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AWI research aircraft lands at Bremen Airport for the first time
Aircraft moves to the new German base of polar planes
[29. February 2016]
It was the first landing for Polar 6 at the Bremen Airport today. The aircraft is one of two research planes that the Alfred Wegener Institute currently uses for scientific and logistical tasks in polar regions.
Arctic
Research priorities for the Arctic have been defined
International research organisations are defining priorities for the coming decade
[18. February 2016]
The leading international Arctic research organisations have set common scientific objectives for the coming decade. The indigenous peoples of the Arctic were also involved in this process. Under the auspices of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), which is based at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Potsdam, they are about to submit a report that sets out the path for a jointly conceived and solution-oriented research agenda on the sustainable development of the Arctic and beyond.
Atmospheric research
Unusual cold spell in the stratosphere creates conditions for severe ozone depletion in the Arctic
AWI researchers measure temperatures of minus 90 degrees Celsius and lower at 20 kilometres altitude
[10. February 2016]
Unusual weather development in the Arctic leads to ozone depletion. According to the researchers of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, in the past weeks an extreme cold spell in the Arctic stratosphere has created conditions that might cause severe ozone depletion over the Arctic in March – if the next few weeks will not bring a significant warming.
New Study
How stable is the West Antarctic Ice Sheet?
Exceeding critical temperature limits in the Southern Ocean may cause the collapse of ice sheets and a sharp rise in sea levels
[05. February 2016]
A future warming of the Southern Ocean caused by rising greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere may severely disrupt the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The result would be a rise in the global sea level by several metres.
Sea ice physics
Several metre thick ice cocktail beneath coastal Antarctic sea ice
AWI researchers develop new method to detect platelet ice over large distances
[03. February 2016]
Sea ice physicists of the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) have developed a new method that allows them for the first time to efficiently determine the distribution and thickness of what researchers call a sub-ice platelet layer. This several metre thick layer of delicate ice crystals is predominantly found beneath coastal Antarctic sea ice, and at present knowledge about its spatial distribution is very limited.
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