Coastal Summer School 2026
Environmental monitoring -
a powerful tool for sustainable management of our seas
arrival date: 12.09.2026, start of school: 13.09.2026, departure: 22.09.2026
Application deadline: April 10, 2026
Topics include:
The program focuses on the challenges, requirements, and products of marine environmental monitoring strategies in the fields of oceanography, biodiversity, eutrophication, chemical pollution, and geological development, and highlights a wide range of topics:
- national and international marine monitoring programmes with focus on Baltic Sea and North Sea
- technologies for monitoring of the marine environment
- assessment of the marine environmental status - examples and products from different disciplines
- management of marine resources on the basis of long-term monitoring
- marine data in freely accessible databases – how to find, how to use
- future visions for monitoring the state of the marine environment
Side programm:
- guided island excursions for habitats, plants, birds, coastal protection
- nature conservation work to protect the dune habitat on the island
Preliminary programme
| Saturday, 12.09.2026 | |
| Arrival of participants | |
| Sunday, 13.09.2026 | |
| 09:30 - 11:00 | Welcome, introduction to the programme and student self introduction (Sandra Kube, IOW; Regine Labrenz, IOW) |
| 12:00 - 16:00 | Excursion: Hiddensee Island, habitates and usage (Irmgard Blindow, Sven Dahlke) |
| 19:00 | Welcome Dinner (costs covered by the summer school) |
| Monday, 14.09.2026 | |
| 09:00 - 12:00 | European regulations for the protection and monitoring of coastal waters (WFD, MSFD) (Anja Schanz, Ministry for Environment M-V, Dept. Protection of Water and Marine Environments) |
| 12:00 | Lunch (self catering) |
| 14:00 - 17:00 | Our oceans of tomorrow - From maritime spatial planning to offshore wind energy planning (Yannik Heisel-Sure, Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency, Dept. Management of the Sea) |
| Tuesday, 15.09.2026 | |
| 09:00 - 12:00 | Coastal eutrophication: trends, goals and solutions (Justus van Beusekom, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon) |
| 12:00 | Lunch (self catering) |
| 14:00 - 17:00 | Exploiting public data resources for an extended spatio-temporal scale in environmental monitoring (Christiane Hassenrück, IOW) |
| Wednesday, 16.09.2026 | |
| 09:00 - 12:00 | The development of the Baltic Sea - Monitoring at geological time scales (Matthias Moros, IOW) |
| 12:00 | Lunch (self catering) |
| 14:00 - 17:00 | Long-term monitoring of organic contaminants in the Baltic Sea (Marion Kanwischer, IOW) |
| Thursday, 17.09.2026 | |
| 09:00 - 12:00 | Molecular methods for future biological monitoring (Matthias Labrenz, IOW) |
| 12:00 | Lunch (self catering) |
| 14:00 - 17:00 | Water quality monitoring from a desk: From remote sensing reflectances to variables relevant for marine environmental monitoring (Eefke van der Lee, Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency) |
| Friday, 18.09.2026 | |
| 09:00 - 12:00 | Long-term oceanographical monitoring Baltic Sea (Michael Naumann, IOW) |
| 12:00 | Lunch (self catering) |
| 14:00 - 15:30 | Long-term changes in Baltic Sea plankton biodiversity (Sandra Kube, IOW) |
| 18:00 | Barbeque (costs covered by the summer school, organized by the participants) |
| Saturday, 19.09.2026 | |
| 09:00 - 12:00 | Environmental impact assessment and evaluation by means of environmental monitoring (off-shore windfarms, power cables, pipelines) (Jan Kube, Streamtec Solutions) |
| 12:00 | Lunch (self catering) |
| 15:00 - 19:00 | Island excursion - Monitoring of sea birds (Jan Kube, Streamtec Solutions) |
| Sunday, 20.09.2026 | |
| 09:00 - 12:00 | Workshop - Design and construction of a sensor system (Daniel Carlson, IOW) |
| Lunch (self catering) | |
| 14:00 - 17:00 | Workshop - Design and construction of a sensor system (Daniel Carlson, IOW) |
| Monday, 21.09.2026 | |
| 09:00 - 12:00 | Student groups present and discuss their summer school group work results (all lecturers) |
| 12:00 | Lunch (self catering) |
| 14:00 - 17:00 | Clean up and tidy up accommodations, kitchen house, course house |
| Tuesday, 22.09.2026 | |
| Departure | |