Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung

Algal blooms are intensifying across aquatic environments worldwide, driven by factors including rising nutrient inputs and global warming, with significant consequences for ecosystems and coastal communities. The international Visiting Group “Turn of the Green Tides. Designing with Algal Blooms for Coastal Resilience and Climate Adaptation”, will explore how we might respond differently to these events, examining algal blooms as part of complex ecological, regional and material systems and identifying new bioregional opportunities for working with bloom biomass. The group will hold a workshop from 21 to 25 September.

Workshop of the Visiting Group 

The month-long group brings together researchers and practitioners with expertise in marine science, ecology, biotechnology, material science and sustainable design. It is convened by Dr Kate Scardifield, University of Technology Sydney, and Dr Jean-François Sassi, French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). From Bielefeld University, biotechnologist Professor Dr. Olaf Kruse is participating in the project.

The work at ZiF builds on field research undertaken in France in 2026. In Brittany, members of the research group investigated green tides through coastal fieldwork and existing systems for monitoring, collecting and managing bloom biomass. At Atelier LUMA in Arles, material experimentation explored how algal biomass might enter new material and manufacturing processes. Together, these sites highlighted both the possibilities and practical complexities of working with bloom biomass.

New biomaterials, made from algae. (c) Atelier LUMA, 2026. Arles, France Photo: Adrian Deweerdt

At ZiF, the group will compare bloom conditions across different geographical contexts and consider how ecological knowledge, regional infrastructure and materials research can inform more situated responses. When and how might intervention in bloom events be appropriate? How can algal biomass be collected and processed? How can regional infrastructures and capabilities be mapped, and what new material applications and systems of production might emerge from these conditions? Another goal of the research group is to establish the international Green Tides Network for the continuation of the research.

“Design can help to reframe how we understand and respond to algal blooms,” says Dr Scardifield. “By looking closely at the material ecologies and systems of a particular region, we can identify new opportunities for biomaterials production, where appropriate, and consider how adaptive design approaches can build regional resilience and support emerging bioeconomies.”