This year's Otto Krümmel Award goes to Lasse Kummer for his overall excellent bachelor’s degree. For his bachelor’s thesis, Lasse Kummer, a graduate of the Physics of the Earth System programme at Kiel University, utilised the NEMO (Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean) model to explore how varying resolutions affect the representation of ocean circulation. His focus was on smaller structures such as ocean eddies and western boundary currents in the North Atlantic, which are crucial for model accuracies. Kummer analysed an idealised “double-gyre circulation” in five model experiments with different resolutions. He summarised his findings in his bachelor’s thesis titled “Representation of double-gyre circulations in ocean models of varying horizontal resolutions”.

“Mr Kummer's work demonstrates that students can achieve remarkable scientific accomplishments early in their academic careers,” said Dr Peter Gimpel, Chairman of the Society. “With the Otto-Krümmel Prize, we aim to recognise this and bring the bachelor’s degree, which is often undervalued in the natural sciences, into the spotlight.”

“The Otto-Krümmel Prize is a great recognition for young researchers,” said GEOMAR Director Professor Dr Katja Matthes. “We award it during our internal Science Day at the Centre and deliberately make it part of our scientific exchange.” Addressing the laureate, she added: “This prize acknowledges your outstanding achievement, and I hope it motivates you to continue your scientific journey with enthusiasm.”

Lasse Kummer has been studying Physics of the Earth System at Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel (CAU) since 2020, and is currently enrolled in the Climate Physics programme. He completed his thesis in the Marine Meteorology Research Unit in the Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics Research Division at GEOMAR, supervised by Dr Malin Ödalen and Professor Dr Joakim Kjellsson. The latter expressed his admiration: “In addition to completing all the planned tasks, Lasse Kummer conducted additional analyses to verify the realism of the simulations. His results provide valuable insights into the advantages and limitations of various model configurations and help us better understand the impacts of finer grid resolutions.”

The goal was not to create the most realistic model but to investigate the effects of varying resolutions. Kummer found that higher resolutions lead to increasingly turbulent flows that affect the overall circulation. Notably, larger eddies alter the direction of currents and impact heat transport in the ocean. A higher resolution can thus better represent both the mean ocean state and the variability in variables such as heat transport.

Models with lower resolution, while less realistic, are mathematically easier to understand and describe. Due to their mathematical simplicity, these models, despite their imperfections, contribute to a deeper understanding of the fundamental mechanisms relevant to more complex models.

“The analysis scripts developed in this work are already being used by other researchers and will remain valuable tools in the future,” said Joakim Kjellsson appreciatively. “A colleague summed it up perfectly when he asked if it was a Master’s thesis – no, it’s a Bachelor’s thesis, an excellent one!”

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This year's Otto Krümmel Award goes to Denise Otto for her outstanding degree in geology at the University of Greifswald. For her bachelor's thesis, Denise Otto studied the biogeochemical effects of floods on the soils of a coastal marsh. They form a unique interface between sea and land: Coastal peatlands characterise the landscape of the southern Baltic Sea in many places. Here, salty water from the Baltic Sea and low-salt groundwater as well as surface water from the bog can exchange above and below ground. In her bachelor's thesis, Denise Otto investigated how fluctuating water levels in the Baltic Sea and flooding influence the biogeochemical composition of a bog. With a focus on carbon and sulphur compounds, she carried out isotopic geochemical investigations of soils and pore water in the Hütelmoor, a nature reserve near Rostock, after a severe storm surge and compared these with earlier data. Denise Otto carried out her research at the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW) in the working group Geochemistry & Isotope Biogeochemistry, where she was supervised by IOW biogeochemist and deputy head of section Prof. Dr Michael E. Böttcher.

"The award is a wonderful confirmation for young scientists", says GEOMAR Director Professor Dr Katja Matthes. "To experience how relevant one's own research can be is a great motivation for one's further scientific career". That is why she is particularly pleased that from this year on the prize will be awarded during the GEOMAR Science Day, which will give the prize and the award winners more attention.

