the famous physicist Albert Einstein was confronted by an overly concerned woman who sought advice on how to raise her small son to become a successful scientist. In particular she wanted to know what kinds of books she should read to her son.
‘Fairy Tales,’ Einstein responded without hesitation.
‘Fine, but what else should I read to him after that?’ the mother asked.
‘More fairy tales,’ Einstein stated.
‘And after that?’
‘Even more fairy tales,’ replied the great scientist, and he waved his pipe like a wizard pronouncing a happy end to a long adventure.
Jack Zipes, Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tales (1979)
Data equivalent to 5 million laptops are produced everyday on our planet. It is a lot! But how much of it do we really need to learn about? As a marine ecologist, and an inhabitant of the Earth, I believe that environmental issues are among the most urgent lessons to be taught and learned. And not only among scientists: every single person on this planet has the right to understand, discuss, and contribute to the body of knowledge and to the decisions we make about our environment. Our actions today will shape our home tomorrow, and it is high time to start taking action. And what would be a better way to spread information and invite for action than a story?
I am grateful and excited to participate in the Once Upon a Time project, and I hope you join us and have fun in this adventure as well!
Core Team
Volumes I & II: 2016-2020 (Phases 1 and 2)
group photos and team member photos in the same format V. Diekamp/MARUM, others provided by member
Hadar Elyashiv
I am a marine geologist from Israel and currently a PhD student at MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (University of Bremen).
As a child, in each visit to the sea I was curious to know what each visit will hold for me. Today, as a young researcher I am fascinated by the complexities of the processes ranging from the coasts to the deepest parts of our oceans.
As a PhD researcher I have the opportunity to study some of these processes from the perspective of the small particles lying on the sea floor - the sand and the mud. My study focuses on the initiation and transport processes of landslides in the sea. During a landslide a mass of rock is moving down due to gravity, and when it happens on the seafloor (=submarine landslides) it can be far larger than landslides that occur on land. Although it may seem that such processes happen far away on the bottom of the sea, they are potentially a great danger to human lives since they may generate destructive tsunamis reaching the citizens along the coasts. In regard to climate change, it has been proposed that one of the results of the changing climate and the rising sea level is that landslide occurrences may increase and therefore put the lives of thousands at immediate risk.
Story telling is perhaps the oldest and simplest form in which information spreads literally by word of mouth. By communicating our science we don’t just want to increase the awareness to the change of our planet through fear. We rather hope to explain the various processes of our planet and its oceans so the people will understand them and find them as attractive and interesting as we scientists find them.
Gema Martínez Méndez
Once upon a time humankind was entirely aware of being one component of Nature, of being part of a whole. Once upon a time humankind started speaking about itself and Nature as two separate entities. By participating in this project I would like to contribute to humankind regaining self-consciousness of being one component of the Earth System. We have an impact on Nature, and Nature has an impact on our lives. This is particularly relevant nowadays in regard to human-made climate change. With new media technologies the lay public is bombarded with information and misinformation. These series of stories aim to clarify some aspects of present climate change and build bridges between scientific knowledge and the general public. When this is achieved, more humans will feel part of Nature and will look for a balance between well-being and overusing resources.
My main scientific interests are related to past and present ocean circulation and climatic changes. For my research I have used indirect indicators of past water properties (we call these “proxies”) obtained from the chemical composition of fossil shells of foraminifera (unicellular organisms) and from uni-cellular algal remains. I have worked at the University of Barcelona and Autonomous University of Barcelona and t MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (University of Bremen). and the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). At the moment I am slightly shifting into the field of sustainability.
Denise Müller-Dum
I am a science communicator and writer based in Bremen. My expertise is in environmental physics, biogeochemistry, and ethics. I received my PhD in geosciences in 2015 and continued to conduct research as a Postdoc at the Institute of Environmental Physics, Bremen. My motivation to join OUAT in 2016 originated from my passion for writing combined with my training as an environmental researcher. In 2020, I left academia to become a full-time science communicator, and I am now routinely explaining various science topics in print, audio, video and online. I have also published several books and stories for children that all evolve around environmental research and sustainability. See www.muellerdum.net or @dmuellerdum on Instagram/Twitter.
