image: Dr. Lu Yongxiang (left), deputy president of the National People's Congress of China and president of the Chinese Academy of Science, and Dr. Wolfgang Kaysser, scientific chairman of the GKSS Research Center, during a recent meeting. view more
Credit: GKSS Research Center
A look at the coasts with technology
In 2008 the Institute Director Prof. Dr. SHI Ping of the Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research for Sustainable Development (YIC), CAS and Prof. Dr. Franciscus Colijn GKSS Institute Director of Coastal Research signed an agreement to strengthen their collaborative work.
The scientists from Geesthacht are developing devices and scenarios for the monitoring and management of sensitive coastal landscapes. "The Ferry-Box could soon also be used in the Yellow Sea" explains Professor Colijn to the Chinese guests.
The Ferry-Box is an autonomous, low-maintenance measuring system which was specially developed for long-term use on ships, measuring platforms and river measuring points. It is possible through this to compile permanent and cost-effective parameters like salt content, temperature or chlorophyll concentration and to be able to draw scientific conclusions about algae blooms, water pollution or climate change.
Coastal researchers think globally
The influence of people on the ecosystem is increasing: marine aquaculture, fishing but also tourism and industrial and agricultural items are tampering worldwide with the coastal zones. "With the GKSS research centre we could gain a partner with whom we can jointly competently research coastal problems", states Prof. Dr. LU Yongxiang during his visit in Geesthacht.
To enhance coastal researcher exchanges from Asia and Europe YIC is since 2007 the location of the LOICZ regional office (LOICZ Node East Asia). The worldwide active project "Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone", in short LOICZ, deals with the processes of global change. Headquarters of the LOICZ project is at the GKSS research centre in Geesthacht. Amongst other things LOICZ should clarify the influence of people on the coastal zones. The office in Yantai complements regional offices in Singapore and Colombo – thus allowing the newest scientific approaches in one of the strongest growth regions of Asia to be researched even more effectively.