News

Climate researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association (AWI) expand a prevalent theory regarding the development of ice ages. In the current issue of the journal “Nature” three physicists from AWI’s working group “Dynamics of the Palaeoclimate” present new calculations on the connection between natural insolation and long-term changes in global climate activity.

Listen live on the Internet to what’s going on under the Antarctic sea-ice. The Alfred Wegener Institute’s PALAOA underwater acoustic observatory has made this possible for over five years. The acoustic observatory has been continuously recording sounds under the ice near Neumayer Station since 28 December 2005. It provides the world’s longest time series of civilian acoustic measurements, enabling researchers to study the presence and behaviour of animals under the Antarctic ice. This has led to many new findings on the distribution and behaviour of…

He came, saw and acted promptly: Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was so impressed by the work of scientists in the Siberian permafrost region during his visit to the Samoylov Station at the end of August that he wants to actively support the German-Russian cooperation in the Lena Delta initiated many years ago.

The Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research welcomes the recommendation of the Council of Science and Humanities to build a new research icebreaker, Polarstern II.

Artificially accelerated weathering of the mineral olivine may increasingly remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and counteract ocean acidification.

Successful German-Russian cooperation will be continued: Prof. Karin Lochte, Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in the Helmholtz Association, and Prof. Ivan Frolov, Director of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), signed an agreement for continuation of the Otto Schmidt Laboratory for Polar and Marine Research (OSL) for another three years. Signature of the agreement took place at the end of October at the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences IfM-Geomar in Kiel where the Scientific Advisory Board…

The German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) is financing a new aircraft for research purposes: “Polar 6” will reinforce the scientific and logistic operations of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association in the polar regions starting autumn 2011.

The research vessel Polarstern sets off on its 27th Antarctic expedition on coming Monday, 25 October. The voyage will consist of four legs separated by port calls in Cape Town (South Africa), Punta Arenas (Chile) and back to Cape Town. The scientific focal points of the expedition are atmospheric research, oceanography and biology. In addition, the ship will bring supplies to Neumayer Station III, the Dallmann laboratory and the British Rothera station during the expedition. Over 180 researchers from institutes in 15 countries are taking part in the…

The research vessel Polarstern returned to Bremerhaven from a four-month expedition on Saturday, 9 October. On its 25th mission in the Arctic the ship covered a total of around 16,620 nautical miles (corresponding to about 30,780 kilometres). The focus of the three legs was on oceanographic, biological and geoscientific studies. Over 120 scientists and technicians from institutes in six nations took part in the expedition.

For four days the topic of ocean acidification will be the focus of marine and polar research. The Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Hemholtz Association is hosting the conference and expects more than 200 scientists from all over Europe at the Conference Center Bremerhaven.