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What was the climate like thousands or even millions of years ago? The deep ice in Antarctica could provide answers: It contains information about temperature development and the composition of the atmosphere of the past. An international research team aims to decode this information in the Beyond EPICA-Oldest Ice project, with a drill core containing climate data from the last 1.5 million years. At the end of January, the project team successfully completed the first campaign and lifted the first cores. Scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute were…

Over the past twenty years, glaciers in northern Canada and on Spitsbergen have lost a total of 44 billion metric tons of ice a year. To date, the melting in these regions has been influenced by powerful westerly winds. A team of international researchers, led by the Alfred Wegener Institute, has now determined that both regions are characterised by increased, alternating inflows of cold air from the north and warm air from the south. Due to the ongoing global warming, these fluctuating air currents could also have long-term consequences for the weather…

On 5 February the international expedition Endurance22 set course for the Antarctic in hopes of finding Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance, which sank in the Weddell Sea in 1915. The researchers on board include experts from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI).

This is the title of the summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in Brest from 9 to 11 February. Concrete measures for the preservation of the oceans will be discussed here on an international level. In addition to several AWI researchers, the Institute's Director Antje Boetius is also involved in the diverse programme. Taking the role as representative of international science, she will present the summit's messages to the participating heads of state at the end of the summit.
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Massive sponge gardens thrive on top of seamounts in the Central Arctic Ocean, one of the most oligotrophic seas on Earth. They appear to feed on the remnants of an extinct fauna. Microorganisms support the sponges in exploiting this fluffy material as a source of food and energy. Scientists from Bremen, Bremerhaven and Kiel and their international partners discovered this unique hotspot of life during a POLARSTERN expedition and now report their findings in the journal Nature Communications. They stress the need for a better understanding of the…

A study released by WWF Germany and the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) highlights the serious scale of the global plastic crisis and summarises the current state of knowledge concerning the effects of plastic pollution on marine species and ecosystems. In the days leading up to the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), the study, which is the most comprehensive meta-analysis on the issue to date, stresses that a binding global treaty is required in order to stop the irreversible pollution of the world’s oceans before ecological thresholds are…

Hundreds of international researchers are currently analyzing observations from the one-year MOSAiC expedition, during which hundreds of environmental parameters were recorded with unprecedented accuracy and frequency over a full annual cycle in the Central Arctic Ocean. They have now published three overview articles on the MOSAiC atmosphere, snow and sea ice, and ocean programs in the journal Elementa, highlighting the importance of examining all components of the climate system together. These results present the first complete picture of the climate…

Despite global warming and the sea-ice loss in the Arctic, the Antarctic sea-ice extent has remained largely unchanged since 1979. However, existing climate model-based simulations indicate significant sea-ice loss, contrary to actual observations. As experts from the Alfred Wegener Institute have now shown, the ocean may weaken warming around Antarctica and delay sea-ice retreat. Given that many models are not capable of accurately reflecting this factor and the role of ocean eddies, the study, which was just published in the journal Nature…

Climate change, man-made pollution and overexploitation of ecosystems are increasingly causing problems for seas and coasts. The project CoastalFutures - "Future scenarios to promote sustainable use of marine spaces" aims to investigate the consequences of this development and create effective protection concepts. In a virtual model for the North Sea and Baltic Sea, the project team can investigate the effects of climate and humans on ecosystems and test protection strategies. The goal is to identify options for action for users and decision-makers.…

Rising temperatures are melting Greenland's ice and glaciers, causing sea levels to rise. How fast and how much is yet uncertain. To provide insight on this issue, researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute have modeled the development of the ice sheet from the past to the future. They published their results in the current issue of the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE.