News
Contact Communications + Media Relations
Database with AWI Experts
Subscribe for press releases as RSS
Taking action now can secure our future
Today, the 6th Assessment Report (AR6) of Working Group II of IPCC was published, addressing climate-change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. The report stresses the interdependence of climate, nature and people. Consequently, it integrates knowledge from the natural, environmental, social and economic sciences more strongly than previous IPCC reports. One of the two coordinators of the AR6 report is Prof. Hans-Otto Pörtner from the Alfred Wegener Institute, and the two AWI biologists Prof. Dieter Piepenburg and Prof. Björn Rost were involved as…
Find out more
Scientific Symposium in Monaco
As part of the UN Decade for Ocean Science, the "Polar Symposium: from Arctic to Antarctic" will take place in Monaco from 24-25 February. Leading scientists from all over the world will take part in the event to discuss the rapid changes in the polar regions and their implications for the global climate. AWI Director Antje Boetius will give a keynote speech on 24 February at 9.30 am and participate in the panel "Understanding polar changes" at 11.30 am.
Further information and livestream
![[Translate to English:] Eisberg in der Pine Island Bucht](/fileadmin/_processed_/2/b/csm_20170219_Polarstern_Amundsenmeer_PS104_079_TRonge_91b4b3592b.jpg "Iceberg in Pine Island Bay")
The formation of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet was very different than previously believed
Roughly 35 million years ago, Earth cooled rapidly. At roughly the same time, the Drake Passage formed between South America and the Antarctic, paving the way for the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Thanks to these two factors, Antarctica was soon completely covered in ice. As a study from the Alfred Wegener Institute now shows, this massive glaciation was delayed in at least one region. This new piece of the puzzle concerning the early history of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could help to predict its unstable future. The study was just released in the…
Find out more
![[Translate to English:] Fisching](/fileadmin/_processed_/3/7/csm_20191125-MOSAiC1_EstherHorvath_9799990b32.jpg "EFICA Project")
Fish and squid found in the Central Arctic Ocean
Single individuals of Atlantic cod and squid occur much further north than previously expected. Scientists participating in the international MOSAiC expedition with research icebreaker Polarstern have found fish and squid in deep water in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. The results from Stockholm University, the Alfred Wegener Institute and colleagues in the European Fisheries Inventory in the Central Arctic Ocean (EFICA) Consortium are published today in the scientific journal Science Advances.
Find out more
![[Translate to English:] Entwürfe für das Bluehouse Helgoland](/fileadmin/_processed_/9/8/csm_20210101_BluehouseHelgoland_studioklvBerlin03_ac7ffcfe08.jpg "Design draft for the new Bluehouse Helgoland")
Construction Begins on the BLUEHOUSE HELGOLAND
Construction will soon begin on Helgoland’s next attraction: in spring, work will begin on the BLUEHOUSE HELGOLAND. From 2024, visitors can expect a unique exhibition covering everything from the history of the North Sea to the future of marine research. At the heart of the exhibition is an 80,000-litre aquarium showcasing Helgoland’s underwater world. The project has received ca. 20 million euros of funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the State of Schleswig-Holstein and the Municipality of Helgoland. The exhibition was designed…
Find out more
Beyond EPICA: First cores lifted from deep Antarctic ice
What was the climate like thousands or even millions of years ago? The deep ice in Antarctica could provide answers: It contains information about temperature development and the composition of the atmosphere of the past. An international research team aims to decode this information in the Beyond EPICA-Oldest Ice project, with a drill core containing climate data from the last 1.5 million years. At the end of January, the project team successfully completed the first campaign and lifted the first cores. Scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute were…
Find out more
Intense glacial melting confirms changed wind patterns in the Arctic
Over the past twenty years, glaciers in northern Canada and on Spitsbergen have lost a total of 44 billion metric tons of ice a year. To date, the melting in these regions has been influenced by powerful westerly winds. A team of international researchers, led by the Alfred Wegener Institute, has now determined that both regions are characterised by increased, alternating inflows of cold air from the north and warm air from the south. Due to the ongoing global warming, these fluctuating air currents could also have long-term consequences for the weather…
Find out more
The search for the Endurance
On 5 February the international expedition Endurance22 set course for the Antarctic in hopes of finding Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance, which sank in the Weddell Sea in 1915. The researchers on board include experts from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI).
Find out more
One Planet Summit for the Ocean
This is the title of the summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in Brest from 9 to 11 February. Concrete measures for the preservation of the oceans will be discussed here on an international level. In addition to several AWI researchers, the Institute's Director Antje Boetius is also involved in the diverse programme. Taking the role as representative of international science, she will present the summit's messages to the participating heads of state at the end of the summit.
Further informationen
Giant sponge gardens discovered on seamounts in the Arctic deep sea
Massive sponge gardens thrive on top of seamounts in the Central Arctic Ocean, one of the most oligotrophic seas on Earth. They appear to feed on the remnants of an extinct fauna. Microorganisms support the sponges in exploiting this fluffy material as a source of food and energy. Scientists from Bremen, Bremerhaven and Kiel and their international partners discovered this unique hotspot of life during a POLARSTERN expedition and now report their findings in the journal Nature Communications. They stress the need for a better understanding of the…
Find out more