News
Contact Communications + Media Relations
Database with AWI Experts
Subscribe for press releases as RSS
Six to ten million years ago: Ice-free summers at the North Pole
An international team of scientists led by the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) have managed to open a new window into the climate history of the Arctic Ocean. Using unique sediment samples from the Lomonosov Ridge, the researchers found that six to ten million years ago the central Arctic was completely ice-free during summer and sea-surface temperature reached values of 4 to 9 degrees Celsius. In spring, autumn and winter, however, the ocean was covered by sea ice of variable extent, the scientists explain…
Find out more
“Science Thrives in Open-minded Environments”
There is no place in Potsdam for hostility towards foreigners and those seeking refuge, argue the heads of educational and research institutes in Potsdam in an open letter published on 16 March 2016 in the Märkischen Allgemeinen, the Potsdamer Neuesten Nachrichten and other newspapers.
Find out more
Alfred Wegener Institute on Oceanology International
The Alfred Wegener Institute participates in the Oceanology International, one of the world's leading marine science and ocean technology exhibition and conference. It is held in London every two years and takes place in London from 15 to 17 March 2016.
Find out more
A glance into the future of the Arctic
Throughout the Arctic, ice wedges are thawing at a rapid pace. Changes to these structures, which are very common in permafrost landscapes, have a massive impact on the hydrology of the tundra. This is the result of a study carried out by an international research team in cooperation with the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), which will be published in the journal Nature Geoscience today.
Find out more
AWI research aircraft lands at Bremen Airport for the first time
It was the first landing for Polar 6 at the Bremen Airport today. The aircraft is one of two research planes that the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) currently uses for scientific and logistical tasks in polar regions. Bremen Airport is the new home of the Basler BT-67 aircraft, which will come here regularly for instrument checks and re-fitting.
Find out more
Dealing with Climate Change Impacts
The programme will comprise lectures, various discussion formats, and interactive project activities, including hands-on demonstrations, workshops, and group projects.
Find out more
Research priorities for the Arctic have been defined
The leading international Arctic research organisations have set common scientific objectives for the coming decade. The indigenous peoples of the Arctic were also involved in this process. Under the auspices of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), which is based at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Potsdam, they are about to submit a report that sets out the path for a jointly conceived and solution-oriented research agenda on the sustainable development of the Arctic and beyond.
Find out more
Become an international ocean expert
The Nippon Foundation-POGO Centre of Excellence provides world class education and training courses in the field of observational oceanography. Apply now for the international scholarship.
Find out more
Unusual cold spell in the stratosphere creates conditions for severe ozone depletion in the Arctic
Unusual weather development in the Arctic leads to ozone depletion. According to the researchers of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, in the past weeks an extreme cold spell in the Arctic stratosphere has created conditions that might cause severe ozone depletion over the Arctic in March – if the next few weeks will not bring a significant warming.
Find out more
How stable is the West Antarctic Ice Sheet?
A future warming of the Southern Ocean caused by rising greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere may severely disrupt the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The result would be a rise in the global sea level by several metres. A collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet may have occurred during the last interglacial period 125,000 years ago, a period when the polar surface temperature was around two degrees Celsius higher than today. This is the result of a series of model simulations which the researchers of the Alfred Wegener Institute,…
Find out more