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Nitrogen fixation in ocean eddies is an important component of the local nitrogen cycle in the western North Atlantic. In addition to local environmental conditions, the transport of nitrogen fixers from the more productive Mid Atlantic Bight to the nutrient-poor Atlantic Subtropical Gyre also promotes this process. This is one of the results published by researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute together with international experts in the journal Nature Geoscience. To the publication

Sparse sea ice, thousands of datapoints and samples, a surprising number of animals and hydrothermal vents – those are the impressions and outcomes that an international research team is now bringing back from a Polarstern expedition to the Central Arctic. After a four-month-long Arctic season, the Alfred Wegener Institute’s research icebreaker is expected to arrive back in Bremerhaven with the morning high tide on Sunday. 

Toxic trace elements such as lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium naturally occur in small quantities in coastal seas. However, human activities, such as industry and agriculture, contribute significantly larger amounts. A new study has examined how climate change already affects the distribution and accumulation of these elements and how it could impact them in the future. One of the findings: Climate-related natural events are releasing more contaminants, which pose a risk to both human and animal health. However, there is still insufficient knowledge…

Tabea Rettelbach, PhD student at the AWI, is one of two winners of this year's Bernd Rendel Prize. Her work focuses on the topic of "Permafrost". The Bernd Rendel Prize is awarded annually by the German Research Foundation (DFG) to outstanding young scientists in the geosciences. The award ceremony took place during the annual conference of the German Geological Society - Geological Association (DGGV) from 23 to 26 September in Dresden.

Who are the 100 key figures on the German science scene? Research.Table has selected AWI Director Antje Boetius as one of the leading personalities in the “Science” category. The award recognises her significant contributions to the exploration of the polar regions and the oceans. These areas of research are crucial for understanding climate change and the global environment.

In a new two-part ZDF documentary series, AWI Director Antje Boetius gets to the bottom of the secret of our species' success story and travels to places where researchers are searching for solutions for a future worth living. Both parts are available in the ZDF media library and will be broadcast on television on 29 September and 6 October at 7.30 pm. More Information.

What challenges does climate change pose for northern and eastern Germany? What will water management look like in the future and what problems and solutions are there for human health? Current research findings on these questions were presented and discussed at the 13th REKLIM regional conference on 25 September in Berlin. Britta Behrendt, State Secretary for Climate Protection and the Environment, opened the event with around 250 participants. More information.

The global production of plastics and the resulting plastic waste has increased to such an extent that plastics have become ubiquitous in our environment. Plastics of various sizes are also found along the German North Sea and Baltic coasts. Previous studies of microplastic pollution on German beaches have often been limited to a few locations. In the citizen science project “Microplastic Detectives”, researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute, together with citizens, have now collected samples from beaches along the entire German coast to be analyzed…

Northeast Greenland is home to the 79° N Glacier – the country’s largest floating glacier tongue, but also one seriously threatened by global warming: warm water from the Atlantic is melting it from below. Experts from the Alfred Wegener Institute have however now determined that the temperature of the water flowing into the glacier cavern declined from 2018 to 2021, even though the ocean has steadily warmed in the region over the past several decades. This could be due to temporarily changed atmospheric circulation patterns. In a study just released in…

Microbes were the only life form on Earth for most of the history of our planet. Even today, they still make up the majority of species that are vital to the health of our planet. They produce much of our oxygen, help plants grow, maintain biogeochemical cycles and thus sustain our ecosystems. A review in the journal Cell has now described the astonishing progress that microbiology has made in recent decades 
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