いらっしゃいませ – welcome!
Greetings
GAME is back in Japan! Once again, an international two-person team, made up of a German and a Japanese student, is based at the Akkeshi Marine Station on Hokkaido, Japan, to contribute to this year’s pioneering research on the effect of artificial light at night on marine macroalgae.
GAME
GAME projects have constituted an important part in global oceanic research for well over two decades. Sophisticated experimental set ups, which are replicated over a broad range of climatic and geographic areas around the globe do not only provide valuable scientific data for single systems, but also enable a global comparison of the results between latitudes, climate zones and biogeographic regions. In times in which we face universal environmental issues like climate change and the loss of biodiversity, it is becoming increasingly important to conduct experiments on a bigger scale.
ALAN and macroalgae
Just as in the last three years, this year’s GAME teams will investigate an anthropogenic influence on marine ecosystems that so far has not received the attention which it deserves – light pollution. Although, it is not a field that is of interest for many people, including even marine biologists and oceanographers, light pollution is by now regarded as one of the fastest growing human impacts on coastal ecosystems of the last twenty years.
Almost unnoticed, artificial light at night (ALAN) became a constant companion of modern life and this also applies to coastlines, of which some are among the most densely populated regions on earth. In these areas, seeing the milky way when walking alongside a beach has become practically impossible. Direct illumination by coastal infrastructures like houses, streetlights, and harbors as well as indirect enlightening of the coast through the so-called “skyglow”, i.e. artificial light reflected by clouds, have deprived us of this beautiful experience. However, although, we can directly experience the consequences of this change in night-time lightscapes, so far little is known about the consequences for underwater life. This is particularly true for the potential influence of ALAN on macroalgae, which are very important marine photoautotroph organisms. Almost no research has so far been conducted on this topic. GAME 2024 investigates the impact of ALAN on different species of macroalgae and its possible interplay with another important stressors for aquatic plants – grazing.
Why could artificial light at night affect macroalgae? As photoautotrophic organisms, just like terrestrial vascular plants, they need periodical light-dark rhythms to maintain their growth and vitality. The latter ensures the stability of macroalgae populations, and this not only relevant for the integrity of coastal ecosystems. Macroalgae provide multiple important ecosystem services to us such as coastal protection, carbon fixation and food supply. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how nightly illumination could impact the performance of these organisms.
Akkeshi
Akkeshi-chō (Akkeshi town) is a perfect locality regarding ALAN research as we can find areas with varying levels of light pollution in the close surroundings. Areas heavily lit throughout the night like the Akkeshi harbor can be found as well as the Aikappu cape, where basically no artificial light at night can be measured. Especially in this project year, with its focus laying on macroalgae, Japan’s northern coast constitutes a perfect place for this kind of research. The cold temperate climate and the nutrient rich waters support a huge variety of macroalgae, which are also important for the economy of the region as well as for the above mentioned ecosystem services.
But also besides being a fantastic place for our research, this area has a lot to offer. The Akkeshi Sakura (Cherry blossom) & Oyster Festival is just around the corner of the marine station, and it is supposed to be one of the highlights of the year! The oyster culture can be experienced here at every corner. There are multiple izakaya in Akkeshi, which serve delicious oysters – many of them are still run by the local oyster farmers themselves.
During longer trips around Hokkaido you can visit the world-famous Shiretoko National Park or the beautiful cities of Hakodate and Sapporo. Furthermore, there are multiple beautiful lakes and a variety of natural shitsugen (wetlands) worth visiting
Akkeshi Marine Station
The Akkeshi Marine Station is an external research unit of the University of Hokkaido in Sapporo located at the east coast of Japan’s northernmost main island. It has been a valuable site for applied research to the GAME projects for many years. Apart from its exquisite location for macroalgae, it is an outstandingly well-equipped facility with a great team of fellow Japanese master and PhD students as well as renowned scientist in various field of marine research (seagrass, phytoplankton, marine mammals, microplastic, peracarid crustaceans, etc.).
