At the facility in the Kiel Fjord, the researchers heat the plants to different temperatures to see how well they are adapted to the future climate.
– If temperatures rise 26 degrees or higher for several months in a row, as we may see in the future with climate change, it can cause problems for the entire system. It can die outright, says marine biologist Angela Stephenson.
The bottom of the Baltic Sea is today the source of almost 300 square kilometers of seaweed, which is estimated to store between 3 and 12 megatons of carbon dioxide, according to the Geomar Helmholz Center for Ocean Research in Kiel.
These underwater fields are threatened globally. Europe alone has lost a third of its seaweed population between 1860 and 2016, according to a study published in 2019. Among other things, due to poor water quality and overuse of fertilizers, but an important reason is also global warming.
Hear the researchers talk about their work in the clip above.