Tidal flat areas are an important feature of many coastlines of the world. They belong to the most productive natural ecosystems on earth and play an important role in global biogeochemical cycles. One of the largest continuous tidal flat zones extends along the North Sea coast from Denmark via Northwest Germany to the Netherlands. A profound knowledge of the physical, biological and chemical processes in the tidal flats is one of the prerequisites for adequately protecting these unique environments and for understanding their morphological and ecosystem development under the influence of global change.
In eight years of intense field and laboratory investigations in the backbarrier tidal flats of Spiekeroog island (Northwest Germany), the Research Group on BioGeoChemistry of Tidal Flats – funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) – achieved a deep understanding of the currents systems, transport of particulate and dissolved matter in the water column, and the transformation of decayed biomass by microorganisms. The scientists presented the results of their studies during a final symposium at the Hanse Institute of Advanced Study in Delmenhorst (HWK). To a large extent, the newly gained information became part of mathematical models, which will allow, among other, to predict the future developments of the hydrological and ecological systems.