The station lies within the Akkeshi-Kiritappu-Konbumori Quasi-National Park, where daytrips can lead you from the tidal flats of the Akkeshi-ko (Lake Akkeshi) and the oak and maple forests to the bamboo-covered scarps of the Namida-misaki cape (Cape of Tears – but don’t worry, it will be tears of joy), where herds of Sika deer are bearingly grazing. With a little bit of luck, you can also see the local rakko (sea otters) from there. Outdoorsiness will therefore definitely pay off… 
Martin
My name is Martin (29) and I represent the “German” part of this year’s GAME team in Akkeshi, Japan. I was born and raised in the very west of the Austrian Alps and started my biological career more or less far away from the ocean in Styria, the so-called “Austrian Tuscany”. Through acquaintances with the GAME participants at the study site in Croatia back in 2021 I first got to know about this program and was immediately fascinated by it. Though back then I didn’t think that I will participate in it myself one day. When I started my master course in marine biology at the University of Rostock in northern Germany it became clear to me very soon that this is the kind of scientific consortium that I wanted to be a part of.
This is my first visit to Japan, and it has been very fascinating so far. Although it is still very cold – spring season seems to start very late around here – I was already able to experience some of the natural beauties in this area. The Bekambeushi-shitsugen is a Ramsar-registered wetland area around Akkeshi town and the second biggest in all of Japan. It has a unique waterfowl diversity (especially the famous red-crowned crane, Grus japonensis) and is supposed to be beautiful for kayak trips (let’s hope it will get warmer soon 
).
Another great experience so far was the rocky shore just in front of the station with its countless tidepools. A huge variety of all kinds of organisms (macroalgae, crustaceans, echinoderms, molluscs, etc.) can be found there, which are vastly different and much bigger than what I am used to from the Baltic and North Sea. The local seagrass meadows grow up to two meters tall and the kelp forests (brown algae) can even reach five to six meters in length. The variety of occurring algae is also mindblowing. Altogether more than 200 macroalgae species can be found around this area, of which we choose some of the most dominant and important species to conduct our experiments with.
A short walk away from the station also lies the Akkeshi National History Museum, which our team’s supervisor, Masahiro Nakaoka, is the curator of and which is definitely worth a visit.
Hikari
Hi, I’m Hikari (22) and I am studying in the master program “Aquatic biology” at Hokkaido University. My hometown is far from any coastline, which made me longing to live near the sea and to study about the ocean for a long time. I visited the Akkeshi Marine Station for the first time for a practical training two years ago and I was completely captivated by the beautiful scenery. Therefore, I permanently relocated to Akkeshi last year. My motivation for this project is to obtain profound knowledge and gain as much experience on macroalgae research as possible.
Site specific work
By now, we’re about to start the main experiments. In the beginning, we checked our material and devices and conducted some light measurements on different light sources, spectra and intensities. As my (Martin ) Japanese is not that fluent so far, I have encountered some minor communication problems with the in-house technicians (unfortunately they’re not so fluent in English), but with the help of Hikari we still managed to communicate our wishes and concerns. Thanks a lot at this point to the technicians, Hamano-san and Hide-san, for their great help! ありがとうございます – arigatou gozaimasu!
During the past weeks we worked on setting up our shelves, on which we will expose macroalgae from the nearby sea to different night time light regimes. The main tasks for us so far were the installation of the water flow-through system and the mounting of the LED lights in the laboratory. It was a lot of fuzzy work to get everything exactly at the spot we want it to be but in the end we managed to do so. Hopefully everything stays at its place for the next 5 months – fingers crossed… Besides the area, where we will conduct our experiments, the laboratory contains multiple other aquariums of all sorts and sizes where simultaneously other scientists and student are working on their experiments. The station and its aquarium room literally are a stone’s throw away from the intertidal area of Akkeshi Bay, which makes the collection and the transport of algae and grazers to the laboratory very fast and keeps the impact to the organisms to a minimum.
