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Prof Hans-Otto Pörtner, Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II and Head of the Integrative Ecophysiology Section at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven, has been selected as a new member of the European Academy of Sciences (EurASc).
The Arctic is warming more strongly than any other region on Earth, which leads to serious erosion of coasts where organic matter was frozen in the permafrost for thousands of years. Once eroded material is released into the ocean, microorganisms break down ancient plant remains, releasing sizable quantities of greenhouse gases. Yet, as the latest analyses conducted by AWI experts show, part of the biomass released becomes trapped in deep sinks on the ocean floor off the Arctic coast – where it is protected from microbial decomposition. The outcomes of their analyses are intended to make climate models more accurate.
Antje Boetius has led expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic, and is a passionate proponent of more climate protection and nature conservation, both in her private life and in various organisations. Now the AWI director has been given a new role: as the next Mercator Professor at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE).
“Nothing will be as costly as choosing not to invest in climate protection!” – so claimed AWI Director Antje Boetius at the New Year’s Reception for the Senate of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen.
The objective of the upcoming expedition of the Research Vessel SONNE in January is a critical location for climate studies in the Indian Ocean. Dr. Gabriele Uenzelmann-Neben of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) is the chief scientist for Expedition SO272. Scientists from MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen will also be participating.
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