Marilena Oltmanns researches how ice, oceans, and the atmosphere interact in the climate system. Her focus is on how polar and subpolar processes influence weather and climate in more temperate latitudes, to what extent they can promote the formation and intensification of extreme weather events in this part of the world, and what role they play in climate tipping points. To gain new insights, she collaborates with scientists from different disciplines, combines observations, models, and theory, and uses innovative mathematical methods.

After completing her doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the USA (2015), Marilena Oltmanns conducted research at GEOMAR – Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (2015 to 2019) and at the National Oceanography Centre in England (2019 to 2025). She is now looking forward to working with her colleagues at the University of Bremen and the Alfred Wegener Institute, to exchanging ideas with students, and to many exciting new projects.