Sandy Böhnert
Human influence on the environment, like deforestation and mining associated with potential river contaminations, have varied strongly in intensity and geographic region throughout historical timescales. The North Sea experienced a continuous intensification of anthropogenic impact since the early mining activities (approx. 1000 BC), whereas the anthropogenic impact on New Zealand`s coastal ecosystems are mainly influenced by the two major settlement steps, the arrivals of Polynesians (end of 13th century) and of the Europeans (1840 AD). Both regions went through significant environmental changes such as the utilization of coastal areas for settlement, industry, recreation etc. Additional trigger mechanisms of paleoenvironmental variability are natural climate variations like the Little Ice Age (1350-1850 AD) and the 20th century global warming. Marine sediments recorded these changes and provide an archive of the long-term development of coastal marine ecosystems. My project aims to compare a presumably high impact region (North Sea) with a low impact (New Zealand) region in order to provide a framework allowing a better assessment of the baseline on which future developments might impact.
My personal motivation for this science communication project is to target people to whom scientists are “strange folks” working on topics nobody could ever possibly understand anyways. Science is not easy, though it’s not impossible to understand either. I believe if we manage to make people understand, we make people care. Especially with regards to our environment I hope we will manage to raise more interest and awareness.
Dharma Reyes Macaya
“Once upon a time, a little girl played at her hometown beach with the sea organisms, rocks and sediments, admiring the beauty of the ocean.”
I am Biologist by training from Chile and currently a PhD student t MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (University of Bremen). During the early years of my career, I have studied the ecology of some microorganisms that are called Radiolaria and Foraminifera. During the last year of my undergraduate career and my master studies, I was fascinated by the ocean circulation, climate change, chemistry of the seawater and micropaleontology. So far, I have studied past ocean water mass distributions in the South East and Equatorial Pacific. This stage of my life opened in my heart a passion without precedence and gave me the possibility to work with nice people that already were my mentors, colleagues and friends.
Currently, my main research interest is trying to understand past changes in the distribution and hydrologic characteristics of the water mass that feeds the South East Pacific Oxygen Minimum Zone. This topic is a little part of a big line of research that generations of researchers have developed for the last years around the world, trying to understand changes in the ocean deoxygenation (refers to the loss of oxygen from the ocean due to climate change) during the past.
For years the scientific community has been realizing that informing and involving the public in science is a big issue for understanding, valorizing and conserving the environment. The project "Once Upon a Time" is an excellent platform to do science and communication. The intercultural perspective and the idea to incorporate art and literature to try to communicate science are amazing.
Phase 1: Volume I
Vol. I in German, English and Spanish 2016/2017
translations on-going
Phase 2: Volume II
Vol. II in German, English and Spanish 2019/2020
reading events. marketing, 2017-2020, translations on-going
Team Members
group photos and team member photos in the same format V. Diekamp/MARUM, others provided by member
Haozhuang Wang
I graduated (February 2020) t MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (University of Bremen). focusing on some fantastic creatures in the ocean: cold-water corals (CWC), particularly the two reef-forming species: Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata. These corals are distributed worldwide and provide habitats for a variety of faunal communities. Additionaly, they are able to form huge three dimensional structures named coral mounds, which provide information about their past. In the Alboran Sea, a new “living-coral-barren” coral mound province near Melilla has been found in an environment which is proper for coral growth. But our knowledge about it is limited. Thus one of my targets during my PhD study was to decipher the factors controlling the development of CWCs over geological timescales in this area.
The reason I joined this science communication project is because the pollution of our ocean is worsening, and actions need to be taken to protect the ocean. Thus firstly, we need to share the idea of ocean protection to children who are the future of our earth, and let them be aware of this. Secondly, this is a good opportunity for me to spread my research to the public. The little-known CWCs are an important part of the ocean ecosystem, and they need to be protected. I like to share the knowledge that we have gained about CWCs, and I hope my story will interest children and let them know that we need to protect our home — the world and its oceans.
Deborah Tangunan
My research focuses on reconstructing the past productivity of the tropical Indian Ocean using coccolithophores, a group of minute, exclusively marine haptophyte algae. These organisms produce calcareous outer coverings with complex ornamentations. When they die, the remains fall to the seafloor and are preserved in sediments as fossils. My work is centered on identifying, counting and conducting geochemical analysis of these microfossils to interpret ancient environments and processes represented by the sediments from my study area. I am interested in the information that these records hold and the story that they tell about the past climate and geochemical cycles. I am keen on learning how and why water masses move and when they do. I want to know how these processes affect the biological community. Aside from their utility as paleoenvironment and paleoceanographic tracers, I also use coccolithophores in my biostratigraphic works. Different species occurred and went extinct at different periods in the geologic time, thus finding them in sediment cores or sedimentary outcrops tells me the age of that interval. Each chapter of the long history of Earth is being revealed by every layer of sediment that I examine - it is like uncovering a buried treasure every time. And helping to make this story understandable and accessible for everyone is the very reason why I want to be a part of this science communication project.
