Center for Ocean and Society

The research at the Center for Ocean and Society is based on the understanding of seas and coasts as socio-ecological systems. Experts from economics, geology, oceanography, fisheries biology, chemistry and other disciplines work together on projects with the active involvement of societal actors. This makes it possible to examine a topic from different perspectives and changes the approach to these problems. To assess different scenarios, methodologically specific models from economics as well as climate research, ocean research and ecosystem research are linked.

The projects work on a local, regional and global level and actively involve non-university knowledge carriers in the development of research questions. Solutions for coping with the climate and ocean crisis are to be developed through the cooperation of participants from research, politics, business and civil society. The overarching goal of the research is a science-based and independent contribution to the implementation of the sustainability goals of the UN Agenda 2030.

The Center for Ocean and Society conducts research on the following topics:

• Marine and Coastal Resource Economy

• Marine and Coastal Geohazards

• Marine Food Security

The Center for Ocean and Society is a cross-faculty platform of the priority research area Kiel Marine Science (KMS) at Kiel University. KMS is comprised of more than 40 working groups from seven faculties at Kiel University and acts as the umbrella organization for ocean and climate research in the natural and social sciences.