The fastest data collector in the world

Just over three years ago, this encounter turned into a remarkable partnership: The daring professional sailor and the experienced researcher from GEOMAR, the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, have since been working together to gather data from the most remote corners of the world's oceans - and Boris Herrmann also had the small seawater laboratory on board on his two most sensational adventures: When he chauffeured climate activist Greta Thunberg emission-free from England to the UN General Assembly in New York, and most recently during his participation in the legendary Vendée Globe sailing regatta.

"At first, my colleagues thought I was crazy," says Boris Herrmann, laughing: he trims his 18-meter ship to such a minimum weight that the gray carbon fibers inside aren't even painted with white paint and his ration of astronaut food weighs no more than 200 grams per day on the round-the-world voyage - and then he installs a 17-kilogram apparatus just to collect data for science! "Three years ago, that was a very exotic thought," says Boris Herrmann, "but now climate protection and the will to contribute to it is already a much more present topic."

Valuable climate data from the speeding ship laboratory

The data from the speeding ship laboratory are extremely valuable for research. "This is information we can't get our hands on otherwise," says researcher Toste Tanhua: Above all, the carbon dioxide content of the oceans cannot be measured from satellites and, because of the power consumption, not with the help of unmanned buoys drifting through the world's oceans. The complex mini-laboratories first have to get to the inaccessible places, and the best way to do that is with racing sailboats. Similar equipment is also found on board cargo ships, but they are usually on the same routes. From there, they provide valuable time series - but no data from the areas through which the Vendée Globe passes, for example. These dreaded sailing areas are called the "Roaring Fourties" by insiders because they are located between 40 and 50 degrees south latitude. Notorious for frequent storms and high swells, they are largely terra incognita for researchers like Toste Tanhua - data from these little-traveled areas of the sea is scarce.

And why, anyway, is it important to know the ocean's CO2 levels? Toste Tanhua knows the answer to this question, and he takes us out for an explanation: The oceans help mitigate global warming by absorbing CO2 - and in large quantities: Only just under half of the emissions remain in the atmosphere. The rest is distributed to the ocean and plants on land. At the same time, CO2 uptake lowers the pH of seawater - with significant effects on marine life. "We need to understand exactly how the ocean absorbs CO2 in order to improve climate models," says Toste Tanhua. And Boris Herrmann seconds right away, "It's interesting that everyone immediately thinks of forests when it comes to carbon sequestration, but almost no one thinks of the oceans." Also to change that, he will have the measuring device on board again at his next regattas.