Archive of News and Press Releases
Expedition to Antarctica’s Glaciers
How has the West Antarctic Ice Sheet changed in response to alternating warm and cold time periods? And what does it mean for the sea level – today and tomorrow? Pursuing answers to these key questions, 50 researchers on board the Alfred Wegener Institute’s research vessel Polarstern are going to depart from Punta Arenas (Chile) on 6 February 2017, bound for the Amundsen Sea – the region of the Antarctic currently characterised by the most massive and rapid loss of ice. In the course of the expedition, the seafloor drill rig MARUM-MeBo70 will be used in…
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The final spurt
23. January 2017, 4 weeks and 4 days at sea.
Today was a remarkably day for the ISOTAM-Team of the University of Göttingen:
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Sunken logs form diverse and dynamic habitats
The deep sea is a vast and seemingly uninhabitable place, except for some small oases of life. Sunken wood logs, so-called wood falls, can form such oases and provide for rich life for limited periods. A new study by researchers from the MPI Bremen takes a close look at the deep-sea organisms inhabiting wood falls and how they affect their surroundings. They show that sunken logs are highly dynamic ecosystems and play an important role for the diversity and distribution of bacteria and animals alike.
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Unexpected hindrances
January 16, 2017, 3 weeks and 4 days at sea.
It was already yesterday that we had to interrupt our work on deck.
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Into the Weddell Sea
9. January 2017 - 3 weeks and 3 days at sea.
Yesterday evening Polarstern managed to push herself free between what was formerly fast ice by about half a ship´s length with the ebbing tide.
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The Sound of the Ocean
For nearly three years, AWI researchers used underwater microphones to monitor the Southern Ocean and listen to a “choir” of whales and seals. The sounds recorded offer new insights into the ocean’s natural soundscape, as well as the animals’ behaviour and distribution.
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At Neumayer Station
4 January 2017, 2 weeks and 5 days at sea.
The morning finds Polarstern alongside the ice shelf edge, or, more precisely, at the north-eastern berth of Atka Sea Port.
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Expedition Diary
21 December, 5th day at sea.
Today, an (unintended) premiere is high up on the agenda. A bottom pressure sensor equipped inverted echosounder (PIES), which was deployed in 2010, shall be recovered.
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German Arctic Office to act as consultant to politics and industry
The rapid climate changes in the Arctic are no longer just the domain of scientists. The shrinking sea ice and collapsing permafrost coasts are now also becoming topics on the agenda of international politics and industry. To be able to offer direct scientific advice to decision-makers, the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) has now set up an office for Arctic affairs at its Potsdam site. The German Arctic Office officially commenced work on 1 January 2017 and draws its expertise from a network of scientists…
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When the Arctic coast retreats, life in the shallow water areas drastically changes
The thawing and erosion of Arctic permafrost coasts has dramatically increased in the past years and the sea is now consuming more than 20 meters of land per year at some locations. The earth masses removed in this process increasingly blur the shallow water areas and release nutrients and pollutants. Yet, the consequences of these processes on life in the coastal zone and on traditional fishing grounds are virtually unknown.
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