"I am very pleased that Ms Otto is receiving this award, as she has worked with great motivation and commitment," says Michael Ernst Böttcher, Denise Otto's supervisor at IOW and also Professor of Marine Geochemistry at the University of Greifswald. "Her work is a valuable contribution to the DFG Research Training Group Baltic TRANSCOAST at the University of Rostock, which is carrying out fundamental research on material flows in renaturalised peatlands under the influence of seawater". The results will help to better assess the future development of ecosystems at the transition from land to sea under conditions of rising sea levels, Böttcher added. "I wish Denise every success in her further studies in marine geosciences, which she will continue at the University of Bremen," Böttcher concluded.

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This year, two young female scientists were honored with the Otto Krümmel Sponsorship Award: Sophia Stavrakoudis from Hannover and Vera Stockmayer from Kiel.

Sophia Stavrakoudis received the prize for her degree in geosciences from Leibniz University Hanover. In the deep sea of the ocean, metal-bearing hydrothermal vents exist along plate boundaries of the Earth's crust, which can form polymetallic massive sulfide deposits on the seafloor. Depending on the geology of the particular ocean area, these deposits can contain valuable non-ferrous and precious metals, such as copper, zinc, gold and silver in high concentrations. In her work “Geochemical and Mineralogical Investigation on the newly discovered SURYA Hydrothermal Field in the Central Indian Ocean”, the award winner has for the first time examined ore and rock samples from the vicinity of the recently discovered SURYA hydrothermal field in the Indian Ocean in great detail for their ore content and composition using various modern methods. Due to the unusually high contents of copper, tin and rare metals such as gold and silver, SURYA is a scientifically interesting deposit, but a possible mining in the future will hardly be profitable because of its relatively small size.

"With her work, Ms. Stavrakoudis gives us an insight into the nature, composition and formation of this deposit, and provides an important contribution for us to evaluate the raw material potential," says her supervisor, Dr. Sebastian Fuchs, from the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources. Ms. Stavrakoudis is continuing her scientific career with a master's degree majoring in "Marine Geosciences" at the University of Bremen.

Vera Stockmayer is a student at Kiel University (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, CAU). She receives the award for her achievements in the course Physics of the Earth Systems, Oceanography. In her work “Variations of Temperature, Salinity and Oxygen of the Baltic Sea for the Period 1950 to 2020” she investigates how climatological changes of the last seven decades affect the hydrography of the Baltic Sea. For this purpose, observational data and data from a numerical circulation model of the Baltic Sea were analyzed. In addition, atmospheric parameters were considered to determine their influence on hydrographic variations. Sea surface temperature variations are closely related to changes in air temperature. Overall, the entire water column of the Baltic Sea has warmed over the period from 1950 to 2020. The trend is strongest at the sea surface, which has warmed by about 0.3-0.4°C per decade. For surface salinity, variability is pronounced on annual and decadal time scales and correlated with river water input to the Baltic Sea. Trend calculations show a significant decrease in surface salinity and an increase below the haline thermocline. The cause of the reciprocal trends in salinity is the subject of current research. Annual and interannual variations in surface oxygen concentration are negatively correlated with water temperature. Increasing water temperatures affect oxygen solubility at the sea surface and enhance oxygen consumption by biogeochemical processes.

"I am very pleased and congratulate Vera Stockmayer on this award," says her supervisor Dr. Andreas Lehmann from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, who also gave a short laudation to the award winner. The results of her bachelor thesis will be published in the journal Oceanologia. This lays an important foundation for her scientific work. Vera Stockmayer will continue her scientific career with a master's degree in Climate Physics in Kiel.

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This year, two young scientists were honored with the Otto Krümmel Sponsorship Award: Alexandra Andrae aus Kiel and Charlotte Bürgers from Bremen.

Alexandra Andrae from Kiel University (CAU) receives the award for her achievements in physical oceanography in the study of eddy currents in the ocean. These eddies are particularly important for the horizontal exchange of solutes and for CO2 uptake in the ocean. In her bachelor's thesis, the award winner compared current data measured on research cruises with large-scale but simultaneously acquired satellite data. She was able to show that common satellite-based methods for identifying eddies overestimate their diameters but underestimate their current velocities. The long-term goal is to refine the identification of eddies using the large-scale satellite data to better understand the influence of eddies on ocean circulation and the climate system.

