Rohit Samant receives the award, which was presented on May 7, 2025, for his outstanding master´s thesis on the future of the Caspian Sea. The thesis was completed within the Marine Geosciences program under the supervision of Dr. Matthias Prange. In his work, Rohit Samant shows that the water level of the world´s largest inland body of water could drop drastically in the coming decades. In doing so, he examined various scenarios using 15 climate models. The results are alarming: The water level of the Caspian Sea could fall by up to 14 meters by the end of the century. Even in the best-case scenario, there could mean a drop of around eight meters, which would have devastating consequences. A quarter of the entire water surface could dry up – with serious consequences: More than 130 fish species and over 100 bird species depend on the Caspian Sea. Fishing, shipping, and tourism are vital for millions of people in the neighboring countries. Rohit Samant´s work has attracted international attention. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) used his findings for a working paper at last year´s Climate Change Conference in Baku (COP29). The CAMPUS AWARD honors outstanding theses produced on the campus of the University of Bremen that are thematically dedicated to the sustainable use of resources and the protection of the environment, the climate, and the oceans. The award was established in 2016 and is presented annually by the KELLNER & STOLL FOUNDATION FOR CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT, the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), the University of Bremen, and the University of Bremen Alumni Network. It is endowed with a total of 3,000 euros.

Further information:

https://www.uni-bremen.de/universitaet/hochschulkommunikation-und-marketing/pressemitteilungen/detailansicht/campus-preis-forschen-fuer-nachhaltige-zukunft-impulse-aus-der-wissenschaft