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Supporting young researchers
Ten scholarship holders in oceanography honoured
Graduates of the Centre of Excellence in Observational Oceanography from around the globe were bid a fond farewell
[24. July 2018]
On 24 July 2018 ten scholarship holders from around the globe presented their final papers at the Wissenschaftsforum conference centre in Berlin as part of the Centre of Excellence in Observational Oceanography. For the past ten months, all have been engaged in a training programme addressing all oceanographic disciplines at the Alfred Wegener Institute.
Permafrost
Beavers are changing the face of the Arctic
The large rodents are penetrating deeper and deeper into the Alaskan tundra – with far-reaching consequences for local ecosystems
[16. July 2018]
Beavers are highly effective ecosystem engineers: if a given landscape isn’t quite to their liking, they simply rearrange the terrain. And that’s what they’ve been doing for millennia in the temperate latitudes. But now they’re expanding their territory, and can increasingly be found in the North American Arctic. A German-American research team recently investigated the ramifications of this development. According to their findings, the animals could change entire ecosystems and contribute to the thawing of permafrost soils, as they report in the journal Global Change Biology.
Ocean currents
Melting triggers melting
Scientists show how warm ocean water melted glaciers during the last glacial period - a potential template for processes affecting the modern Antarctic ice sheet
[11. July 2018]
The melting of glaciers on one side of the globe can trigger disintegration of glaciers on the other side of the globe, as has been presented in a recent paper by a team of AWI scientists, who investigated marine microalgae preserved in glacial deposits and subsequently used their findings to perform climate simulations. The study highlights a process with alerting consequences for modern ice sheets: continuous warming of the ocean can result in a massive loss of polar ice mass, and consequently to rapid sea level rise.
Arctic Expedition
Research icebreaker Polarstern departs for the Fram Strait
Researchers will investigate various oceanographic and biological aspects between the waters of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans
[06. July 2018]
On Tuesday, 10 July 2018 the research icebreaker Polarstern will leave its homeport in Bremerhaven, headed for the Arctic. The main focus of the journey will be on long-term oceanographic measurements and biological research in the water column and on the seafloor of the Fram Strait between Greenland and Svalbard.
MOSAiC Expedition
An entire year trapped in the Arctic ice
The international MOSAiC expedition with the German research icebreaker Polarstern will launch in autumn 2019
[27. June 2018]
It could be the largest-scale Arctic research expedition of all time: in September 2019 the German research icebreaker Polarstern will depart from Tromsø, Norway and, once it has reached its destination, will spend the next year drifting through the Arctic Ocean, trapped in the ice. A total of 600 people from 17 countries will participate in the expedition.
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