"I am very pleased that Ms. Andrae is receiving this award," said her supervisor Dr. Marcus Dengler from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, who also gave a short eulogy for the award winner. "Not only has she achieved an outstanding degree, but she also shows a very high level of commitment to inspiring young people about the ocean and ocean shipping outside of her studies," Dr. Dengler said. Ms. Andrae is continuing her scientific career with a master's degree in Climate Physics in Kiel.
 

Charlotte Bürgers receives the award for her bachelor thesis in the field of marine geochemistry at the Department of Geosciences at the University of Bremen in collaboration with the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven (AWI). She investigated which processes influence the cycling of the nutrient phosphate in fine-grained sediments of the North Sea. In particular, she investigated the reactions that control the release of phosphate in the sediment and into the water column, as well as its long-term storage in the seafloor.
Increased inputs of phosphate and other nutrients, especially to coastal waters such as the North Sea, are leading to eutrophication and habitat stress. In addition, there has been a significant change in the nutrient ratios of nitrate and phosphate in shelf seas such as the North Sea and the Baltic Sea in recent decades, which has had a marked impact on the biotic communities of these coastal waters. It is therefore of great importance to understand and quantify how phoshate initially stored in the seafloor returns to the water and contributes to nutrient oversupply, or how it becomes fixed in the sediment over the long term. In her thesis, the award winner used the example of the Helgoland mudflats to find that the iron phosphate mineral vivianite can permanently store phospate in the seafloor, preventing it from flowing back into the water column.

"I am very pleased that Ms. Bürgers is receiving this award," said her supervisor Prof. Dr. Sabine Kasten from the AWI Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research Bremerhaven, who also gave a short laudatory speech for the award winner. "Not only has she achieved an outstanding degree, but she also shows a very high level of commitment outside of her studies, especially in environmental protection at home and abroad," Prof. Kasten said. Ms. Bürgers is continuing her scientific career in a master's program at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

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This year's Otto Krümmel Award, endowed with 1,000 euros, goes to Anna Christina Hans. She studied physics of the Earth system at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel. The focus of her bachelor thesis entitled "Island Wakes off Cape Verde" is the analysis of oceanic eddies that form downwind of the Cape Verde Islands due to the deflection of the trade winds. These eddies have an important influence on nutrient levels and thus productivity in the surface waters of this region. Anna Christina's work made significant use of observational data obtained on an expedition with the research vessel POSEIDON.

"I am very pleased that Ms. Hans is receiving this award," said her supervisor Dr. Florian Schütte from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, who also gave a short laudation of the award winner. "She has done an outstanding job and showed a very high level of commitment that goes far beyond the normal," Dr. Schütte said. He said he was pleased that Ms. Hans is now continuing her scientific career with a master's degree in Climate Physics.

This year, Ms. Katharina Bachmann from Bremen and Ms. Anna Margarethe Jegen from Kiel received the Otto Krümmel Sponsorship Award in equal shares. The award is therefore endowed this year with a total of 1500 euros.

Ms. Katharina Bachmann studied geosciences with a focus on marine geology, paleontology and petrology at the University of Bremen. In her bachelor thesis entitled "Gas emission sites on the continental margin of Romania" she investigated occurrences and distribution of gas emission sites on the Romanian continental slope of the Black Sea. The hydroacoustic data she evaluated were obtained on the M142 meteorite cruise, in which Ms. Bachmann herself was able to participate. The work provides important structural insight into the topic of gas emissions, their influencing factors, and interactions with sedimentary structures and the water column. "I am very pleased that Ms. Bachmann has received this award," said her supervisor, Dr. Miriam Römer of the MARUM Research Center at the University of Bremen. "She has done an outstanding job and showed a very high level of commitment that goes far beyond the normal," Dr. Römer added. Ms. Bachmann is now continuing her scientific career with a master's degree with the topic "Climate Studies" at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands. 

Ms. Anna Margarethe Jegen studied geosciences at the Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel. She dealt with the formation of marine massive sulfide deposits on the seafloor in her bachelor thesis entitled "Geochemical controls on the enrichment, distribution and mineralogy of tin in massive sulfides from the Nibelungen and Logatchev hydrothermal fields." "Ms. Jegen's work has contributed to an improved understanding of the precipitation of metals, especially tin, at hot deep-sea sources," said her supervisor, Dr. Sebastian Fuchs, of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources in Hannover, Germany. "These results are highly valued, which is why we are preparing a publication about them in a scientific journal," Fuchs adds. Ms. Jegen is now continuing her scientific education with a master's degree in geophysics at Kiel University.

