“WASCAL Floating University”: Students from West Africa study climate change on the high seas
How does climate change affect the atmosphere and the ocean? To find out, students on the BMFTR-funded WASCAL Master’s programme “Climate Change and Marine Sciences”, spent two weeks conducting research aboard the FS POLARSTERN while travelling from Cabo Verde to Germany.
Coastal erosion, droughts, marine heatwaves, declining fish catches: West Africa is one of the regions suffering most severely from the effects of climate change on a global scale. This is why there is a need for well-trained local specialists. Therefore, back in 2012, the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) launched the WASCAL Climate Competence Centre’s Graduate School Programme in collaboration with West African partner countries to promote the next generation of scientists in West Africa.
Theory and practice on one of the world's most modern research vessels
Currently, 12 master’s students from 12 West African WASCAL member countries are enrolled in the WASCAL master’s programme “Climate Change and Marine Sciences”. The programme is based at the Universidade Técnica do Atlântico (UTA) in Mindelo, Cape Verde. At the heart of the two-years master’s programme is the use of the German research vessel POLARSTERN as a floating university to gain practical experience. In early May 2026, eleven of the students boarded the ship in Mindelo, Cape Verde, to take part in the two-week training and research voyage to Bremerhaven.
On board, the students were introduced to traditional aspects of climate research using innovative measuring equipment. Under the guidance of international scientists, they gained hands-on experience with the latest technologies – and were thus directly involved in cutting-edge international research.
They also carried out their own measurements and analyses, some of which will be incorporated into their Master’s theses. For example, they collected water samples using a ring-type water sampler and a Midi multi-clamp net from ocean depths of up to 4,900 metres for further laboratory analysis. These samples were used, amongst other things, to study marine biodiversity at different depths using molecular biological methods. During the expedition, the students also analysed the results from a measurement system used on board the POLARSTERN, which continuously and accurately measures the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the upper layer of the ocean and the atmosphere.
The analysis of this data provides a more detailed understanding of how the ocean absorbs atmospheric CO₂ – a process that is a major driver of ocean acidification. The measurements have expanded the international dataset of the Floating University, which has now taken place four times since 2022. Imaging instruments, such as the Planktoscope, modern stereo microscopes and the UnderwaterVisionProfiler (UVP) for identifying marine plankton organisms, were also deployed at sea.
-Barbara-Dombrowski-_DSC2089.jpg?m=1779453369 "Chidinma Catherine Okpokwu from Nigeria is one of the students who took part in the WASCAL Floating University.")
“We had a really intense but also very educational time on our WASCAL Floating University. Night-time plankton net catches, starting at 4 am, were a regular feature of the station schedule,” said Chidinma Catherine Okpokwu, a student from Nigeria. “Thanks to the comprehensive training programme, we were able to witness first-hand the physical interactions between the atmosphere and the ocean along our route, and to visualise and internalise them through our own measurements.” She will apply the new knowledge she gained on the expedition to her Master’s thesis on the influence of marine heatwaves on surface ecosystems in the Canary Current between 1996 and 2026. In addition to the effects, these results will allow to also highlight the socio-economic consequences of climate change for West Africa, such as fish kills and periods of drought.
-Barbara-Dombrowski-_DSC2068.jpg?m=1779453395 "For Soumaila Guigma from Burkina Faso, the research expedition at sea was, as it was for all the students, an enriching experience.")
“Through hands-on work on board using state-of-the-art measuring equipment and in-depth discussions, we have all gained a deeper understanding of natural marine biogeochemical processes and how they are being altered by global warming,” reports Soumaila Guigma from Burkina Faso, a country with no direct access to the Atlantic coast. Guigma goes on to explain: “For my Master’s thesis, I will be collecting field samples from mangrove and riparian forest areas in Ghana and analysing them using the laboratory equipment at the WASCAL Centre of Excellence in Burkina Faso in order to validate satellite data. The insights gained on board the POLARSTERN regarding traditional and novel measurement methods in oceanography, precision in handling measurement data, and collegial cooperation will support me in my research on biodiversity conservation.”
German Federal Minister for Research Bär visits the research vessel POLARSTERN
Towards the end of her trip, German Federal Minister for Research, Dorothee Bär, also met with the WASCAL students during her visit to the FS POLASTERN. She was shown measuring instruments and techniques, and results were explained to her that demonstrate the ongoing warming of the atmosphere and the ocean. Federal Minister Bär emphasised the strategic importance of both the research work and the practical training of students on the WASCAL Master’s programme aboard the POLARSTERN.
WASCAL Master’s programme: The next generation of climate experts
The students are trained on the BMFTR-funded international Master’s programme “Climate Change and Marine Sciences” at the Universidade Técnica do Atlântico (UTA, Cabo Verde), in close collaboration with German and international research institutes. The expedition aboard the POLARSTERN was led by the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel and carried out in collaboration with researchers from international research organisations, including the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW), Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (CAU) and the Senegalese Centre de Recherche Ocèanographique de Dakar Thiaroye (CRODT-ISRA).
Many of the students go on to conduct more in-depth research after arriving in Germany, spending several weeks at GEOMAR in Kiel. During this time, they are supervised by GEOMAR researchers.
Background: Investment in climate resilience and global partnership
The WASCAL Master’s programme “Climate Change and Marine Sciences” is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space as part of the WASCAL Graduate School Programme. It is a prime example of the successful implementation of the FONA strategy “Research for Sustainability”.
The WASCAL Graduate School Programme, comprising six Master’s and eleven PhD programmes, makes a direct contribution to food security and socio-economic stability in West Africa by building and expanding local expertise. Furthermore, the programme as a whole, is operating across 12 countries in West Africa and enhances the international visibility of cutting-edge German research. WASCAL’s rapidly growing international alumni network alone offers a wide range of opportunities for collaboration in the academic, political and economic spheres. To date, over 650 students have been trained through the WASCAL Graduate School Programme.
The WASCAL Master’s programme in Cabo Verde was recognised in 2021 as an official initiative of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021–2030 in recognition of its significant contribution to fostering the next generation of scientists in a region severely affected by climate change.
-barbara-dombrowski_DSC1494.jpg?m=1779453440 "Students at this year’s WASCAL Floating University aboard the FS POLARSTERN.")
-Barbara-Dombrowski.jpg?m=1779453466 "Onboarding - Students come aboard.")
-Barbara-Dombrowski-DSC0660.jpg?m=1779453483 "On board, the young researchers are mentored by experienced scientists.")
