News

On Easter Sunday, April 20, the new National Geographic documentary series “Secrets of the Penguins” will premiere on the Disney + streaming platform. Large parts of the penguin documentary were filmed at our Neumayer Station III in the Antarctic.

The German Arctic Office published a policy brief entitled “Reception of Germany’s new Arctic Policy Guidelines (2024)”, which deals with the perception and implementation of the new German Arctic Guidelines in the Arctic states. Another publication is the fact sheet called “Remote Sensing in the Arctic”. It explains the importance and applications of remote sensing techniques in Arctic research. The aim is to create a better understanding of current developments and challenges in the Arctic and to make scientific findings more accessible for politics…

The Alfred Wegener Institute invites scientists to apply for a guest research stay at the marine stations on Helgoland or Sylt. The stays, which last longer than 15 working days, offer the opportunity to conduct research in the immediate vicinity of the rocky tidal flats. The stations have well-equipped guest laboratories with Internet, seawater connection and basic laboratory equipment. Applications are possible until 31 July 2025. Further information.
 

On the occasion of the “SOS Ocean” summit, which took place in Paris on 30 and 31 March, the Eiffel Tower was illuminated in blue to draw attention to the ocean and the associated challenges and decisions: Two months before UNOC-3, the third United Nations Ocean Conference, “SOS Ocean” brought together around 60 leading politicians, scientists and representatives of international organizations, including AWI Director Antje Boetius. They discussed the major environmental threats: Pollution, rising sea levels, overfishing and the decline of marine…

The German ambassador in Sofia, Bulgaria, Irene Maria Plank, visited the AWI on 1 March. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss current projects and scientific cooperation between the AWI and Bulgaria. The ambassador was welcomed by Verónica Willmott, Anneli Strobel and Diego Filun. In addition to a tour of the new aquarium facilities, a guided tour of the research vessel Heincke took place.

On February 14, it's “There is no Planet B” all over Germany again. This is because people across the country are taking to the streets in the climate strike to campaign for more climate protection and a sustainable future. Employees at the AWI sites Neumayer Station III in the Antarctic, AWIPEV in the Arctic and the people on Polarstern are also taking part in the climate strike.

AWI Director Antje Boetius will take part in a panel discussion at the “Paris Saclay Summit” on February 12 at 6 pm. The topic: “Can the Arctic still be saved?”. The marine biologist will discuss this topic together with Olivier Poivre d'Arvor, special envoy of the French President for the United Nation Ocean Conference, French Ambassador for the Poles and Oceans. To the livestream.

The thawing of permafrost poses various endangerments to the Arctic environment and the livelihoods of people. An international team examined the social risks for Arctic regions and identified five key risks related to infrastructure, transport and supply, water quality, food security and health. Press release of the University of Vienna

At the end of September 2022, almost half a million tonnes of methane were released into the atmosphere due to damage to the Nord Stream pipelines. This is the largest amount of the greenhouse gas methane released in a single event. This conclusion comes from analysis by the International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Nearly 70 scientists from 30 research organisations collaborated on the analysis, among them a scientist from the Alfred Wegener Institute. More information

The "ES&T Best Paper Award 2023" is a prestigious award presented annually by the journal Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T). The award recognises outstanding scientific papers that make a significant contribution to research in the field of environmental science and technology. This year, a study on plastic pollution, in which Sebastian Primpke from the AWI was involved, was selected as one of the award winners.