Lina Madaj
I am a polar scientist and isotope geochemist. My research deals with reconstructions of past ice-sheet dynamics of the western Greenland Ice Sheet. The Greenland Ice Sheet is the largest storage of freshwater on the northern hemisphere and its development and variations in freshwater contribution to the surrounding seas may significantly impact ocean currents and hence global circulation and climate patterns.
As a polar climate scientist science communication is an essential tool to me, because all changes happening especially in the Arctic can have direct impacts on our life in lower latitudes. I feel that it is our responsibility as scientists to communicate the facts and findings to all interested people. Aside from blogging for my research training group I joined the once upon a time project to promote marine and climate science in a refreshing and straightforward approach. Within the project I am part of the outreach and social media team, support public events and help out with translations and proof-reading.
Eva Bischof
I am a PhD researcher working in the field of paleontology – the study of ancient life. My main scientific interests are ammonoids. The closest non-extinct relatives to ammonoids and ammonites are modern squids and cuttlefishes.
Even though I was always really into my PhD topic, I realized that I was not fully satisfied with what I was doing. At some point I realized what was bothering me: I was missing the contact and the connection to the "real" world. I soon noticed that I was not the only one with this opinion and that there are manifold projects and opportunities where I could get involved. Especially being a paleontologist, it is often quite easy to fascinate people with stories about our everyday life.
I believe that it is our duty to share our knowledge and make it understandable to society. The benefits of our stories go far beyond their content. Already in ancient times, people accused scientists of being witches and magicians. Of course, nowadays scientists no longer have to fear for their lives. However, especially in times of “Fake News” the scientific world science has to justify itself again and again. This mistrust can only be overcome by one method: More communication and exchange from both sides. “Once upon a time” is a great way to spread scientific content in a fun way.
Iván Hernández Almeida
I’m from Spain and at the time of the development of book 1 I was t MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (University of Bremen). I am now at ETH, Zürich. I study marine sediments to reconstruct past climate and ocean changes at different time-scales. I mainly use marine microfossils of planktonic organisms to study the changes in species composition through time as response to the shifts in ocean and climate. Otherwise I like outreach and communication of climate sciences. I am very interested in finding effective ways of communicating science, and in particular the general perception about climate change and how it should be presented to the non-academic public. I believe that education and raising awareness through science communication play essential roles in increasing the climate change adaptation and mitigation capacities of human societies.
Christiane Schmidt
At the time of the development t MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (University of Bremen). I am interested in the adaptability of small marine calcifiers (foraminifera) to global climate change. Benthic foraminifera are important calcium carbonate producers in coastal ecosystems. They stabilize shorelines and secure ecosystem services. I work in naturally extremely warm ecosystems – such as the Persian Gulf – and man-made thermally polluted areas in the Mediterranean. In both regions local temperatures rise to over 35°C in summer. Under these conditions, most organisms living in symbiosis with microalgae lose their algae. This process is called bleaching. In my work I try to find answers on why particular foraminifera can withstand these extremes. As a geo-ecologist by training I use a combination of eco-physiological methods and molecular genetic fingerprinting to understand the fate of foraminifera in the future ocean.
My motivation for doing science and communication is that I find it fun and rewarding to change my perspective through being involved in projects other than research. Furthermore, I gain a greater and more interdisciplinary view on my research hypothesis. I feel a deep urge to communicate novel scientific findings to the world. Most scientists are funded by public sources and hence it makes common sense to do so. By contributing my time for this international book project I hope to raise awareness for the beauty of Mother Nature and its need for conservation.
Mariem Saavedra Pellitero
I was a Spanish postdoctoral researcher working at the Faculty of Geosciences, University of Bremen until 2018 and now at the University of Bristol. I have a scientific background in Earth Sciences and Geology. I study coccolithophores (small marine haptophyte algae) to reconstruct palaeoproductivity and palaeoceanographic changes at different timescales, with actual links to palaeoclimate and plankton ecology. My current project focuses on the physical and chemical controls affecting extant coccolithophore biogeography in the Drake Passage (Southern Ocean) as well as the calcification responses to recent environmental change.
