German Marine Research Consortium informs European politicians
27. January 2012. Prof. Dr. Karin Lochte, head of the German Marine Research Consortium, took part at 'The Marine Sciences in Europe 2014-2020: A German Perspective' - a conference at the European Parliament hosted by KDM (Konsortium Deutsche Meeresforschung / German Maritime Research Consortium).It was part of a special meeting of the Science Ministers from Northern Germany, who came together with marine scientists in Brussels this week. Lochte emphasized the significant role of the oceans for our future and Germany's expertise in marine science. The aim of the meeting was to implement marine research on the strategic level of the coming EU Framework Programm Horizon2020. The picture shows Karin Lochte (speaking - second from the left) during the conference at the European Parliament hosted by KDM (Konsortium Deutsche Meeresforschung / German Maritime Research Consortium). Photo: Horst Wagner / KDM
Together with her guests AWI-director Karin Lochte (2nd from the right) presents the logo of the Federal Ministry of Education and Reseach, which was fixed to the Neumayer-Station III afterwards. Photo: Angelika Dummermuth, Alfred Wegener Institute
High-ranking guests at Neumayer-Station III
To operate a research station in Antarctica is a big challenge for human kind as well as for technology. That’s what Dr. Karl Eugen Huthmacher from the Federal ministry of Education and Research and Prof. Dr. Juergen Mlynek, chairman of the Helmholtz Association learned, when they visited Neumayer-Station III last week. Guided by AWI-director Prof. Dr. Karin Lochte they spent two days in Antarctica, inspected Neumayer-Station and talked to scientists about the observatories and long-term research at Neumayer-Station. The researchers explained to their guests how they are collecting data on a high-professional level and how these exact data help to improve climate models.
That way Dr. Karl Eugen Huthmacher and Prof. Dr. Juergen Mlynek got an impression how logistics, technology and research interconnect in Antarctica and that science in this extreme polar region does not function without an intensive international cooperation. One example for such cooperation is the flight network in the Dronning Maud Land. Here 11 nations bundle their resources and competence for operating research station in Antarctica.
Scientists test new system for airborne measurement of sea ice
The MAiSie system right before its first test flight across the North Sea, Photo: Stefan Hendricks, Alfred Wegener Institute
Scientists of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven have recently tested a new airborne system to measure sea ice thickness. The system called MAiSIE (Multi-frequency Airborne Sea Ice Explorer) was developed by the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) and will be used for the first time in a scientific mission in spring 2012. With MAiSIE scientists will be able to investigate sea ice thickness with a level of accuracy that has never been reached before.
MAiSIE’s measurement techniques are based on electromagnetic induction and use the diverging electrical conductivity of sea ice and the underlying water to distinguish between them. While older systems of airborne sea ice measurement were optimized for investigations of flat ice floes, MAiSIE will be used to analyze deformed sea ice, which can be found for instance where sea ice forms very thick layers. The data retrieved by MAiSie will help scientists to distinguish between different types of sea ice, to validate satellite data and improve the performance of sea ice models.
Scientists of the Alfred Wegener Institute have been conducting airborne sea ice measurements in the Arctic and in Antarctica since the year 2001. Detailed knowledge about sea ice thickness is a fundamental basis for an understanding of the polar region and for reliable predictions about its future. With airborne surveys undertaken by its research aircrafts Polar 5 and Polar 6 and by helicopters, which took of from board of the research ship Polarstern, the Alfred Wegener Institute has made an important contribution to the measurement of the Arctic and Antartica.