Exploring Ice and Oceans

The Southern Ocean plays an important role in absorbing CO₂ from the atmosphere that is released by human activities - a process that is of crucial importance for climate change. In a new study, an international research group led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), with the participation of the Alfred Wegener Institute, has found that the Southern Ocean around Antarctica absorbs more carbon dioxide (CO₂) than previously thought.

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The documentary "Expedition Arktis 2 – Tauchfahrt am Nordpol" (Expedition Arctic 2 – Traveling underwater at the North Pole) by Philipp Grieß and Manuel Ernst has received the German Environment and Sustainability Award at NaturVision Film Festival. The festival is one of the largest international film festivals for nature and environmental topics. The award-winning film accompanies researchers during the ArcWatch-expedition. The prize is sponsored by the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector Baden-Württemberg.

Exactly 100 years ago, Germany’s northernmost research facilities on the North Sea island Sylt were opened. What began as a small field outpost for oyster research in 1924 would evolve into a modern, fully equipped research station that has been part of the Alfred Wegener Institute since 1998. Today, the AWI Wadden Sea Station on Sylt is pursuing answers to what is likely the most important question concerning the fragile ecosystem at its doorstep: how will climate change affect the Wadden Sea and North Sea in the long term?

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