News

The reason for the speed and severity of the abrupt climate fluctuations during the last glacial lies in the ocean. These are the findings of a new study by AWI researcher Henrik Sadatzki, which has now been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The study shows that widespread sea-ice retreat occurred within a period of 250 years or less during the last glacial and repeatedly triggered abrupt climate fluctuations. This scientific breakthrough provides a significant new aspect in the long-standing debate concerning the…

The Icelandic ambassador María Erla Marelsdóttir visited the AWI: In a conversation with AWI Director Antje Boetius, she found out about the MOSAiC expedition. Moreover, the two exchanged ideas on the subject of the "Arctic Council". Because Iceland will chair the Arctic Council until 2021. In addition to the AWI, the ambassador visited other institutions in Bremerhaven.

Arctic Circle: A virtual talk about the largest Arctic research expedition of all time: AWI Director Antje Boetius and MOSAiC expedition leader Markus Rex talk about the MOSAiC expedition at "Arctic Circle virtual". The event will take place online on October 27th from 1 p.m. More information.

A whole day around the MOSAiC expedition: At the Futurium in Berlin, AWI scientists reported on their experiences on the MOSAiC expedition in the Arctic. During a panel discussion, expedition leader Markus Rex, AWI director Antje Boetius and director Philipp Grieß also showed impressive photos of the expedition. The interview is available online.

During the last 2.6 million years of Earth’s climate has alterd between glacial and interglacial states. As such, there have been times in which the transition between the two climate states appeared with either regular or irregular periodicity. AWI researcher Peter Köhler has now discovered that the irregular appearance of interglacials has been more frequent than previously thought. His study makes a significant contribution to our understanding of Earth’s fundamental climate changes.

Over the past three decades, the depths of the Antarctic Weddell Sea have warmed five times faster than the rest of the ocean at depths exceeding 2,000 metres. This was the main finding of an article just published by oceanographers from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). In the article, they analyse an unprecedented oceanographic time series from the Weddell Sea and show that the warming of the polar depths is chiefly due to changed winds and currents above and in the Southern Ocean. In addition, the…

Krill is rapidly gaining popularity. The small shrimp-like organism from the Antarctic is used as fish food in aquaculture and increasingly in dietary supplements and healing ointments. Although the krill catch is regulated, caution is required to avoid endangering the population itself and the species that depend on it, warns a group of krill experts headed by Prof. Dr. Bettina Meyer from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in the journal Communications Earth & Environment - Nature. 

Professor Hans-Otto Pörtner, AWI scientist and member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has been appointed member of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU). The Advisory Council acts as an independent scientific advisory body and analyses global environment and development problems, evaluates global sustainability policy and makes recommendations for action and research. See WBGU press release.

After more than a year in the Central Arctic, this Monday, 12 October, the research icebreaker Polarstern returned to her homeport in Bremerhaven. Accompanied by a ‘welcome committee’ of ships that came to greet, the ship entered the North Lock with the morning high tide, at ca. 9:00 am. At port, Expedition Leader Markus Rex, Captain Thomas Wunderlich and the entire team from the final leg of the expedition were welcomed by e.g. Federal Minister of Research Anja Karliczek and the Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Antje Boetius. The event marked…

The Alfred Wegener Institute comments on the latest reports in the media and social networks about alleged equality and diversity problems in connection with the MOSAiC expedition.