From December 11 to 15, the Fourth FIO-AWI Paleoceanography and Paleoclimate Workshop was held in Bremerhaven, Germany. The workshop is supported by "North Pacific during the warming periods of the Quaternary", a major Sino-German intergovernmental cooperation project, and "Asian Continental Margin Dynamics and Global Change", a Global Change and Air-Sea Interaction Project of the former State Oceanic Administration. Over 30 experts and scholars (including 7 Chinese experts) from the First Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources (FIO, MNR), the German Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), and the German Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research (GEOMAR) attended this workshop. The Chinese and German scientists have had in-depth exchanges and discussions on the topics of environmental and climatic dynamics, sediment sources, modern oceanic processes, paleoclimate simulation, and index record comparison for the Northwest Pacific during the warm periods and transition periods.

At the workshop, Shi Xuefa, research professor and director of the project, and Professor Gerrit Lohmann introduced their respective research progresses of the project in the past year. Professor Ralf Tiedemann explained Germany's next scientific research plan and the two parties also discussed the key points of cooperation in the next stage. They agreed that the Fifth FIO-AWI Paleoceanography and Paleoclimate Workshop will be held in China in 2019. During the workshop, the parties also discussed a cooperative research plan following SO264 Cruise, and carried out sample separation for two sedimentary cores.

In recent years, FIO have cooperated with AWI in the research on paleoclimate dynamic simulation, marine sedimentation, and paleoceanography, and have made fruitful achievements in personnel exchanges, cooperative research, and joint seminars. From July to August 2018, five FIO researchers were invited to participate in the SO264 Cruise sponsored and led by the German Government around the Emperor Seamounts, North Pacific Ocean. This workshop is another important activity jointly sponsored by the parties after the SO264 Cruise, and will further promote the implementation of joint projects and advance in-depth bilateral cooperation in the maritime field.