Hanne Marie Banko-Kubis studied environmental sciences at the University of Oldenburg. The focus of her bachelor thesis entitled "In situ CO₂ fluxes in Norwegian coastal areas. Evaluating in situ estuarine and oceanic gas transfer velocities and their relation to wind speed and turbulence" is on the measurement and analysis of exchange velocities of CO₂ and the parameterization of these using wind speed and surface turbulence. 

In the area she studied, CO₂ fluxes had not previously been determined. Her results showed that the Norwegian fjords, with their cold and low-salinity surface waters, may represent an important sink for CO₂. The surface turbulence measurements could help to better parameterize CO2 exchange rates in models.

"I am very pleased that Ms. Banko-Kubis is receiving this award," said her supervisor, Dr. Mariana Ribas Ribas of the Institute of Marine Biology and Chemistry at the University of Oldenburg, who also gave a brief eulogy for the award winner. "She did an excellent job and showed a very high level of commitment that goes far beyond the normal," Dr. Ribas Ribas said. She said she is pleased that Ms. Banko-Kubis is now continuing her scientific career with a master's degree in marine environmental science at the University of Oldenburg.

Mr. Karl Heger studied Maritime Technologies at the University of Applied Sciences Bremerhaven and wrote his bachelor thesis in cooperation with GEOMAR. In the awarded bachelor thesis titled: "Localization of remotely operated underwater vehicles by merging position data from both ultra-short baseline system and Doppler velocity log", Mr. Heger investigated how the measurement data from two common hydroacoustic systems for determining the position of underwater vehicles can be processed and merged to achieve higher accuracy.  

"I am very pleased that Mr. Heger is receiving this award," said his supervisor, Prof. Dr. Axel Bochert of Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences, who also gave a brief eulogy for the award winner. "He has delivered outstanding work and shown a very high level of commitment that goes far beyond the norm," Prof. Bochert said. He said it was only logical and consistent for Mr. Heger to now continue his scientific career by studying electrical engineering and information technology at Christian Albrechts University in Kiel.

Ms. Maria Jung, who studied at the University of Bremen and wrote her bachelor's thesis at the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven, is the first winner of the Otto Krümmel Award. Ms. Jung completed a biology degree at the University of Bremen with a focus on marine biology. The awarded bachelor thesis titled: "The effect of ocean acidification (OA) on the photosymbiosis of the two scleractinian coral species Porites lutea and Seriatopora hystrix- a light exclusion experiment" is about the influence of photosymbiosis on the fitness of corals under ocean acidification. 

"I am very pleased that Ms. Jung is receiving this award," said her supervisor, Dr. Gertraud Schmidt of the Alfred Wegener Institute, who also gave a brief eulogy for the recipient. "She did an outstanding job and showed a very high level of commitment that goes far beyond the normal," Dr. Schmidt said. She also said it was no surprise to her that Ms. Jung is now continuing her scientific education with a master's degree in marine biology. "I am sure we will hear from her more often," she said.

Prof. Dr. Otto Krümmel was one of the most important German geographers and at the same time oceanographers in the time around 1900. He deserves the credit for having founded oceanography as a systematic sub-science of geography. Krümmel's ideas on the shape of the ocean floor were fundamental for all subsequent generations of scientists. With about 100 publications, his work covers almost all areas of general geography, oceanography, and hydrographic metrology.

Otto Krümmel was born in 1854 in Exin in the province of Posen. He first studied medicine at the University of Leipzig between 1873 and 1875, then geography and natural sciences in Göttingen and Berlin. In 1884, Krümmel became a full professor of geography at Kiel University and subsequently remained the director of the Geographical Institute for 27 years. During his research and teaching activities in Kiel, Krümmel developed basic marine scientific methods and the corresponding equipment. From 1902, Krümmel headed the Department of Hydrography at the Laboratory for International Marine Research founded in Kiel, one of the forerunner institutes of today's GEOMAR. In 1911, he was appointed full professor of geography at the University of Marburg. Krümmel died at the age of only 57 on October 12, 1912 in Cologne.

Infoposter about Otto Krümmel (pdf, german)