{"id":1833,"date":"2025-05-30T11:12:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T09:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hanseuniversityalliance.de\/oceans-as-carbon-sinks\/"},"modified":"2025-10-06T08:49:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T06:49:06","slug":"oceans-as-carbon-sinks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hanseuniversityalliance.de\/en\/oceans-as-carbon-sinks\/","title":{"rendered":"Oceans as Carbon Sinks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-8179802c gb-headline-text\">DFG Funds New Collaborative Research Center on Marine Sugars<\/h2>\n\n<p>On May 28, 2025, the University of Greifswald and the University of Bremen received funding approval for the Transregional Collaborative Research Center (TRR) 420 \u201cCONCENTRATE.\u201d The scientists in the consortium are investigating sugar polymers from marine algae and how they protect the climate. <\/p>\n\n<p>Every year, marine algae convert about five times as much carbon dioxidae into polysaccharides \u2013 known as glycans \u2013 as is released worldwide through the burning of fossil fuels. These glycans are a central component of the marine carbon cycle. Although marine bacteria have a variety of enzymes that can break down glycans and release the bound carbon, surprisingly large amounts of these sugar structures are found in the world&#8217;s oceans. This suggests that previously unknown factors prevent the complete degradation of glycans and thus contribute to the long-term storage of carbon.   <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>A Look at the Atomic Level<\/strong><br\/>This is where TRR 420 comes in: The aim of the research program is to decipher the molecular and microbial processes that lead to the stabilization of glycans in the ocean. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the research team combines laboratory experiments with measurements in natural marine habitats. The focus is on the interactions between algae, bacteria, fungi, their glycans, and proteins \u2013 down to atomic resolution in the \u00c5ngstr\u00f6m range (i.e. length scales in the range of about 0.1 to 1 nanometer, or 0.1 to 1 billionth of a meter).  <\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cWe want to understand which biotic and abiotic mechanisms influence the stability of glycans and how these processes occur temporally and spatially in the ocean,\u201d explains spokesperson Prof. Dr. Thomas Schweder, Professor of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at the University of Greifswald. The consortium is focusing in particular on the sun-exposed surface ocean \u2013 the main site of glycan production by algae \u2013 and is investigating time scales ranging from days to years. <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Research for the Climate: New Insights into Natural Carbon Storage<\/strong><br\/>\u201cIn the long term, TRR 420 aims to provide a mechanistic understanding of why sugar structures from algae contribute to carbon storage,\u201d adds co-spokesperson Prof. Dr. Jan-Hendrik Hehemann, head of the Carbon Sequestration and Glycobiochemistry research group at the University of Bremen. The findings could make important contributions to the fight against climate change by opening up new perspectives on natural carbon sequestration processes. <\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cThe establishment of TRR 420 is a major success for the University of Greifswald and underscores our international visibility in marine research,\u201d stated President Prof. Dr. Katharina Riedel. \u201cResearch into the natural processes of carbon sequestration in the oceans is both highly relevant scientifically and of great social importance in the context of climate change and due to the biotechnological and pharmaceutical properties of algae sugar compounds.\u201d <\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cI congratulate the two spokespersons and all participating researchers of the TRR 420 \u2013 they are conducting passionate research in an extremely promising field. The funding approval marks another major milestone in marine research for the University of Bremen and strengthens sustainability-related research topics,\u201d commented Professor Jutta G\u00fcnther, President of the University of Bremen. \u201dThis success not only reflects our expertise in marine research, but also the added value of scientific cooperation.\u201d <\/p>\n\n<p>The following institutions are involved in the consortium: University of Greifswald, Universit\u00e4tsmedizin Greifswald, University of Bremen, Technische Universit\u00e4t Berlin, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnem\u00fcnde,<\/p>\n\n<p>Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces Potsdam, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Contact at the University of Greifswald<\/strong><br\/>Prof. Dr. Thomas Schweder<br\/>TRR 420 CONCENTRATE Spokesperson<br\/>Institute of Pharmacy\/Pharmaceutical Biotechnology<br\/>Felix-Hausdorff-Str. 3, 17489 Greifswald<br\/>Phone: +49 3834 420 4212<br\/><a href=\"m&#97;&#105;&#x6c;&#x74;&#x6f;&#x3a;s&#99;&#104;&#119;&#x65;&#x64;&#x65;r&#64;&#117;&#110;&#x69;&#x2d;&#x67;re&#105;&#102;&#x73;&#x77;&#x61;ld&#46;&#100;&#x65;\">&#115;c&#x68;w&#x65;d&#x65;r&#x40;&#117;&#x6e;&#105;&#x2d;&#103;&#x72;&#101;i&#102;s&#x77;a&#x6c;d&#x2e;&#100;&#x65;<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Contact at the University of Bremen<\/strong><br\/>Prof. Dr. Jan-Hendrik Hehemann<br\/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uni-bremen.de\/en\/glyco-jhh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TRR 420 CONCENTRATE <\/a>Co-spokesperson<br\/>Faculty 02: Biology \/ Chemistry &amp; MARUM: Carbon Sequestration and Glycobiochemistry Research Group<br\/>Leobener Strasse 8, 28359 Bremen<br\/>Phone: +49 421 218-63072<\/p>\n\n<p><br\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DFG Funds New Collaborative Research Center on Marine Sugars<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1721,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-from-the-universities","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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