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For three decades, the crews and employees of the F. Laeisz shipping company have supported AWI research in the Arctic and Antarctic, both on land and at sea. Laeisz has operated the Polarstern since New Year's Eve 1995. On 15 January, the AWI honoured this successful collaboration during celebrations in Bremerhaven. A special memento was presented as a token of appreciation for the trusting and successful cooperation.

The Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) and the University of Bremen had already secured extensive data sets from the USA in 2025. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG) has now approved around 860,000 euros in funding to systematically identify, secure and store endangered data over the long term, based on the PANGAEA data platform.

An international research team from the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), a scientific deep ocean drilling program in which the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) is involved, has found that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreated far inland at least five times during past warm periods. In a new study, the researchers analyzed geochemical signatures of deep-sea sediments from the Amundsen Sea. The results highlight the sensitivity of the ice sheet to warming and its potential to contribute to future sea level rise. The study was published in the…

Extreme events change the ecology of oceans abruptly: For example, a marine heat wave in 2003 had such strong effects on species composition and trophic interactions of the subpolar North Atlantic that these impacts last until today. Researchers led by the Thünen Institute of Sea Fisheries in Bremerhaven just described this. The study has recently been published in Science Advances.

On his return journey from a research expedition in the Antarctic Bellingshausen Sea, AWI geoscientist Johann Klages sent a message in a bottle for his children in February 2023. He has now received an email from Tasmania: an employee of the Central Coast Council found the message in a bottle during a weekend trip on the west coast of Tasmania in August 2025 - but the letter he sent was returned to the sender despite the correct address.

As part of a research project on climate change education, a Japanese delegation from various universities visited the AWI to exchange ideas. In addition to discussions with researchers, the program also included visits to the Klimahaus in Bremerhaven and the German Emigration Center. The focus was on museum education concepts and international cooperation.

To mark the arrival of the Polarstern in Walvis Bay, Dr Thorsten Hutter, the German Ambassador to Namibia, visited the ship with his delegation. They were welcomed in the Blue Salon by Captain Felix Kentges, the interim director of the AWI, Prof. Dr. Maarten Boersma, and the expedition leader, Prof. Dr. Karen Wiltshire. The afternoon concluded with a presentation on the completed training expedition and a tour of the ship.

An international research team led by the University of Rostock is investigating the impact of climate change on biodiversity in Antarctica.

The international professional association Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) promotes research and knowledge transfer in underwater and marine technology. Every year, it presents the Gwyn Griffiths Underwater Robotics Award (GGUR), which recognises outstanding achievements in underwater robotics. We congratulate Christian Katlein, who received the award this year.

After an expedition lasting around one month, a hard-working international group of young marine scientists is arriving in Walvis Bai in Namibia on board the Polarstern. They have been taking part in a specialised training voyage aboard the German research icebreaker.