GETTING OUT THERE
expeditions
Cruises
03/2005 expedition "Sea Ice" on board RV Aranda carrying out various sea ice measurements, Bay of Bothnia, Baltic Sea
07/2004 – 08/2004 expedition "Arctic Investigation of Rocks, Ocean, Topography, Ice and Chemistry of the Air (AIROTICA)" on board RV Polarstern, cruise ARK XX-2, carrying out various sea ice measurements, Fram Strait, Yermak Plateau and Lena Trough, Arctic Ocean
02/2003 – 04/2003 expedition "Winter ARctic Polynya Study (WARPS)" on board RV Polarstern, cruise ARK XIX-1, carrying out CTD measurements and sea ice observations, Barents Sea, Fram Strait and Yermak Plateau, Arctic Ocean
Field camps
03/2007 project "Seasonal Ice Zone Observing NETwork (SIZONET)" carrying out ice-thickness measurements, Beaufort Sea, Arctic Ocean (200 miles north of Barrow, Alaska)
03/2007 project "Sea-ice Experiment: Dynamic Nature of the Arctic (SEDNA)" at ice camp APLIS-07 carrying out in-situ and airborne ice-thickness and deformation measurements, Beaufort Sea, Arctic Ocean (200 miles north of Barrow, Alaska)
02/2004 project "Ice Ridging Information for decision making in Shipping operations (IRIS)" carrying out various sea ice measurements based at Marjaniemi, Finland
outreach
Polar Science Weekend, Seattle
As a postdoc in Seattle I joined the "Polar Science Weekends" in 2012, 2013 & 2014 and "Meet a Scientist Weekends" organized by the Pacific Science Center and the Applied Physics Lab (APL). For these I developed a new exhibit on the mobility of the Arctic sea-ice cover, how wind forces sea-ice motion, lead formation and deformation into ridges. My hands-on pressure-ridge formation tank turned out an eye-catcher thanks to the incredibly realistic looking wax pieces (Thanks Ignatius!) resembling lead ice between thicker styrofoam boards.
Highlights der Physik, Kiel
In 2023 Physics was in Kiel's public focus for a full week with many fun activities, exhibits, presentations and meet-a-scientist events right on the town hall square. We shared insights on ocean dynamics, eddies and currents, and ocean modeling using hands-on experiments and animations on a big touch screen. Kids were attracted by the LEGO driven rotating tanks and had fun "creating" their own eddies using dye.
Pre-school activities
On other occasions, at my son's day care center, we played "sink-or-float" just with water experienceing the effect of salt on density. The kids had fun setting up a little experiment together with me using water, salt, and food coloring. We showed that the real ocean has layers and that wind acts to mix the water masses.
School Projects
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In The News
11/2020 Perspektiven (in German) "Praxisnähe dank digitaler Versuchsküche — Remote kitchen oceanography" Wie sich Wasser- und Luftmassen global bewegen, lässt sich mit komplizierten mathematischen Formeln und viel Theorie erklären. In der Lehrveranstaltung Atmosphären- und Ozeandynamik des Bachelorstudiengangs Physik des Erdsystems soll genau hierfür die Grundlage gelegt werden. Mit ihrem Lehrinnovationsprojekt wollten der Dozent Dr. Tor- ge Martin (GEOMAR) und die Referentin Dr. Mirjam Gleßmer (fascinocean) in der zur Veranstaltung gehörenden Übung Grundlagen der globalen Wasserströmung für Studierende praktisch zugänglich machen. Als dann die Entscheidung fiel, aufgrund der Covid-19-Pandemie das Sommersemester zu einem Online-Semester umzugestalten, mussten die beiden Lehrenden gleich doppelt innovativ werden.
01/2020 unizeit "Ocean currents in a water tank" Those who want to make accurate weather and climate predictions must have one thing above all else: an understanding of mathematics. Because bone-dry equations form the basis of all climate processes. In order to liven up his teaching, meteorologist Dr Torge Martin relies on wet experiments, with the support of PerLe funding for innovative teaching.
09/2017 GEOMAR press release "Antarctica: Return of the Weddell Polynya supports Kiel Climate Model": In the mid-1970s a large ice-free area in the Weddell Sea east of the Antarctic Peninsula was observed by satellites during winter. Now, 40 years later, the phenomenon shows up again. Its recurrence supports climate model studies by a research group at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, who identified the so-called polynya as part of natural climate variability and explained its causes and effects in several publications in recent years.
07/2017 GEOMAR press release "Seasonality of Sea Ice Enhances Climate Warming in the Arctic — Largest changes are expected to happen already within the next decade" The sea ice cover of the Arctic Ocean shrinks rapidly with most ice loss observed during the summer months. A new study under participation of the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel recently published in the international peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports shows that this sea ice cover becomes increasingly seasonal. As the authors state the strongest changes in the Arctic can be expected to occur in the coming decade.
05/2013 GEOMAR press release (German only) "Langzeitliche Klimaschwankungen — Kieler Meeresforscher untersuchen Rolle des südlichen Ozeans" Natürliche Klimaschwankungen können viele Ursachen haben und spielen sich auf ganz unterschiedlichen Zeitskalen von Monaten bis Jahrhunderten ab. Bei den langzeitlichen Klimaschwankungen sind häufig Vorgänge im Ozean entscheidend. Wie eine aktuelle Studie von Wissenschaftlern des GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrums für Ozeanforschung Kiel zeigt, beeinflusst die Tiefenwasserbildung im Südlichen Ozean die globale Durchschnittstemperatur auf Zeitskalen von Jahrhunderten. Die Ergebnisse wurden in der internationalen Fachzeitschrift Climate Dynamics veröffentlicht.