MARUM produces fundamental scientific knowledge about the role of the ocean and the ocean floor in the total Earth system. The dynamics of the ocean and the ocean floor significantly impact the entire Earth system through the interaction of geological, physical, biological and chemical processes. These influence both the climate and the global carbon cycle, and create unique biological systems.
MARUM is committed to fundamental and unbiased research in the interests of society and the marine environment, and in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. It publishes its quality-assured scientific data and makes it publicly available. MARUM informs the public about new discoveries in the marine environment and provides practical knowledge through its dialogue with society. MARUM cooperates with commercial and industrial partners in accordance with its goal of protecting the marine environment.
MARUM maintains a fleet of modern underwater vehicles and instruments for deployment in the deep sea. This capability has helped to make it a center for marine research technology and a highly desired partner in international cooperative projects. In addition, MARUM operates the largest of the three world-wide core repositories of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP).
Training of early career scientists is a major goal of MARUM. The Graduate School GLOMAR hosts PhD students from MARUM and associated institutions and serves as an umbrella for other doctoral programmes such as the Integrated Research Training Groups (IRTG) INTERCOAST and ArcTrain. With its services and programmes, MARUM also aims to address important career planning needs of PhD students and Postdocs.