After having covered the whole shelf with light impermeable foil, we started to set up the scene for our pilot studies, during which we gained additional knowledge about the interaction of the algae and grazer species we work with. To gain the most valuable information about the effects of ALAN, we decided to work with the most abundant and important species of the local coastal ecosystem. Our choice for the algal target species fell on Saccharina japonica (a local brown algae species of kombu, which is also very important economically), Chondrus yendoi (a very abundant red algae, which is very important as a food resource for most of the intertidal species) and Fucus distichus (a habitat building brown algae crucial for the vitality of the coastal area). To feed on our algae we decided to work with Idotea ochotensis, a regional species of marine isopod, which is inconspicuous to the eye at first, but due to its abundance and voracity plays an essential role in the coastal food web and the remineralization process of organic material. For obtaining more detailed information on the interaction of these species with each other, we will assess the consumption rates of the isopods on our algae as well as if they prefer to graze during the day or during the night.
In the next days, after having accomplished several test runs on the experimental set up as well as having practiced to conduct measurements with the laboratory equipment, we will start our main experiments.
お疲れ様です – thanks for your hard work!
Enlightenment in Japan – how artificial light at night influences local kelp forests.
Between all the scientific work, we celebrated Easter on board, although the weather had other plans for us. Due to rough conditions, we weren’t able to carry out any CTD casts.
Easter itself was spent in a mix of rest and small celebrations. Some of us enjoyed a long Easter breakfast with traditional Easter bread, while others took the opportunity to sleep in. In the evening, we gathered with both crew and scientists for a small celebration. The ship’s cook even organized a quiz, and those who answered correctly were rewarded with Easter chocolate.
The next day, the weather improved, and we began early with the recovery of K1, a 3,495-meter-long mooring in the middle of the Labrador Sea.
We joined the nautical officers on the bridge before sunrise to search for it. Fortunately, K1 has a floating buoy with a light, so we were able to spot it even in the dark. The actual recovery started at first light, and it began to snow while we were working.
Amid all the CTDs and mooring operations, there was also a personal highlight: my (Sarah’s) birthday. Although I’ve spent birthdays away from home before, this one felt especially unique, being so far out at sea, with only limited internet contact.
Normally, I work the 4-8 shift, but my incredibly kind shift team gave me the morning off. That meant I could sleep in and even find time to call family and friends back home. In the afternoon, I was surprised with my favourite cake, baked by Julia.
Our work continued with the mooring array at 53°N, which consists of seven moorings. So far, we have recovered five (K7, K8, K9, DSOW1 and DSOW2), and three of them have already been redeployed (K7, K8 and DSOW1,).
Deploying K7 turned out to be particularly tricky. On our first attempt, sea ice drifted toward us faster than expected, forcing us to recover nearly half of the mooring again. While the ship itself can handle drifting ice, deploying a mooring is much more delicate: a long cable with instruments and floats is released behind the ship before the anchor is dropped, allowing the system to sink into place.
Two days later, we tried again and this time, the deployment was successful.
Afterwards, we moved closer to the sea ice, which was a highlight for many of us. Seeing the ice up close and even spotting a seal swimming nearby, made the experience unforgettable.
Due to the continuing harsh weather, the decision was made to return to K1 and make use of an upcoming weather window for deployment the following day.
German:
Zwischen Stürmen und Wissenschaft: Ostern in der Labradorsee (04.04.26 – 13.04.26)
Zwischen all der wissenschaftlichen Arbeit haben wir Ostern an Bord gefeiert, auch wenn das Wetter andere Pläne für uns hatte. Aufgrund der rauen Bedingungen konnten wir keine CTD-Messungen durchführen (Messungen von Leitfähigkeit, Temperatur und Tiefe im Ozean).
Ostern selbst war eine Mischung aus Erholung und kleinen Feierlichkeiten. Einige von uns genossen ein ausgedehntes Osterfrühstück mit traditionellem Osterbrot, während andere die Gelegenheit nutzten, etwas länger zu schlafen. Am Abend kamen Crew und Wissenschaftler*innen zu einer kleinen Feier zusammen. Der Koch organisierte sogar ein Quiz, und wer die Fragen richtig beantwortete, wurde mit Oster-Schokolade belohnt.
Am nächsten Tag besserte sich das Wetter, und wir begannen früh mit der Bergung von K1, einer 3.495 Meter langen Verankerung mitten in der Labradorsee. (Eine Verankerung ist eine lange, am Meeresboden befestigter Draht, der mit Instrumenten ausgestattet ist, um über längere Zeit Ozeandaten zu messen.)
