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As part of the conference "L'Europe et la Recherche", the Cité des Science et de l'Industrie in Paris is organising the interdisciplinary colloquium "Régions Polaires: Quels enjeux pour l'Europe?" ("Polar Regions: What are the Challenges for Europe?") from 11 to 12 March. There, AWI Director Antje Boetius will also give a lecture under the titel "International Polar Research in Times of Climate Change" on 11 March at 3.00pm. The event will be broadcasted via livestream in French and English. 
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AWI glaciologist Angelika Humbert works on icesheet modelling. Her studies have shown that the ice masses in Greenland and Antarctica are actually changing even faster and more dramatically than previous models have suggested. In her TEDx Talk, she explains the causes and consequences of these changes and provides exciting insights into her work.
To the TEDx Talk

The Southern Ocean stores 40 percent of the carbon dioxide that we humans produce - more than any other ocean on Earth. Phytoplankton is one of the main reasons for that: The microorganisms take up CO2 during photosynthesis. But although the Southern Ocean is rich in nutrients that support their growth, there is little phytoplankton there. One reason for this is a lack of iron in the water. However, a recent study by the Alfred Wegener Institute, the University of Bremen and Bremerhaven in the journal Nature Communications Biology, now shows that…

As part of the UN Decade of Ocean Science, the fourth Ocean Decade Laboratory will take place from 9 to 11 March under the title "A Healthy and Resilient Ocean". Scientists, NGO and industry representatives and even artists will share their work and ideas for the future of the ocean. AWI Deputy Director Karen Wiltshire is co-hosting the online event. Together with Angelika Dummermuth, scientific coordinator of the marine stations at AWI, she is also a speaker during various sessions of the programme.
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Rising temperatures, extreme weather events like heavy rain and storms – climate change is becoming more and more visible, and Germany is no exception. In this regard, every region faces its own unique challenges. With the course “klimafit”, the goal of the Helmholtz Climate Initiative REKLIM, the WWF Germany and the Universität Hamburg is to prepare citizens for the effects of climate change at their doorstep. As part of the National Climate Initiative, the course will receive 2.2 million euros of funding over three years. In March 2022, the next round…

Today, the 6th Assessment Report (AR6) of Working Group II of IPCC was published, addressing climate-change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. The report stresses the interdependence of climate, nature and people. Consequently, it integrates knowledge from the natural, environmental, social and economic sciences more strongly than previous IPCC reports. One of the two coordinators of the AR6 report is Prof. Hans-Otto Pörtner from the Alfred Wegener Institute, and the two AWI biologists Prof. Dieter Piepenburg and Prof. Björn Rost were involved as…

As part of the UN Decade for Ocean Science, the "Polar Symposium: from Arctic to Antarctic" will take place in Monaco from 24-25 February. Leading scientists from all over the world will take part in the event to discuss the rapid changes in the polar regions and their implications for the global climate. AWI Director Antje Boetius will give a keynote speech on 24 February at 9.30 am and participate in the panel "Understanding polar changes" at 11.30 am.
Further information and livestream

 

Roughly 35 million years ago, Earth cooled rapidly. At roughly the same time, the Drake Passage formed between South America and the Antarctic, paving the way for the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Thanks to these two factors, Antarctica was soon completely covered in ice. As a study from the Alfred Wegener Institute now shows, this massive glaciation was delayed in at least one region. This new piece of the puzzle concerning the early history of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could help to predict its unstable future. The study was just released in the…

Single individuals of Atlantic cod and squid occur much further north than previously expected. Scientists participating in the international MOSAiC expedition with research icebreaker Polarstern have found fish and squid in deep water in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. The results from Stockholm University, the Alfred Wegener Institute and colleagues in the European Fisheries Inventory in the Central Arctic Ocean (EFICA) Consortium are published today  in the scientific journal Science Advances.

Construction will soon begin on Helgoland’s next attraction: in spring, work will begin on the BLUEHOUSE HELGOLAND. From 2024, visitors can expect a unique exhibition covering everything from the history of the North Sea to the future of marine research. At the heart of the exhibition is an 80,000-litre aquarium showcasing Helgoland’s underwater world. The project has received ca. 20 million euros of funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the State of Schleswig-Holstein and the Municipality of Helgoland. The exhibition was designed…