Archive of News and Press Releases
Climate researchers are pursuing better ice and weather predictions for improved safety in the Arctic and Antarctic
Today, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) officially announced the start of the international research initiative Year of Polar Prediction. The goal of the two-year project, which involves partners from more than 20 countries, is to comprehensively improve weather, ice and climate predictions for the Arctic and Antarctic, so as to achieve two major milestones: more reliable risk assessments for shipping and other human activities, which will help to avoid…
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125 years of oceanographic research on Helgoland
125 years ago, the Royal Biological Institute (Königliche Biologische Anstalt) was founded on Helgoland – and oceanography has been a fixture on the island ever since. It would later become the Biological Institute Helgoland (Biologische Anstalt Helgoland / BAH), which joined the Alfred Wegener Institute in 1998. Generations of scientists have conducted research on the ecology of coastal and shelf-sea systems – on Helgoland and, since 1924, at the BAH’s facilities in List on Sylt. Combining a proud tradition and forward-thinking orientation, the work…
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Irreversible ocean warming threatens the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf
By the second half of this century, rising air temperatures above the Weddell Sea could set off a self-amplifying meltwater feedback cycle under the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, ultimately causing the second-largest ice shelf in the Antarctic to shrink dramatically. Climate researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) recently made this prediction in a new study, which can be found in the latest issue of the Journal of Climate, released today. In the study, the researchers use an ice-ocean model created…
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The Alfred Wegener Institute supports the “March for Science”
On Saturday, 22 April 2017, there will be a worldwide “March for Science”: in more than 300 cities, people will take to the streets, demonstrating for the freedom of science and research. The Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) welcomes this initiative, which it is raising awareness for with posters at several locations. Institute staff will send messages of support to those participating in the “March for Science” – from the Open Ship Polarstern event in Bremerhaven, from on board the research ship Heincke,…
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Polarstern returns to its homeport with precious cargo
The research vessel Polarstern is expected to enter its homeport with the early-morning high tide on Thursday, 20 April 2017, marking the end of a five-month season in the Antarctic for the icebreaker and her crew. Many geoscientists in Bremerhaven can’t wait to see the samples that were collected during a six-week foray into the Amundsen Sea this February and March, which are expected to help decode the glacial history of West Antarctica and improve the accuracy of prognoses for future sea-level rises. Once the samples have been unloaded, preparations…
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Researchers unravel the drivers of large iceberg movement
When, in the foreseeable future, a tabular iceberg nearly seven times the size of Berlin breaks off the Larsen C Ice Shelf in the Antarctic, it will begin a journey, the course of which climate researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research can accurately predict. The researchers have now succeeded in modelling how Antarctic icebergs drift through the Southern Ocean, and in identifying the physical factors behind their movement and their melting. Which factors are most important tends to depend on the size of…
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Transit cruise from Punta Arenas to Las Palmas
This year’s return journey of RV Polarstern from Antarctica began with the departure in Punta Arenas in the evening of March 20, 2017. We left a bit earlier than scheduled with a small team of scientists and technicians on board through the Magellan Strait bound for the Atlantic.
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RV Polarstern opens its doors to the public
On the weekend of 22 and 23 April, Germany’s largest research vessel, the icebreaker Polarstern, will open her doors to the public as part of the Science Year 2016*17 – Seas and Oceans. As they walk about the ship, visitors can tour the laboratories, living accommodations, and the bridge, giving them a feel for what it’s like to be part of an expedition. Further, the Alfred Wegener Institute will highlight its research efforts in exhibitions arrayed around the ship on the grounds of the Lloyd Werft shipyards. Science dating, presentations and fireside…
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Litter is present throughout the world’s oceans: 1,220 species affected
Where is marine litter concentrated, and which species and ecosystems does it affect? Researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute have for the first time compiled all scientific data published on marine litter in a single, comprehensive database, now accessible from the online portal AWI Litterbase (www.litterbase.org).
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Summary
In this last weekly report, I will give a short résumé of our exciting expedition. We left with great expectations for the Amundsen Sea 6 weeks ago with the MeBo drilling device and other scientific equipment on board to collect samples and data that will help us to decipher the history of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
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