Turn of the Green Tides
Contact at ZiF
Sue Fizell
zif-researchsupport@uni-bielefeld.de
Turn of the Green Tides
Designing with algal blooms for coastal resilience and climate adaptation
September - October 2026
Algal blooms are intensifying globally, driven by rising nutrient inputs and global warming, generating vast quantities of biomass that threaten aquatic ecosystems and coastal communities. Turn of the Green Tides is an interdisciplinary project that looks to these events as catalysts for climate adaptation.
By linking the scientific study of bloom dynamics with innovation in algae-based materials and technologies, the project aims to generate new insights into resource recovery, sustainable algae harvesting and regional biomanufacturing. Bridging fundamental research in marine science and algal biology with systems and transition design, the project investigates how algal blooms can be transformed from ecological burden into a bioregional opportunity. Focusing on coastal regions severely affected by green tides, the project examines the socio-ecological impacts of bloom events to surface novel mitigation systems and creative strategies that can support coastal community resilience and regional adaptation.
Turn of the Green Tides establishes an international network of scholars, policy makers, industry and design practitioners with the aim to advance interdisciplinary frameworks and widen pathways for algae in the circular bioeconomy.