News

What is growing in the North Sea?

AWI presents the first app for identifying seaweeds on the German North Sea

[03. May 2023]  A new app is capable of identifying, visualising and describing macroalgae present in the western and eastern Wadden Sea, and around the island Helgoland. The app, called SeaKey, currently provides details for the identification of 68 brown algae species; green and red algae will follow. Developed by researchers of the Alfred Wegener Institute and external cooperation partners, it offers scientific experts and government authorities, students and interested non-experts a straightforward way to measure algae, thanks to its innovative matrix concept.

New Start-up develops aquafarms for macroalgae

AWI and Carbonwave spin-off: Large algae simultaneously bind CO2 and create raw materials for the chemical industry

[27. April 2023]  The company MACROCARBON SL has just been founded in Las Palmas, on the Canary Islands. It is a spin-off from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and Carbonwave. The start-up is developing algae farms, in which the macroalgae Sargassum will be cultivated. These algae simultaneously bind large amounts of CO2 and produce new raw materials for the chemical industry.

Arctic ice algae heavily contaminated with microplastics

Melosira arctica has ten times higher concentration of plastic particles than surrounding seawater

[21. April 2023]  The alga Melosira arctica, which grows under Arctic sea ice, contains ten times as many microplastic particles as the surrounding seawater. This concentration at the base of the food web poses a threat to creatures that feed on the algae at the sea surface. Clumps of dead algae also transport the plastic with its pollutants particularly quickly into the deep sea - and can thus explain the high microplastic concentrations in the sediment there. Researchers led by the Alfred Wegener Institute have now reported this in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

The climate crisis and biodiversity crisis can’t be approached as two separate things

New review study released in the journal Science offers new solutions for combating climate change and biodiversity loss

[20. April 2023]  Anthropogenic climate change has sparked an unprecedented loss of biodiversity that continues to worsen. In this regard, the climate crisis and biodiversity crisis are often viewed as two separate catastrophes. An international team of researchers led by Hans-Otto Pörtner from the Alfred Wegener Institute calls for adopting a new perspective.  

Make Way for the BLUEHOUSE

Demolition of the old aquarium on Helgoland has begun

[18. April 2023]  The demolition now underway on Helgoland will make room for construction of the BLUEHOUSE, which will offer a uniquely interactive permanent exhibition on marine research. Its 600 square metres of exhibition space will be home to various exhibits designed to promote learning and discovery.

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