NECO
NECO is a joint project between Germany and China, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in the research program "MARE:N - Ocean under Stress”. The project aims to understand how natural hazards impact coastal marine carbon cycling, in particular in triggering the formation and development of HAB and oxygen deficiencies, and how the impacts may change in response to future climate change and eutrophication.

Based on the improved system understanding achieved in the project, we aim to provide a sound knowledge base and tools to assess the resilience of the North Sea (NS) and the East China Sea (ECS) ecosystems against impacts of natural hazards, and to improve our prediction skills of natural hazards and their impacts on coastal ocean carbon cycling.
We work in Work Package 1, 2 and 4, with support from in-situ observations and influence on carbon cycling from natural hazards and extremes.
Our specific project objectives are:
- Compilation and model-aided reconstruction of historical natural hazards and marine ecosystem response over multiple decades;
- Identification and characterization of vulnerable regions in the North Sea and the East China Sea to the impact of natural hazards in terms of disturbances in marine ecosystem;
- Process-based understanding of magnitude and spatial and temporal variability of carbon fluxes in coastal oceans driven by natural hazards, with particular attention paid to the development of harmful algal blooms and oxygen deficiencies;
- Exploration of short-term (seasonal) and long-term (multi-decadal) predictability of natural hazards and impacts on carbon cycling in coastal oceans;
- Knowledge transfer, organization of stakeholder dialogue and provision of policy recommendations.
Contact
Head of Department
Coastal Productivity
Phone: +49 (0) 4152 87- 2377