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Writer's pictureAndrea Geipel

Storm surges, climate change and the role of science: How we can protect our coasts

Parliamentary evening of the Deutsche Allianz Meeresforschung in Kiel


On 18 September 2024, the Deutsche Allianz Meeresforschung (DAM) held a parliamentary evening in Kiel for the second time. Around 100 guests, including members of the Schleswig-Holstein state parliament, ministry representatives, scientists and stakeholders, came together to discuss the future of the North Sea and Baltic Sea region. The spotlight was on the close cooperation between politics and science in order to meet the increasing challenges in our oceans. The DAM research mission mareXtreme was also represented with a presentation by Dr Ralf Weisse from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon.


Weisse, who is responsible for a sub-project in the METAscales joint project, brought a key message with him: The extremes of today could be the normality of tomorrow. With rising sea levels, storm surges will occur more frequently and even more violently in the future. ‘A storm surge event that can be expected on average every 20 years today could become the norm in the future,’ he warned. How quickly this change occurs depends crucially on how effectively we push ahead with climate protection.



Foto von Dr. Ralf Weisse mit einem Mikro in der Hand auf einer Bühne. Vor ihm das Logo der DAM, im Hintergrund sieht man eine Folie mit dem Titel Beispiel Binnenentwässerung

In his presentation, Dr Ralf Weisse (Helmholtz Centre Hereon) explained how we can prevent today's extremes from becoming tomorrow's normality. (Photo: Sinje Hasheider)



The mareXtreme research mission plays a key role in this context. It investigates the interaction of natural hazards, which is intensified by climate change. In particular, the combination of several moderate extreme events, such as series of storm surges, persistent rainfall or extreme winds, poses a growing threat to our coastal regions. ‘These simultaneous events can have effects that go beyond those of individual extreme events,’ says Weisse. One example is the challenge of inland drainage, which reaches its limits during heavy rainfall in combination with storm surges.


mareXtreme aims to use targeted research and interdisciplinary collaboration to develop solutions that are of key importance for both climate protection and adaptation to the coming changes. Climate protection and adaptation are two sides of the same coin. While climate protection reduces the risk of extreme events, adaptation helps to minimise the exposure and vulnerability of our coastal regions. Successful adaptation must take into account the interplay between climatic, hydrological and social changes.



During the panel discussion, urgent research issues and the importance of close cooperation between politics and science were discussed. (Photo: Sinje Hasheider)



This applies all the more when it comes to securing the future of our coasts. Schleswig-Holstein, whose life is closely linked to the oceans, will be particularly confronted with the consequences of climate change in the coming years. But as Ralf Weisse made clear, there is hope: ‘With climate protection and targeted adaptation, we can minimise the risk.’ In the coming years, the work of mareXtreme will make a decisive contribution to better understanding these risks and developing solutions that sustainably improve the protection of our coasts. The interplay between science, politics, business and civil society is the key to meeting the challenges of climate change and its extreme events.


If today's extremes become the norm, we need knowledge-based political decisions that are supported by society and implemented together. The mareXtreme research mission shows that we are on the right track - but there is still a lot to do.


We would like to thank DAM for the wonderful planning and realisation of the evening and for providing the pictures. You can find an article about the evening with further impressions on the DAM website.

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