Since I was 4 years old I decided that I wanted to became a palaeontologist, and later found myself becoming a micropalaeontologist. I joined the multidisciplinary “Once Upon a Time” project in the hopes of passing on my love and passion for “science” to the non-academic public. Storytelling and illustrations are excellent ways to raise awareness of environmental issues (such as climate change, pollution, ocean acidification, resource depletion, etc) that affect kids and grown ups alike. By bridging the gap between science and art, future generations will be inspired to understand and protect the environment for the benefit of us all.
Célia Santos
I am a Geologist with a master’s degree in Marine Biology and Ecology. My PhD research focuses on the study of diatom related organic compounds preserved in the ocean sediments and how they can be used to give information about past ocean and climate dynamics.
Aside from my scientific work, I take every opportunity to use science communication as a tool for engaging society in standing up for human rights and environmental protection, especially focusing on climate change and its challenges and consequences.
I believe that scientific literacy is an important step for a better understanding of our society and ecosystems and an important driver for social change, as it can make people reflect and change towards a more sustainable way of life.
Being passionate about the interaction between science and art, I love nature, performative arts and bringing people together.
Valeriia Kirillova
Originally from Russia, I did my underground studies in Analytical Chemistry (Saint Petersburg State University) but switched to Polar and Marine Sciences for my masters. I was lucky to participate in the German Russian international master program POMOR (http://pomor.spbu.ru/), where I was introduced to German and European science systems as well as to a new for me topic - polar research. I became fascinated by the Arctic and everything that was connected to marine sciences and could not imagine myself choosing another path. This is how I ended up in Bremen working on my PhD project in MARUM. I managed to combine my passion for polar sciences and geochemical expertise by analyzing radiogenic isotopes (Sr, Pb, Nd) on marine sediments from Baffin Bay to reconstruct the paleoclimate patterns and North American ice sheet extents within the last deglacial. Not only I was able to work on this exciting topic, but also won a “jackpot” for PhD students: the project was a part of ArcTrain graduate school – a training program for young polar researchers. I believe being a part of the graduate school provides numerous benefits for students: scientific and soft-skills trainings, field trips, joint meetings, and conferences, and in the end – for me the most rewarding result – a wide international network of arctic science professionals and friends.
During my PhD I started to get to know another side of the science world – the side of science communication, outreach, and management. Step by step I started to get involved: working on the ArcTrain Blog, outreach brochure... Then I discovered the project “Once Upon A Time” last year and could not avoid getting involved. I realized, although I still like science in its strict sense, this is what I enjoy doing the most: improving communication among scientists and between the science world and public world, “spread the word”. Therefore now, after finishing my PhD, I am excited to develop this interest into a career.
I believe writing stories, which can show kids (and adults!) how our world is built and what scientists do, can ignite interest and is one of the best methods of reaching out to people and involving them in this adventure of studying our planet. There is always more that we can do, but I am positive this project is a good start!
Chelsea Korpanty
As a paleoecologist, I have researched modern, sub-fossil, and fossil marine invertebrate assemblages from temperate seagrass habitats to tropical shallow-water coral reefs to deep-sea coral ecosystems. Currently my research is focused on the taxonomy and ecological analysis of Pleistocene solitary cold water corals from the Northwest Shelf of Australia. These corals were collected in sediment cores during International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 356, and they represent the first substantial Quaternary fossil record of deep-sea, solitary corals from the region.
I believe that the more an individual understands their local and global ecosystems, the more they will respect and recognize their role, and ultimately their responsibility, in them. By communicating our science through stories, we hope to simultaneously inform and incite curiosity and excitement in our readers about the ocean and their global environment.
Ameris Ixchel Contreras Silva
I am a PhD researcher at the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), University of Bremen, Germany. My research interests encompass coral reef ecology, spatial ecology and interactions as well as socioecological interactions. I am interested in determining how human impact affects or alters coral reef communities. I am currently investigating how local stressors (pollution, coastal development and mangrove deforestation) affect coral reefs in the Mexican Caribbean Sea. I earned a bachelor’s degree in hydrobiology at the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM), Mexico. Subsequently, I completed a master’s in geomatics at the Centre for Research in Geography and Geomatics (CentroGeo), Mexico. I then became passionate about mapping the space and time of natural ecosystems via remote sensing. I enjoy communicating science through stories, theatre, music and maps.
