Archive of News and Press Releases

Hans-Otto Pörtner (left) and Christian Hamm
Short news

AWI Scientists are listed as Highly Cited Researchers

Two researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute are in the annual ranking of the "Highly Cited Researchers": marine biologist Hans-Otto Pörtner (l.) and Christian Hamm, head of Bionic Lightweight Design.
Online news

Representatives of the University of La Rochelle at the AWI

Today, a delegation from the French University of La Rochelle visits the Alfred Wegener Institute to discuss current and future projects.
Weekly report

Begin of the Antartic Season

RV Polarstern left Bremerhaven on 11th November with the high tide around noon. Due to extensive necessary amendments in the shipyard, the departure had been postponed by one day in comparison to the original time planning. This gave all participants the opportunity of a first quiet day on board to get familiar with the ship.
Ctenophore in the Arctic Ocean
Online news

Which types of jellyfish are there in the Arctic Ocean today – and which will still be there tomorrow?

In 2019, Charlotte Havermans will form a new four- to five-member research group, which will use cutting-edge technologies to create a jellyfish inventory for the Arctic Ocean. The group will receive financial support from the Helmholtz Association and the Alfred Wegener Institute.
Field experiment off the Canary Islands
Online news

Ocean acidification stimulates mass development of toxic algae

If carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere and thereby in the ocean continue to rise, this could favour the mass development of toxic algae, with far-reaching consequences for the pelagic food web. This was discovered during a long-term experiment off the Canary Islands conducted by an international group of scientists with the participation of the Alfred Wegener Institute. The results have now been published in the international journal Nature Climate Change.
The Argentinian Ambassador (2nd from left) visited the AWI.
Online news

Argentinian Ambassador visits the AWI

On Friday the Argentinian Ambassador S.E. Edgardo Malaroda visited the Alfred Wegener Institute together with the Embassy Secretary Martin Suaya.
Close-up of the northwestern ice-sheet margin in Inglefield Land. The Hiawatha impact crater was discovered beneath the semi-circular ice margin. The structure is also imprinted on the shape of the ice surface, even though it lies nearly 1000 meters below the ice surface. Hiawatha is named after outlet glacier at the edge of the ice sheet. The name was given by Lauge Koch in 1922 during an expedition around northern Greenland, while thinking of the pre-colonial native American leader and co-founder of the Iroquois Confederacy.
Press releases

Massive meteorite impact crater discovered

An international research team has discovered a 31-km wide meteorite impact crater buried beneath the ice-sheet in northern Greenland. This is the first time that a crater of any size has been found under one of Earth’s continental ice sheets. The research aircraft Polar 6 from the Alfred Wegener Instittue verified the discovery with radar measurements. The research is described in a new study just published in the internationally recognized journal Science Advance.
Short news

Otto Schmidt Laboratory

The Advisory Board of the Otto Schmidt Laboratory (OSL) meets in St. Petersburg, the, i.a. with Dr. Aleksander Makarov (Director AARI), Prof. dr. Antje Boetius (Director AWI) and the new OSL Director Vasiliy Povazhnyi.
Die Teilnehmer der "Great Debate" (v.l.n.r.): das Astronauten-Team Joshua Kutryk, Christian Marois und Kathryn Sullivan; Moderator Jay Ingram; das Ozean-Team Antje Boetius, Mark Abbott und Boris Worm.
Short news

Astronauts against Ozeanographers

„What is the next frontier – Space or Ocean?“ Zu dieser Frage ist AWI-Direktorin Antje Boetius zu einer Diskussion beim Ocean Frontier Institut angetreten.
Das Forschungsschiff Polarstern des Alfred-Wegener-Instituts verlässt seinen Heimathafen Bremerhaven.
Press releases

Research icebreaker Polarstern begins the Antarctic season

Due to retarded work on the Polarstern the departure is delayed - On Sunday, 11 November 2018, the research icebreaker Polarstern will leave its homeport of Bremerhaven, bound for Cape Town, South Africa. This will mark the beginning of its Antarctic season, in which oceanographic fieldwork in the Weddell Sea, a resupply mission to the Neumayer Station III, and explorations of the Larsen C ice shelf region and the South Shetland Islands are on the agenda. The ship is expected to return to Bremerhaven in June 2019.