GEOMAR | Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research is the successor of the Leibniz Institute
of Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR) which was founded in January 2004 through the merger
of the Institut für Meereskunde (IfM) and the Research Center for Marine Geosciences
(GEOMAR). The institute is a member of the Helmholtz Association and employs more
than 750 scientific and technical staff. The institutes’ mandate is the interdisciplinary
investigation of all relevant aspects of modern marine sciences, from sea floor geology
to marine meteorology. Research is conducted worldwide in all oceans. The institute
has four major research divisions: Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics, Marine
Biogeochemistry, Marine Ecology, and Dynamics of the Ocean Floor.