Leonardo Tamborrino
I’m a young geologist from Italy and my PhD project title is “Spatio-temporal distribution of cold-water corals in the SE Atlantic”. Cold-water corals (CWC) are the engineers of large deep-sea ecosystems and form unique biodiversity hotspots along most of the world’s continental margins. Over the recent years it has become obvious that CWC often construct significant sea floor elevations known as cold-water coral mounds. These mounds can also serve as paleo-archives with respect to the paleoenvironmental setting as well as to the coral development. Using material recently collected from the Namibian and Angolan continental margins during the M122 expedition in early 2016, my project aims to reconstruct the development of cold-water corals in this region in response to changing environmental conditions through the last glacial-interglacial cycle.
Since I started my academic career, my first goal has been to talk about my passion for geology and explain it to people and friends of different cultural backgrounds. I consider that the research and the study, mainly when the topic has worldwide importance, are useless without efficient communication. "Once Upon a Time" is a good chance to inform more people and to get them interested in our fascinating and interesting world - to get them interested in to the blue.
Pamela Rossel
My research area is organic geochemistry, in which I have been working since 2001. During my career I have analyzed samples from different and exciting marine environments including: methane bio/geosystems, the deep Arctic Ocean, hydrothermal vent systems, the Chilean fjords and the Gulf of Mexico after the deep water horizon oil spill. I am interested in the identification of molecules that can be related to biological processes that affect the flux of matter and energy in marine environments and what these molecules can tell us about these living systems.
As a scientist and also as a mother, I recognize the necessity of passing part of what I have learned about earth sciences to my kids but also to other people. The opportunity to explore and learn how to communicate science as part of this team is a great opportunity that allows us to integrate our knowledge from a variety of disciplines and to communicate it in a friendly context, which I think is an important task for us and the best way to educate future generations on how to be conscious about our environment.
Rodrigo da Costa Portilho Ramos
I am a palaeoceanographer (an oceanographer of the past oceans) and an expert in planktic foraminifera and geochemistry. I am currently working t MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (University of Bremen), University of Bremen, Germany, where my research is devoted to better understanding the cold-water coral ecosystems in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea with regard to past climate changes. I hold a bachelor’s degree in biology/life sciences from UNIRIO, Brazil, and a Master’s and PhD in geosciences from UFF, Brazil. I wrote the story ‘My life, your life’ for this book with the support and contribution of my non-academic sparring partner Sonja.
Sonja Böske da Costa
I have a degree in communication management, and I am a certified translator (German-English). I have been working as a scientific and legal translator as a side job for several years now and delight now to have contributed to science communication.
Sabrina Hohmann
Being hooked on climate studies and marine micropaleontology since the first semester of my Bachelor’s studies, I decided to dive deeper into this field of research. Today, I am a PhD student at MARUM, working on climate change by analyzing ecosystems and their response to changing environmental conditions.
Since the start of the industrial revolution, atmospheric CO2 has increased by around 100 ppm due to a rising input of anthropogenic carbon dioxide. The concern about the rising proportion of the greenhouse gas has heightened during the last decades because changes in the concentration of atmospheric CO2 and surface air temperature are closely related. However, the oceans can store large amounts of carbon dioxide and act as a reservoir for carbon. Therefore, the increase in atmospheric CO2 only reflects about 70% of the total anthropogenically-added gas because much of the rest has been taken up by the oceans. Contemplating this, even small changes in the ocean reservoir or its driving forces can have a significant impact on the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. To determine the impacts, amplitude and driving forces behind such changes, an understanding of the global carbon cycle is necessary. Because marine primary production is an important part and controlling mechanism of the marine carbon cycle, an understanding of the responses of the ecosystems, i.e. oceanic bioproductivity is essential.
Just as important as biotic responses to changing environmental conditions, so are the responses of human kind to our ongoing global climate change! As the future of our planet depends more than ever on political decisions concerning environmental protection, it is an essential task to communicate the climate change issue to the public. It is significantly important to arouse an understanding of the mechanisms and feedbacks triggering a changing climate and its consequences. I decided to join the “Once Upon A Time” project because it poses a great opportunity to convey this topic to people who are not usually involved in this issue. Especially kids are open and curious for new knowledge when it is communicated in an adequate way. Telling an easy-to-understand story creates memorable and connectable knowledge, which is essential to arouse empathy for the issue. Since they are the generation that will have to deal with the consequences of climate change, we should use projects like “Once Upon A Time” to familiarize our kids with this challenge.
