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In order to understand the Earth as one system and find effective solutions for global challenges, German Geosciences need to be modernised with Earth System Science as the future operating framework. This is the recommendation made by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in its Report on Tomorrow’s Science “Earth System Science: Discovery, Diagnosis, and Solutions in Times of Global Change”. The report, to which AWI Director Antje Boetius contributed, provides an overview of the field of research and proposes steps to be taken.

At the end of June, Albert II, Prince of Monaco visited the French-German research base AWIPEV in Ny-Ålesund / Spitsbergen, which is operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) and the French Polar Institute Paul Emile Victor (IPEV). The highlight of the visit was the launch of the weather balloon, performed by the Prince himself. (Picture: Oceanographic Institute - Olivier Borde)

So far, thousands of deep-sea photos and videos from marine research institutes have been barely accessible on the Internet because they are not cataloged and described consistently. A team from the Helmholtz Research Centers, with the participation of AWI, GEOMAR and Hereon, has developed a uniform data standard for underwater images that is intended to enable the global use of such image data. The group presents the new metadata format in the journal "Nature Scientific Data".​ Further information

As part of an investigation of the Western Pacific Kuril-Kamchatka Trench, Senckenberg researchers, with the support of AWI scientists and researchers from Goethe University Frankfurt, have proved high levels of microplastic pollution, which is greater than previously assumed. While evaluating the sediment samples, the research team found that each of the 13 samples taken from a depth of up to 9450 meters contained between 215 and 1596 tiny microplastic particles per kilogram. Further information

The International Coral Reef Symposium will be held in Bremen, Germany, July 3-8. ICRS 2022 is the world's leading conference on coral reef science, management and conservation. AWI scientists will also participate in the ICRS. Claudio Richter will lead a program section on Antarctic cold-water corals, and other AWI colleagues will report on their research.