Climate and Sea

Temperature map of the north and baltic seas

The ocean is of outstanding importance for the climate system and climate change.

The greenhouse effect caused by humans leads to an energy surplus, more than 90 % of which is stored in the sea as heat. The consequences for marine ecosystems as well as biodiversity and species composition are both conspicuous and incalculable.

One of the most explosive consequences for humans is the accelerated global sea-level rise resulting from the increase in volume of warmer seawater and the increase in mass caused by melting glaciers and ice sheets.

"Climate and Sea" presents a wide range of data and products on maritime climate change - especially in our "home seas", the North Sea and Baltic Sea, and on the German coasts.