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On September 26th, 2019, Marcel Nicolaus, marine physicist at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), placed an ice buoy on a floe during the passage of the Polarstern to the Central Arctic. It was the first buoy to be sent off during the MOSAiC expedition. It was part of the "Distributed Network," a large buoy network that drifted around Polarstern at distances of up to 50 kilometers and continuously and precisely monitored this area. For almost two years, the buoy was on its way until its journey now ended…

Today, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) is presenting a report on the recarbonization of global soils at the plenary session of the Global Soil Partnership. Around 400 authors from 54 countries have contributed to the report, and a 40-member panel of experts has reviewed the contributions. Experts from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Potsdam contribute with a factsheet on permafrost soils.

On Sunday, 5 September 2021, from 2:00 pm there will be a symposium on German-French cooperation in polar research and the arts, held at the University of the Arts Bremen, Speicher XI. Prior to the evening performance of Ludwig von Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 “Pastorale” at the BLG Forum, as part of the Music Festival Bremen science and the arts will celebrate the frigid worlds of the poles in a joint event, streamed online.

Dr. Jan Nitzbon, scientist at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) was awarded the 2020 Wladimir Köppen Prize for his doctoral thesis, which represents a valuable contribution toward refining simulations of permafrost development: in it, he demonstrates the importance of small-scale landscape characteristics, since they influence the amount of greenhouse gases released as a result of thawing. In the future, his findings could help provide a more realistic picture of permafrost thawing.

The European Forum Alpbach (EFA) is a platform that aims to drive ideas for an empowered and democratic Europe. Under this year's theme "The Great Transformation", numerous seminars, panels and lectures will take place until 03 September, addressing, among others, the question "Can the climate crisis be an opportunity to rethink Europe?". For this, AWI Director Antje Boetius will be present at the plenary session "Microbiology and Environmental Change". Further information

Developing innovative and socially accepted approaches to improve the natural potential for carbon storage in vegetation-rich coastal ecosystems: that is the goal of the new research consortium sea4soCiety, coordinated by the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) in Bremen.The consortium consists of 40 scientists from nine northern German universities and research institutes, including the Alfred Wegener Institute. Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding the consortium with 5.3 million euros as part of the first…

Ice losses from Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica are currently responsible for roughly four percent of the global sea-level rise. This figure could increase, since virtually no other ice stream in the Antarctic is changing as dramatically as the massive Thwaites Glacier. Until recently, experts attributed these changes to climate change and the fact that the glacier rests on the seafloor in many places, and as such comes into contact with warm water masses. But there is also a third, and until now, one of the most difficult to constrain, influencing…

An iceberg broke off the Ekstrom Ice Shelf in Antarctica between 12 and 13 August 2021. The iceberg has not yet been officially named, but will probably be given the name #A77 according to international statutes. It is about 53 km long and has an area of about 370 square kilometres, making it about half the size of Hamburg.

says AWI climate researcher Prof Hans-Otto Pörtner, in response to the findings of the new Assessment Report from the IPCC’s Working Group I.

Climbing temperatures, more intense heat waves, prolonged droughts and more heavy rains due to a changed water cycle: through greenhouse-gas emissions, human beings have set in motion serious and far-reaching climate changes in every corner of the world, as the IPCC’s Working Group I explains in its sixth Assessment Report, released today.