Ice-cold research – Lennart’s job as reporter for a kids’ TV show
18 August 2011. Winter cap, parka, gloves and scarf: Although the summer sun was shining outside yesterday Lennart Hellmer had packed his warmest clothes when he entered the main building of Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. An ice-cold experience was waiting for the eleven-year-old. “Why do you investigate the air bubbles in ice,” was a question the audience of the German kids’ TV show “1, 2 oder 3” had asked. And it was Lennart’s job to meet an expert of the Alfred Wegener Insitute and find an answer.
The ice specialist expecting him was physicist Dr. Anna Wegner. She gave warm shoes and jackets to Lennart and ZDF-cameraman Christian Schuster and led them into the ice laboratory, where Lennart made his ice report. “I’m in the ice laboratory right now. It’s minus 20 degrees Celsius here,” he said in front of the camera. Lennart and Christian Schuster had prepared all the report’s lines before. And with a little help from the ZDF media professional Lennart managed to record his report sequences within the blink of an eye. Nevertheless it will take some time until Lennart’s report will be broadcasted. So far the broadcast is scheduled for the “1,2 oder 3”-show on the 14th of January 2012.
Scientists honoured
17 August 2011. The US National Science Foundation awarded the Antarctica Service Medal to Dr Veronica Willmott, scientific coordinator of the ERICON AURORA BOREALIS Project. Additionally, the geologists Dr Gerhard Kuhn and Dr Frank Niessen from the Alfred Wegener Institute were honoured. This award honours their contribution to the US Antarctic Programme.
Nearly 300 European lobsters will be release into the wild
Biologists release the nocturnal juvenile lobsters during the night to give them an advantage over potential predators. Photo: Uwe Nettelmann
15 August 2011. Nearls 300 young European lobsters (Homarus gammarus) raised in the Biologische Anstalt Helgoland are waiting to be released into the wild. On Saturday the 20th of August biologists are going to set free 200 yearlings and 95 lobsters in the age of two. They will take the finger long animals out of their rearing basins, place them in tiny transport cans and drive them by boat out to the Helgoländer Felssockel, an area of rocky shore, where the lobsters will be released after sunset. Protected by the darkness of the night the juveniles will have a bigger chance to get to the bottom of the North Sea and find shelter without being killed by predators. This event will be witnessed by round about 100 sponsors of the lobster project who will join the biologists to say goodbye. The lobster sponsorship project is a cooperation between the Biologische Anstalt Helgoland and the island’s municipality. Since its start in the year 2007 more than 770 men and women have become a “godparent” of a lobster reared in the Biologische Anstalt Helgoland.
20 Years German Research Station in the Arctic
10 August 2011. The Alfred Wegener Institute has been operating the Arctic Koldewey Station in Ny Ålesund on Spitzbergen for 20 years. In the beginning the scientific work focussed on ozone measurements. Nowadays scientists carry out climate research in various diciplines: longterm observations of the atmosphere, permafrost soils and biological observations are in the focus. Since 2003 the station is operated together with the French Polar Institute Paul Emile Victor (IPEV) as German-French Research Base AWIPEV.