News

Weakening of Antarctic bottom water circulation is noticeable in the North Atlantic

A recent study with AWI participation indicates that the deep-sea current in the North Atlantic has weakened by around twelve per cent in the last two decades, presumably due to a reduced formation of Antarctic water masses

[19. April 2024]  At depths of more than 4,000 meters, cold, dense water masses from the Southern Ocean flow northwards into the large ocean basins, such as the Atlantic. This Antarctic bottom water drives deep-sea currents all over the world and circulates water masses to transport oxygen far down into the depths. An international research team, including the Alfred Wegener Institute, has now discovered that ocean currents have weakened by around twelve per cent due to the Antarctic bottom water. 

Magdalena Atria visits the AWI

[19. April 2024]  The Ambassador of Chile, Magdalena Atria, visited the AWI on 17 April 2024 to attend the kick-off meeting of the new EU project POLARIN, in which the Chilean Antarctic Institute INACH is involved as a partner. She was welcomed by AWI Vice Director Uwe Nixdorf and AWI scientists. After a guided tour through the AWI building D, the participants talked about the long-standing collaboration and the various joint research projects.

AWI Potsdam coordinates new project

Helmholtz invests 23 million in research on AI foundation models

[18. April 2024]  In climate research, medicine, or the exploration of new materials for the energy transition, huge amounts of data are being generated. However, their full potential can only be realized if scientists can analyze ever-larger amounts of data. A new generation of AI foundation models is now poised to tackle a range of major challenges in science. The Alfred Wegener Institute is involved in two of the four pilot projects funded by the Helmholtz Association, one in a leading role. Helmholtz is funding the projects and the necessary infrastructure with around 23 million euros.

Delegation visits AWIPEV

[16. April 2024]  AWI Director Antje Boetius, Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger and her French counterpart Sylvie Retailleau are currently visiting the German-French research base AWIPEV in Ny-Ålesund for three days together with the Norwegian State Secretary Sindre Lysø. "We are here in a region that has warmed six times faster than the global average over the last 40 years," says Antje Boetius. "Despite these worrying findings, I am always inspired by the hope that the scientists show."

Ice sheets

Rapid growth of land ice due to summer snowfall

[12. April 2024]  During the Last Glacial Maximum, the Laurentide ice sheet covered large parts of North America, before it finally melted at the end of the ice age. In a new study published in the journal Nature Geoscience, researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) have used a newly developed climate-ice model to draw conclusions about its spatial expansion. They discovered that in particular the snowfall in summer favoured the growth of the ice sheet.

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