Human activities affect the ocean in many ways. Warming and reductions in nutrient supply affect oceanic ecosystems. This has consequences for our food supply and the ocean’s uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide - and thus on the ocean's ability to mitigate climate change. The German-Israeli joint project "Eastern Mediterranean Sea as a model for Future Ocean Research" (EMS FORE) will investigate the consequences of these changes in the eastern Mediterranean Sea as a model region. The GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (Germany) is leading the five-year study together with the University of Haifa (Israel). The Helmholtz Association is funding the work as an "International Helmholtz Laboratory" with a total of six million euros.