Martina Hollstein
My research was part of a MARUM project which aimed to unravel the role of oceans in climate change. I try to improve our understanding about the interactions between ocean and climate in the western tropical Pacific Ocean. This region is interesting because ocean temperatures here are extremely high. Huge amounts of heat and water vapor are transported to the atmosphere. This may impact the climate worldwide. In addition, Pacific waters flow into the Indian Ocean via the so-called Indonesian Throughflow (ITF). The ITF is regarded as a major component of the global oceanic circulation system and important for the regulation of salinity and heat budgets of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. With this background, my study aims to investigate the influence of South Pacific water masses on the ITF, and their possible interaction with the western Pacific hydroclimate during the past. I use geochemical proxies like element ratios in planktic foraminifera shells. Foraminifera are tiny organisms living in the water column. Their shell composition depends on parameters like temperature or salinity. When foraminifera die, their shells are buried in the seafloor sediment, which we can recover to analyze the shell composition.
I am convinced that it is important that more people get a basic understanding about the oceans and climate change. Exciting stories have the power to reach people and impart scientific findings to the society. For me, this project is a great opportunity to learn how we can make science understandable.
Guilherme Abuchahla
I am a doctoral candidate at the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), University of Bremen, Germany. I hold a Master’s degree in environmental management from the Institute for Ecosystem Research at the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Brazil. Drawing offers me a way of relaxing and a new dimension to communicate my science.
Lara Jacobi
I studied Marine Geosciences and a Master in Geosciences at the University of Bremen. Currently, I am working on my PhD at GEOMAR, Kiel in the field of paleoceanography. The shell composition of foraminifera (e.g. stable isotope composition) depends on climate related parameters such as temperature. Therefore, foraminifera are often used to study climate variations. In my project, I investigate the influences of water conditions on the shell composition of foraminifera in order to support future climate change investigations based on data gained from these organisms.
I am really excited to be part of the scientific community, and I am always happy to share my knowledge about research topics like climate change with others. While working on an earlier public relations project, I noticed how much interest there is for ocean and climate science within the public. Yet, only if it is communicated in an adequate way are people able to understand our science. It is important to also include kids in projects of science communication. They are always curious to learn more about the world around them and will be the ones that have to deal with the consequences of our changing environment. By reading the exciting “Once upon a time” stories they will learn about our planet, the oceans and the impact that humans can have on these systems. This way I hope that we will promote the kids’ and their parents’ awareness for the environment.
Vicente Durán Toro
I’m from Chile. I’ve studied Biochemistry at the University of Chile and also got my Master’s degree in Applied Biochemistry at the same institution. In 2016 I started my PhD studies t MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (University of Bremen). My research is focused on the “biological and non-biological generation of metallic nanoparticles in marine shallow hydrothermal systems”. The relevance of metals in marine environments and their influence on local microbial communities encouraged me to pursue post-graduate studies in ocean sciences in order to better understand and help areas contaminated by those toxic elements (metals such as arsenic). That's why for me projects like "Once Upon a Time" are important for scientific communication. The generation of new knowledge in different fields of research is not enough. Proper efforts from scientific communities should be performed, bringing in a real, simple and interesting way the information/data can be communicated with every single person, family, school or institution to implement changes that would help to preserve our rivers, lakes, seas and oceans.
Belén González Gaya
I am an environmental scientist focused on environmental chemistry, floating between biologists, ecotoxicologist and analytical chemists in order to study the effects and occurrence of pollutants in aquatic ecosystems. I did my PhD at IDAEA-CSIC in Barcelona (where I met Maria, my co-author) about Global occurrence of Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Open Ocean and including a circumnavigation around the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. After my PhD I’ve keep working in different sources of anthropogenic pollution such as long range transport, aquaculture and wastewater treatment plants, in successive postdocs in IQOG-CSIC (Madrid), IMDEA Water (Madrid) and the Marine Station of Plentzia from the University of the Basque Country, where I’m based at the moment. By joining biological tools (bioassays, genetics, population ecology) and analytical chemistry, I try to disentangle the complex relations between chemical pollution and natural responses of organisms and humans.
But science is not finished until it is communicated! So outreach and communication activities also fill my time, including storytelling. Young public is our hope for the future, so if we can convince them that we can save our planet, maybe we still have a chance.
Maria Vila Costa
I am a researcher in environmental chemistry and environmental genomics and met Belén at the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Spain, where we developed the scientific work now transformed into this children’s tale.
