AWI, SMART Organise Atlantic Summer School

Since last Friday fourteen international students from seven countries are on board the RV Celtic Explorer for this year’s Atlantic Summer School. From 12th to 16th September 2014 the students will study cold water coral systems in their living environment in Irish waters.

The Atlantic Summer School is a collaboration between the Strategic Marine Alliance for Research and Training (SMART), Ireland and the Alfred-Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). This joint mission will focus on a multidisciplinary investigation of cold water coral ecosystems of the Belgica Mound Province which is a special area of conservation approximately 150km south west of Ireland.

Prof. Karen Wiltshire (in the middle) and Dr. Alexandra Kraberg (left) with four participants of the Nippon Foundation and POGO Centre of Excellence in Observational Oceanography.

The program aims to provide postgraduates with necessary practical experience and to help them develop networking opportunities early in their careers. Among the participants are also four students from the Nippon Foundation and POGO Centre of Excellence in Observational Oceanography at the AWI.