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![[Translate to English:] Tests für die neue Polarstern](/fileadmin/_processed_/6/a/csm_20250903_PlanungNeuePolarstern_AnnikaKropp_058_f2bff108fd.jpg "Tests New Polarstern")
New Polarstern vessel: Model Masters the Testing Phase
Important milestones have been reached in the construction of the new Polarstern. A true-to-scale model of the future research icebreaker successfully completed tests in the ice channel. This marked the completion of the series of tests on the hull's seakeeping and icebreaking behaviour. In addition, the TKMS shipyard, commissioned by the Alfred Wegener Institute to build the vessel, has now ordered further vital components, such as the hydroacoustic systems and the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system for the research icebreaker. Moreover,…
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Annette Barthelt Prize for Ayla Murray
Dr Ayla Murray was awarded the Annette Barthelt Foundation Science Prize at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel on Friday for her doctoral thesis completed at the Alfred Wegener Institute. The foundation honours the memory of four scientists from Kiel who died in a terrorist attack in Djibouti in 1987. Dr Jenny Neuhaus and Benedikt Haimerl (both from the University of Hamburg) were also honoured. Further information can be found here.
AWI welcomes its new director
Glaciologist Hajo Eicken has officially taken over as Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute. He returns to Bremerhaven after almost 30 years in Alaska.
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Visit of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Exchange at the AWI: The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) visited the AWI’s main campus in Bremerhaven. AWI Interim Director Maarten Boersma welcomed the delegation. This was followed by presentations from the AWI faculty and a tour of the institute. The ITLOS is an independent organisation within the UN system, operating on the basis of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982.
Hole in the sea ice thickened the Antarctic ice sheet in the past
Polynyas are like a window through which the ocean and the atmosphere can interact. A look into the past shows that today's changes in the Antarctic could prevent these from forming.
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![[Translate to English:] Südlicher Seeelefant (Mirounga leonina)](/fileadmin/_processed_/9/f/csm_2010_BulleMitSender_JPloetz_3c181c2daf.jpg "Southern elephant seal")
Ocean warming drives melting of Antarctic sea ice
Antarctic sea ice plays a crucial role in the ecosystem and physical environment of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Since the ice reflects the sun's rays and blocks heat exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere, it is critical to our weather and climate. Therefore, we need to understand what affects its extent to improve future climate models and prediction. A new study led by the University of Gothenburg and involving the Alfred Wegener Institute contibuting to this research field has been published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
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Scientific exchange at NCPOR
During a delegation visit to Goa, India, Maarten Boersma, Nicole Biebow, Frank Lamy, Lester Lembke Jene, Hanno Meyer and Wolfram Geissler visited the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) at the invitation of Director Thamban Melot. At the meeting on 12 and 13 March, the participants discussed the further cooperation between the AWI and NCPOR, particularly in the fields of palaeoceanography and within the Antarctica InSync project. The discussions were based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed two years ago.
New measurement campaign investigates clouds over Arctic sea ice
The international research campaign COMPEX (Clouds over complex environment) is kicking off with Polar 5 measurement flights over the Arctic and will investigate the properties of clouds over sea ice that cannot be detected by satellites. Since clouds play a central role in the climate of the polar region, the results will help scientists understand why this region is warming particularly rapidly compared to the rest of the world. The University of Cologne is leading the research campaign. To the original press release.
How microbes use ancient carbon
How is carbon metabolized and processed in different ecosystems? In a recent study published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, researchers led by Joely Maak, the study’s first author and researcher in the Cluster of Excellence “The Ocean Floor – Earth’s Uncharted Interface”, examined the carbon cycle in a unique marine ecosystem.
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![[Translate to English:] Wetterballon](/fileadmin/_processed_/a/f/csm_20120905_Neumayer__SC87926_SChristmann_95cfd8ec36.jpg "[Translate to English:] Wetterballon")
Antarctic Research Trends Report 2025
German research on Antarctic topics is at the forefront internationally. This is shown by the recently published “Antarctic Research Trends Report 2025,” which evaluated around 30,000 academic publications on Antarctica and the Southern Ocean from 2016 to 2024. For example, Germany ranks third behind the US and the UK in terms of publications produced in international cooperation, and fifth in terms of total number of publications. The publications of AWI researchers contribute significantly to this. They consistently rank in the top 10 in the…