Yang Yang Liu
I took part in this project while working on my PhD at AWI and at the Department of Biology and Chemistry - FB2 at the University of Bremen. My research area is ocean optics. During my earlier years of studying in China, I focused on the optical properties of phytoplankton and colored dissolved organic matter in the Chinese coastal ocean. They are the basis of remote detection and prediction of marine chlorophyll-a concentration, phytoplankton community structure and dissolved organic carbon. My PhD project focuses on assessing the impact of climate change on phytoplankton in the Fram Strait. Currently I've been dedicated to generate a high-resolution chlorophyll-a concentration dataset for the Fram Strait from in situ optical sensors – such as the absorption attenuation spectra meter (AC-S), ship-based chlorophyll-fluorimeter of ferry box and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) – with the combination of data from ocean color satellite sensors such as MODIS-Aqua, MODIS-VIIRS and probably the newly launched OLCI.
To be involved in this science communication project is meaningful. For years I have noticed the specialization of each marine research area, which made it difficult for “experts in oceanography” to understand each study area, not to mention the difficulties for the public. And there is a great lack of pieces of work written in understandable language for an “outside” person. For a long time I've been hoping to have the opportunity to write and be trained to write some understandable stories related to marine science both in my mother language Chinese as well as in English. This project fits perfectly with my motivation.
Aida Zuriñe Campos Vivanco
I studied Biology and Scientific Illustration. I decided to specialize in this last field due to the importance that images have as a visual support to texts and because of the way they can help making science approachable to audiences. I have illustrated the story “The lonely bacterium and the toxic friends” in Volume 2 and helped translating the book into Spanish.
Paula Mendoza
Lucía Rivereo Cuesta
Andrea Paz Orfanoz Cheuquelaf
Rebecca Jackson
Stephan Juricke
I am a climate scientist at Jacobs University in Bremen and the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven, Germany. My research focus is on climate modelling: the simulation of weather and climate on supercomputers to help us better understand and predict future changes in the climate system. One of my reasons for becoming a scientist was the hope that I could help better understand and consequently protect nature and the biodiversity on the planet. I have always been passionate about writing and telling stories as well as about science communication.
Thomas Rackow
I am a postdoctoral researcher and climate modeller at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven, Germany. I work on the mechanisms of climate variability and systematic errors in climate models. My scientific goal is to add previously missing features and processes (for example: mesoscale ocean eddies, leads in sea ice or the drift of icebergs) to current climate and weather simulations. These additions will improve the predictions made by the models. I am very interested in art and science communication and am always looking for new creative ways to visualise climate change and its impacts for the public. Instagram: @polarthomas
Salvador Ruiz Soto
Mattia Greco
Franziska Tell
Already as a child, I was strongly fascinated by nature and all the beauty the planet Earth offers to us, its residents, the human beings. Studying geography, I more and more got to know the huge complexity of the planet – and I am still amazed about it! But focusing on climate science, I also realized more and more the fragility of the system, and the strong impact of human beings.
Today, I am a PhD student at MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (University of Bremen), analyzing one component – planktonic foraminifera – of the marine carbon cycle in the Arctic Ocean. With the Arctic Ocean as my main study area, I am even more confronted with the impact of human activities on the climate system and the nature. Sea ice is shrinking, species are shifting, the whole system as we know it becomes shaky. And the more I see the impact, the more I want to tell people about it. For me, one of the most effective weapon against climate change is education. Only if people understand the crisis we are heading into, they will start fighting against it. Only if people understand their impact, they change their behavior. And only if we, scientists, tell them what we know, they can gain this powerful knowledge.
This is my motivation to per part of the Once Upon A Time – Team: I want to contribute to education, I want to show both beauty and fragility of the planet we are living on.
Neele Meyer
I am a Marine Geoscientist from Germany, I studied at the University of Bremen, and I am now a PhD student at the Senckenberg am Meer institute in Wilhelmshaven. During an expedition to Svalbard, I fell in love with the polar environments and later I had the chance to study bioerosion in the Arctic and Antarctic for my PhD. Bioerosion is broadly speaking of the “destruction” and/or “dissolution” of hard substrates by organisms and is usually in balance with the “production” of carbonate. However, climate change and the continuing acidification of the oceans are likely to shift this balance towards bioerosion to an extent not yet predictable.
During my PhD project and even now I always had one foot in the door of science communication by participating in science slams, writing popular science articles, taking over social media accounts, and being part of this great project. I see it as my responsibility to share science and knowledge with the public and to raise awareness.