Noch vor Sonnenaufgang gingen wir mit den nautischen Offizieren auf die Brücke, um nach ihr Ausschau zu halten. Glücklicherweise verfügt K1 über eine schwimmende Boje mit Licht, sodass wir sie bereits im Dunkeln entdecken konnten. Die eigentliche Bergung begann bei Tagesanbruch und es begann sogar zu schneien.
Zwischen all den CTD-Einsätzen und Verankerungsarbeiten gab es auch ein persönliches Highlight: meinen (Sarahs) Geburtstag. Obwohl ich schon öfter Geburtstage fernab von zu Hause verbracht habe, war dieser besonders, so weit draußen auf dem Meer und mit nur eingeschränktem Internetkontakt.
Normalerweise arbeite ich in der 4-8 Uhr Schicht, aber mein unglaublich nettes Schichtteam hat mir den Morgendienst freigegeben. So konnte ich etwas länger schlafen und hatte sogar Zeit, mit Familie und Freunden zu Hause zu telefonieren. Am Nachmittag wurde ich dann noch mit meinem Lieblingskuchen überrascht, den Julia für mich gebacken hat.
Unsere Arbeit ging weiter mit dem Verankerungs-Array bei 53°, das aus sieben Verankerungen besteht. Bisher haben wir fünf geborgen (DSOW1, DSOW2, K7, K8 und K9), von denen drei bereits wieder ausgebracht wurden (DSOW1, K7 und K8).
Das Ausbringen von K7 erwies sich als besonders schwierig. Beim ersten Versuch trieb das Meereis schneller auf uns zu als erwartet, sodass wir fast die Hälfte der Verankerung wieder einholen mussten. Obwohl das Schiff selbst gut durch treibendes Eis navigieren kann, ist das Ausbringen einer Verankerung deutlich anspruchsvoller: Dabei wird ein langer Draht mit Messinstrumenten und Auftriebskörpern hinter dem Schiff ausgesetzt, bevor am Ende der Anker gelöst wird und das gesamte System absinkt.
Zwei Tage später versuchten wir es erneut, diesmal mit Erfolg.
Anschließend fuhren wir näher an das Meereis heran, was für viele von uns ein besonderes Highlight war. Das Eis aus nächster Nähe zu sehen und sogar eine Robbe in der Nähe schwimmen zu beobachten, machte das Erlebnis unvergesslich.
Aufgrund der weiterhin rauen Wetterbedingungen wurde schließlich entschieden, zu K1 zurückzukehren, um ein bevorstehendes Wetterfenster für die Ausbringung am nächsten Tag zu nutzen.
Between Storms and Science: Easter in the Labrador Sea (04.04.26–13.04.26)
Ocean Acidification
Humans Just Flew Around the Moon This Week. But Would Babies Born There Ever Truly Feel Gravity? Ask Jellyfish Babies.
This week, NASA’s Artemis II crew made history by flying around the Moon and returning safely to Earth, the first human journey to the Moon’s vicinity in more than 50 years. It was a stunning reminder that humanity is no longer just dreaming about living beyond Earth. We are actively rehearsing for it.
And that leads to a much stranger, deeper question: even if one day we build skyscrapers on the Moon, raise families there, and turn space into a place to live, will babies born away from Earth develop a normal sense of gravity? Or will their bodies learn the universe differently?
To explore that question, NASA once turned to an unexpected stand-in for human babies: jellyfish babies. On the STS-40 mission, scientists sent thousands of tiny jellyfish polyps into space because jellyfish, like humans, rely on gravity-sensing structures to orient themselves. The experiment asked a simple but profound question: if a living body develops in microgravity, will it still know how to handle gravity later?
The answer was both fascinating and unsettling. The jellyfish developed in space in large numbers, but once back under Earth’s gravity, the ones that had developed in microgravity showed far more pulsing abnormalities than the Earth-grown controls. In other words, their bodies formed, but their sense of balance did not seem to work quite the same way.
That is why this old jellyfish experiment still matters today. Before we imagine lunar cities, schools, nurseries, and generations born off-world, we need to ask not only whether humans can survive in space, but whether developing there changes how the body understands something as basic as up, down, and movement. Jellyfish babies cannot tell us everything about human children, but they may have given us one of the first clues that life born beyond Earth might not come home unchanged.
