The lecture will be livestreamed from Aarhus University. Free admission, support your cinema.*

Language: Danish
Break: 20 minutes
Lecturers: by marine biologist Annette Bruhn

Below the ocean surface, seaweed grows in a multitude of different colors, shapes and sizes. The kelp forests that grow along the world's coasts are as important to marine ecosystems as forests are to life on land. From the poles to the equator, seaweed creates both food and hiding places for countless marine organisms - such as fish and small animals. At the same time, seaweed helps to keep both the marine environment and the climate in balance, as seaweed absorbs nutrients from seawater, absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere, produces oxygen and counteracts ocean acidification.

People all over the world have used seaweed as a resource since the dawn of time – for food, feed, fertilizer, gunpowder and materials. In today’s world, we face several major challenges – climate crisis, food crisis, biodiversity crisis and a new geopolitical agenda. Seaweed is often mentioned as a solution that can save the world – but can that really be true?

Seaweed is actually not a plant – seaweed is algae. Come and hear what kind of creatures seaweed and algae really are. What distinguishes them from plants and animals? And how do you grow seaweed – both in the sea and on land? Also hear about the sustainable solutions seaweed can contribute to in the future – both when it comes to climate, biodiversity and the food of the future. And get the chance to taste the future when we dive into the flavor universe of seaweed.

This is an updated version of a lecture from autumn 2020.

Read more at ofn.au.dk/abstract/174.
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*Note from the organizers at Aarhus University: your local cinema has generously provided its cinema hall and staff free of charge for this screening. Please support them financially by, for example, using their café/kiosk.

ABOUT THE LECTURE SERIES:
The lecture is streamed live from the Søauditorierne in Aarhus and is part of the series Public Lectures in Natural Sciences organized by Aarhus University in collaboration with several hundred locations across the country. The lecture series is supported by the Carlsberg Foundation.

The lecture lasts two hours including a 20-minute break and a session at the end where the lecturer answers selected questions submitted during the lecture by the audience via SMS.
The lecture is and will not be publicly available on the internet.