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Arctic
MOSAiC aerial campaign: first aerial survey flights in the Arctic since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic
German polar research aircraft launch from Svalbard to conduct aerial surveys of the sea ice and atmosphere over the Arctic Ocean
[31. August 2020]
Following a five-month mandatory delay due to the coronavirus pandemic, on August 30th the two German polar research aircraft Polar 5 and Polar 6 will launch from Svalbard to conduct their first aerial survey flights over the Arctic this year. The flights, which will extend far into the Central Arctic, will support the investigation of the atmosphere and sea ice, and supplement the MOSAiC expedition’s extensive research agenda.
Climate Change
Greenland Ice Sheet Shows Losses in 2019
AWI researchers confirm record ice losses in Greenland in 2019 based on data from the GFZ/NASA satellite mission GRACE Follow-On
[20. August 2020]
The Greenland Ice Sheet recorded a new record loss of mass in 2019. This was the finding of a team of international researchers after evaluating data from satellite observations and modelling data.
MOSAiC
MOSAiC expedition reaches the North Pole
During the final leg of the expedition, the research vessel Polarstern reaches the northernmost point on the Earth
[19. August 2020]
At 12:45 pm on 19 August 2020 the German research icebreaker Polarstern reached the North Pole. The ship followed a route to the north of Greenland – and through a region that, in the past, was densely covered with ice, including multiyear ice.
Rivers
Forecasting low flow conditions for the Elbe and Rhine:
‘Drought stress test’ passed with flying colours!
[06. August 2020]
Using global climate data, AWI researchers can now forecast low water levels in German rivers up to three months in advance – even in extreme cases such as the summer of 2018.
Climate History
How the seafloor of the Antarctic Ocean is changing – and the climate is following suit
Experts have reconstructed the depth of the Southern Ocean at key phases in the last 34 million years of the Antarctic’s climate history
[04. August 2020]
A team of international experts, led by geophysicists from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), has shed new light on nine pivotal intervals in the climate history of the Antarctic, spread over 34 million years, by reconstructing the depth of the Southern Ocean in each one.
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