Reference: https://nlsp.nasa.gov/view/lsdapub/lsda_experiment/0c10d660-6b12-573d-8c3b-e20e071aed3b
Image: GEOMAR, Sarah Uphoff
After a slight delay of the Maria S. Merian caused by late-arriving containers our research cruise MSM142 finally got underway. By last Tuesday (24.03.2026), the full scientific team had arrived in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, and the ship reached port on Wednesday (25.03.2026) morning. That same day, scientists and technicians moved on board and immediately began preparations, assembling and testing our instruments. Although the mornings on Wednesday and Thursday were grey and overcast, the afternoons cleared up beautifully. This gave us valuable time to organize equipment on deck and store empty boxes back into the containers before departure.
Given the forecast of harsh conditions outside the fjord, we carried out the mandatory safety drill while still in harbour. This included practicing emergency procedures and boarding the lifeboat. After completing border control, we were finally ready to leave Nuuk. We set sail on March 27th, heading into the Labrador Sea to begin our mission. Even before starting scientific operations, we tested the setup for deploying our gliders without releasing them during the transit out of the fjord. Once we reached open waters, we were met by high waves the following morning. For some on board, this was their first experience under such rough sea conditions. Seasickness quickly became a challenge for a few, while scientific work had to be temporarily postponed due to the strong winds and sea conditions. Together with the crew, we discussed how best to adapt our measurement plans to the given weather conditions. On March 29th, we were finally able to begin our scientific program with the first CTD deployment. A CTD is an instrument used to measure conductivity, temperature, and depth, which are key parameters for understanding ocean structure.
During the following night, we continued with additional CTD stations and successfully recovered two moorings: DSOW 3 and DSOW 4, located south of Greenland. These moorings carry instruments at various depths that measure velocity, temperature, and salinity. DSOW 4 was redeployed on the same day, while DSOW 3 followed the next day. In addition, the bottles attached to the CTD’s rosette can be used to collect water samples from any desired depth. These samples can be used, for example, to determine the oxygen content, nutrient levels, and organic matter.
Both are part of the OSNAP array, a network of moorings spanning the subpolar North Atlantic. On these moorings are a few instruments, for example microcats which measure temperature, pressure and salinity.
We then conducted around 25 CTD stations spaced approximately 3 nautical miles apart across an Irminger ring identified from satellite data. This high-resolution sampling was necessary to capture the structure of an Irminger Ring, which had a radius of about 12 km wide.
The days leading up to April 2nd were marked by very rough weather conditions. Life on board became both challenging and, at times, unintentionally entertaining sliding chairs were not uncommon. During the night from April 1st to April 2nd, winds reached 11 Beaufort with gusts up to 65 knots, forcing us to pause our measurements. Fortunately, conditions improved by morning, allowing us to resume our work. As well as with the help of the crew we had to adapt to the harsh weather conditions to continue our scientific work. On the 3rd of April, we were able to deploy a few gliders and one float. An ocean glider is an autonomous underwater Vehicle, which you can steer remotely and send to different locations, while it is measuring oceanographic key parameters.
This research cruise focuses on understanding small-scale processes in the ocean and their connection to the spring bloom, an essential phase in marine ecosystem in subpolar regions. Despite the challenging start, we have already gathered valuable data and look forward to the weeks ahead in the Labrador Sea.
-
Climate Change9 months ago
Guest post: Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
-
Greenhouse Gases9 months ago
Guest post: Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
-
Greenhouse Gases2 years ago嘉宾来稿：满足中国增长的用电需求 光伏加储能“比新建煤电更实惠”
-
Climate Change2 years ago
Bill Discounting Climate Change in Florida’s Energy Policy Awaits DeSantis’ Approval
-
Climate Change2 years ago嘉宾来稿：满足中国增长的用电需求 光伏加储能“比新建煤电更实惠”
-
Renewable Energy6 months agoSending Progressive Philanthropist George Soros to Prison?
-
Climate Change Videos2 years ago
The toxic gas flares fuelling Nigeria’s climate change – BBC News
-
Carbon Footprint2 years agoUS SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rules Spur Renewed Interest in Carbon Credits