Barbara Lich of GEOlino, a German science magazine for children, won the children's science news award, established in 2005. Until 2015, it was the only AAAS science journalism award open to writers for media outlets not based in the United States.
While corals have been well-studied in tropical reefs, Lich told her young readers about the lesser-known cold water corals living hundreds of meters below the ocean's surface, a realm only reachable by a crewed submersible. She accompanied a team of research biologists from the Helmholtz Center for Oceanic Research in Kiel, Germany as they explored the depths of Norway's Trondheim Fjord in a submersible called Jago. "The article had really nice details that made readers feel they are there, underwater in a submersible," said Lila Guterman of Science News. "It had a real strength in its clear description of an experiment — showing how science is done." Catherine Hughes of National Geographic Kids praised the article's "clear, linear explanations and interesting conclusions that illustrate the scientific process." Lich said she wanted to take her young readers "into the water, to the reef deep down in the fjord, to show them the beauty of this mystical world that I had the chance to see with Jago. And I wanted to make them aware of how fragile this world is because of ocean acidification and climate change."
