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Dr. Uwe Nixdorf, AWI Vice Director and Head of AWI Logistics, has been awarded the COMNAP Medal. This international honor from the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs recognizes outstanding contributions to the promotion and support of Antarctic research. The medal highlights Uwe Nixdorf's long-standing commitment to strengthening international cooperation and promoting scientific excellence in the polar regions.

Florian Müller, Member of the German Bundestag and spokesperson for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group on research, technology, and space travel, visited the AWI in Bremerhaven. AWI Vice Director Dr. Uwe Nixdorf welcomed the politician and presented the activities and research areas of the institute. This was followed by a visit to the ice laboratory, where Dr. Maria Hörhold presented the current work on ice cores from the Antarctic project “Beyond Epica.”

Depending on the season, different types of viruses prevail in Arctic waters, shaping nutrient cycling and energy flow in the ocean. This delicate microbial balance could be disrupted by climate change.
GEOMAR press release

Representatives from over 170 countries as well as from science, civil society and industry are meeting in Switzerland From 5 to 14 August, continuing the negotiations for a legally binding agreement to tackle the global plastic pollution.

A new study, led by the Lancaster University and involving the Alfred Wegener Institute, reveals how, under extreme conditions, melt water flooding underneath the ice can force its way upwards through the ice and escape at the ice sheet surface. Researchers observed this phenomenon for the first time in Greenland and described it in detail in the journal Nature Geoscience. It sheds new light on the destructive potential of meltwater stored beneath the ice sheet.

Since 1980, the AWI has been researching changes to the climate, ice and oceans in the Arctic, the Antarctic and the North Sea. Data from expeditions, long-term measurements, modelling and numerous research projects over the past 45 years have improved our understanding of global environmental change. This has all been made possible by the great commitment of many people in the fields of research, engineering, logistics and administration. Thank you to everyone who has helped shape this journey.
 

Waves, as we see them on the beach or at sea, are so-called gravity waves. They are created because the Earth's gravity pulls the water downwards. In addition to these waves that we see on the surface, there are also waves that form inside the ocean. They can grow as large as skyscrapers, travel thousands of kilometres and have a major impact on the transport of heat and nutrients. When they break, the surrounding ocean water is mixed. Oceanographer Dr Friederike Pollmann and her new Junior Researcher Group Artemics (Arctic internal wave energetics and…

Continuous, high-precision temperature measurements under the extreme conditions of the polar regions are the aim of a new borehole measurement system, now funded by the European Union as an ERC Proof of Concept Grant with 150,000 euros for 1.5 years.

For years, scientists have debated whether a massive, kilometre-thick ice shelf once covered the entire Arctic Ocean during the coldest phases of the Ice Ages. A new study, now published in Science Advances, questions this idea. The research team found no evidence of such a permanent, pan-Arctic ice shelf. Instead, the Arctic Ocean appears to have been covered by seasonal sea ice, allowing open water—and life—to persist even during the harshest glacial periods of the past 750,000 years. This discovery sheds new light on how the Arctic has responded to…

One of the most current topics in climate research is the impact of extreme events such as heat waves or cold spells on biological communities in ecosystems. The consequences of climate change can be seen particularly clearly in the Arctic, as the region is warming faster than the rest of the world. It therefore offers scientists a unique opportunity to better understand processes and relationships between environmental factors such as temperature, soil or nutrients and biological communities. In a recent study published in the journal Scientific…