News

The European funded Horizon 2020 “NUNATARYUK”-project, led by the Alfred Wegener Institute, has carried out a comprehensive six-year investigation into the rapidly changing permafrost regions in the northern hemisphere. The project seeks to answer pressing questions about the role of permafrost thaw in the global climate system, and the consequences for ecosystems, the economy, and the people living in these regions. The culmination of this ambitious endeavour is the "Arctic Permafrost Atlas," a ground-breaking publication set to launch during the Arctic…

A team of experts from the Alfred Wegener Institute’s Physical Oceanography working group and led by Hongyan Xi presented the results of a long-term study in the recently released 7th Copernicus Ocean State Report (OSR7). The satellite data analysed by the team shows that, for the majority of phytoplankton groups in the Atlantic Ocean, the quantity has barely changed over the past 20 years. The findings shared in the OSR7 offer researchers and political decision-makers a comprehensive and up-to-date status assessment of the ocean and of European waters;…

After more than four years under construction, today (19 October 2023) an opening ceremony was held for the newly built Technical Centre on the new Climate Campus in Bremerhaven. In future, the Technical Centre is where the Alfred Wegener Institute will develop, test and prepare new equipment for use on expeditions. The project received 18.5 million euros of funding from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Federal State of Bremen. In honour of Alfred Wegener’s last companion, the building was named after the Greenlander…

The current political and social context raises the question of the future of academic mobility and the role of science. AWI Director and marine biologist Antje Boetius will join diplomat and journalist Ralf Beste and infectious disease specialist Beate Kampmann on a panel dedicated to this and related questions. It is part of the event "The future of academic mobility in a changing world" of the Einstein Foundation Berlin and will take place on 19 October. More information.

The transition from the last glacial period to the current warm period was marked by major Antarctic climate warming and concomitant atmospheric CO2 rise at ~18,000–11,000 years ago, whose origin may lay in the Southern Ocean. A study by former AWI researcher Henrik Sadatzki reveals that the Antarctic sea ice cover declined substantially at the transition from the last glacial period to the current warm period, playing a key role in driving significant deglacial climate and atmospheric CO2 changes. The findings contribute new important information to the…

"Sea Level Rise - what does this imply for Germany?" - this was the title of a parliamentary breakfast organised by the Helmholtz Platform SynCom. Glaciologist Ingo Sangen represented the AWI and gave a presentation on the topic "Polar perspective on a global risk". A fact sheet with information on sea level rise is available online. More info​​rmation.

After eventful and busy months, the Arctic season ends this weekend with the Polarstern expedition called ArcWatch-1. The team of almost 100 crew and scientists measured sea ice thickness and properties, recorded the currents and chemical properties of the ocean and investigated life in and under the ice, in the open water and at the bottom of the deep sea. Their data show significant changes compared to previous expeditions. On 7 September 2023, Polarstern reached the North Pole, and on 20 September there was the world's first livestream of an ROV…

The right mix of trace elements is essential to a healthy diet. That’s true not only for humans, but also for phytoplankton. As a key carbon dioxide sink, these tiny algae in the Southern Ocean can have significant effects on the global climate. In this regard, a new study from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) and the University of Bremen reveals an interesting connection: When phytoplankton simultaneously have access to more iron and more manganese, their biotic communities change. As a result, the algae can bind more CO2 and form more of their…

In the “weather kitchen,” the interplay between the Azores High and Icelandic Low has a substantial effect on how much warm water the Atlantic transports to the Arctic along the Norwegian coast. But this rhythm can be thrown off for years at a time. Experts from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research finally have an explanation for why: Due to unusual atmospheric pressure conditions over the North Atlantic, low-pressure areas are diverted from their usual track, which disrupts the coupling between the Azores High,…

The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) EDEN ISS Antarctic greenhouse is back in Bremen after spending five years on the seventh continent amid ice, cold and polar nights. The greenhouse has carried out numerous plantings, with harvests totalling approximately one tonne of fresh vegetables for research, to supply the overwintering crews of Neumayer Station III that is operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI). With its return, the EDEN ISS project comes to an end, leaving behind a wealth of experience on…