Andreia Rebotim
Gerdhard Jessen
Alice Lefebvre
I am a geologist and oceanographer working in the coastal zone. I am particularly interested in better understanding and predicting how the movement of water put in motion and transport sediment (gravel, sand and mud at the bottom of seas and rivers) and creates coastal landscapes. This is particularly important considering the present and future sea level rise due to the human-made climate change.
With the help of my mum, Christine Lafon, I have been translating some of the stories in French. As a mum of three, I am also interested in getting many children to read and discuss the "Once Upon a Time" stories.
Manfred Schlösser
I have a PhD in chemistry and I was a postdoc at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. Back in Germany, I worked in human genetics at the University of Göttingen. After almost 10 years there, I secured a permanent position at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, as a scientific coordinator. The translation of scientific topics into something understandable for the general public was my major task for more than 20 years in Bremen as a press officer. I am glad to have participated in several scientific expeditions in the Pacific, South Atlantic and the North Sea. Now I am enjoying my retirement and happy to participate in this project. I have been a sketcher and kept recording everyday situations in my sketchbooks all my life. You can have a look here:
www.flickr.com/photos/manfredschloesser
Catarina Cavaleiro
Pierre-Olivier Couette
I am a PhD researcher investigating about the Artic within the Canadian-German program ArcTrain. In 2018 I spent several months at the MARUM and there I got to know the project and offer translating to French. It is a thick book! so I am very happy that Marine Le Minor, Yann Marcon and Sarah Coffinet joined in the translation effort. All texts are translated and the Book will be soon uploaded!
Heather Johnstone
I work at MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (University of Bremen), and earned a doctorate in palaeoceanography from the University of Bremen. I conduct chemical analyses of foraminifera shells in order to reconstruct ocean conditions of the past. I am interested in science communication and teaching as well as how best to convey complicated topics like global chemical cycles. I also like drawing... and bees.
Dorothea Brückner
Already as a child I was deeply interested in the behavior of different animal species.
Therefore, I chose biology with the main focus on behavioral biology for my bachelor's degree. I started my studies in Germany and continued in the USA. I also did a master's degree. Afterwards I received my doctorate at the LMU in Munich with a PhD thesis on the genetics and behaviour of honey bees. This was followed by a research stay at the University of California in Berkeley, where I worked on the topic of learning in honey bees. Back in Germany, I established a bee research center at the University of Bremen and later supported the establishment of a similar research center in Cameroon at the University of Ngaoundere. This was followed by further international cooperation with bee researchers from South Africa, South India and the USA. The biology of honey bees, as a worldwide topic, has become the focus of my research.
Friederike Grimmer
As a palynologist, I use fossil pollen and spores preserved in marine sediments to reconstruct the vegetation of past times. Fossil pollen assemblages can tell us which plants grew in a certain area at a certain time. Since plants have different known climatic requirements, we can interpret pollen records in terms of rainfall and temperature changes as well. In my PhD, I study the vegetation of western equatorial South America during the Pliocene (5.3 to 2.6 million years ago). The Pliocene was an epoch in Earth's history when many boundary conditions were similar to today, e.g. the arrangement of the continents, greenhouse gas concentrations, and flora and fauna. However, the Arctic was not yet covered by ice sheets, and the global climate was warmer, making this epoch predestined to study the drivers and mechanisms of warm climates. Understanding past climates is key for better understanding and constraining present and future climate developments.
The reason I joined the “Once upon a time” project is because I believe it can build a bridge between scientists and the public. Scientific content which is inherently abstract and complicated is made accessible to a broad audience. If we want to have a positive impact on the development of our planet, we have to raise awareness of issues such as environmental pollution and human-induced climate change in an understandable way.
Ting-Wei Wu
I am an early-stage researcher at MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (University of Bremen) specializing in marine geotechnics. My research uses laboratory methods to investigate the change of sediments’ shear strength affected by earthquakes. Big earthquakes may trigger submarine landslides causing disastrous tsunamis. On the contrary, small earthquakes, which are not strong enough to trigger landslides may in turn strengthen and stabilize the seafloor because of the densification process associated with the tremor.
Having spent more than 6 years in Europe, I have realized what a pity it is that great initiatives do not get to be known in other parts of the world because of language barriers. Therefore, I find it important to communicate knowledge using local languages. My contribution to the "Once Upon a Time" project is to translate the scientific stories into Taiwanese mandarin so that they can be introduced to an even bigger audience outside Europe.
Questions or suggestions?
Get in touch
ouat.scientific.story@gmail.com
and Follow us
