Abele's research interests lay in physiological ageing in ectotherms, the evolution of genes and genomes, the impact of climatic changes on Antarctic coastal benthos, and HIF-1 homologs in marine organisms. In addition to her scientific papers, she has also published university course material From 2007 to 2009 she coordinated the IPY_ClicOPEN project of Climate Change Effects on Coastal Ecosystems at the Antarctic Peninsula. From 2011 to 2013 she coordinated the IMCOAST project Impact of climate change on Antarctic Coastal Ecosystems. From 2013 to 2016 she served as the role of coordinator as part of the Network for Staff Exchange and Training at IMCONet on the Interdisciplinary Modelling of climate change in Coastal Western Antarctica. Abele has led 9 expeditions to the Carlini station,
King George Island, Antarctica (to work in the Dallmann Laboratory). She leads the international ESF (European Social Fund) Programme, IMCOAST (Impact of Climate Change on Antarctic Coastal Systems: 2010–2016). While in the employ of AWI Abele has collaborated extensively with the
British Antarctic Survey. She is the coordinator for MCONet - Interdisciplinary Modelling of Climate Change in Coastal Western Antarctica – Network for Staff Exchange and Training. In addition to her research, she also lectures at the
University of Bremen. ==Selected works==