Bivalve ice with pebbles
The latest findings on the MOSAiC floe
Scientific study describes the nursery of sea ice and provides the basis for future assessments of research data
The New Siberian Islands were the birthplace of the MOSAiC floe: the sea ice in which the research vessel Polarstern is now drifting through the Arctic was formed off the coast of the archipelago, which separates the East Siberian Sea and the Laptev Sea to the north of Siberia, in December 2018. Sediments, and even small pebbles and bivalves, were incorporated into the ice during the freezing process, which the on-going melting process has brought to light on the surface of the MOSAiC floe.
Climate Change
Rising water temperatures threaten the reproduction of many fish species
Every degree of ocean warming increases the pressure on fish stocks
As spawning fish and their young are particularly sensitive to rising water temperatures, up to 60 percent of all species may be forced to leave their traditional spawning areas with climate change.
Beavers gnawing away at the permafrost
The large rodents are massively changing landscapes in the Arctic, which could have serious consequences for the frozen soils and our future climate
The spread of beavers in numerous tundra regions where they did not previously occur could accelerate the thawing of permafrost and thus further boost climate change.
MOSAiC Expedition
Polarstern returns to MOSAiC floe
New team continues fieldwork in the Arctic
After a month’s absence, on 17 June the German research icebreaker Polarstern rendezvoused with the MOSAiC floe at 82.2 ° North and 8.4 ° East, after having left it on 19 May 2020 to exchange personnel and bunker supplies near Svalbard. Full of energy, the research team for the fourth leg of the expedition, which consists of experts from 19 countries, is looking forward to continuing the one-year-long MOSAiC expedition and its research on the ocean, ice and atmosphere in the Arctic. Earlier this week, their predecessors from Leg 3 returned to Bremerhaven on board the research vessels Sonne and Maria S. Merian.
European Oyster
AWI project for marine nature conservation and biodiversity wins award
PROCEED named an official project of the UN Decade on Biodiversity
The Alfred Wegener Institute’s project to “establish the sustainable production of seed oysters for a long-term reintroduction programme (PROCEED)” has now been named an official project of the UN Decade on Biodiversity. This honour is bestowed upon outstanding projects intended to preserve Germany’s biodiversity.
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