News

AWI Director Antje Boetius participated in a panel discussion in the context of the art project WE ARE OCEAN in Berlin on 2 October. Together with Sebastian Unger (IASS Potsdam), she spoke about climate change and sea-level rise.

After only a few days of searching, experts from the MOSAiC expedition have now found a suitable ice floe, where they will set up the research camp for their one-year-long drift through the Arctic Ocean. Consequently, one of the most important milestones in the expedition has been reached ahead of schedule, and before the Polar Night falls. Nevertheless, the search, which involved satellite imagery, two icebreakers, helicopter flights and scouting missions on the surface of the ice, was an enormous challenge – partly because, after the warm summer, there…

On 2 October, AWI Director Prof Antje Boetius officially received the Federal Cross of Merit. At the event, Germany’s Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier commended her commitment to preserving the oceans and combating the on-going destruction of the environment.

From 30th September until 2nd October, the Marine Regions Forum takes place in Berlin. AWI Director Antje Boetius will open the conference with a podium discussion, among others with Klaus Töpfer, on "Achieving healthy oceans - Challenges and opportunities".

Today, in Monaco, the IPCC will present its new Special Report on the ocean and the Earth’s frozen regions. The report summarises observations of and projections on climate-based changes to ecosystems in the ocean, coastal, polar and alpine regions, describes the likely impacts of these changes for society, and presents a range of options for adaptation. Over the past three years, 104 researchers from 36 countries have contributed to the report. In the statements below, Prof Hans-Otto Pörtner, Co-Chair of the IPCC’s Working Group II, and AWI Director…

The IPCC plenary in Monaco concludes today with the approval of the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SCROCC). More information.

AWI director Antje Boetius currently participates as an ocean expert in the Action Platform for Sustainable Ocean Business at the United Nations in New York.

After a decade of preparations, it’s finally time: this evening at 8:30 p.m. the German icebreaker Polarstern will depart from the Norwegian port of Tromsø. Escorted by the Russian icebreaker Akademik Fedorov, she will set sail for the Central Arctic. On board researchers will investigate a region that is virtually inaccessible in winter, and which is crucial for the global climate. They will gather urgently needed data on the interactions between the atmosphere, ocean and sea ice, as well as on the ecosystem. Thanks to the collaboration between…

How do humans affect forest fires? And what can we learn from forest fires in the past for the future of forestry? An international team of researchers led by Elisabeth Dietze, formerly at the German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ in Potsdam and now at the Alfred Wegener Institute - Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, now provides new answers to these questions. The research team has shown for a region in north-eastern Poland that forest fires increasingly occurred there after the end of the 18th century with the change to organised…

An expedition of superlatives: MOSAiC poses a big challenge to all international scientists involved: The drift of Polarstern will be determined by nature and can only be estimated so far in advance. To allow everyone interested to join this exciting expedition live, the MOSAiC web application will launch on the 20th of September, including all features.