Archive of News and Press Releases
Official Symposium and Ship Christening in Kiel
On 11 May 2018, a high-level symposium was held in Kiel in memory of Eugen Seibold, at which AWI Director Prof. Antje Boetius gave a keynote speech. Marine geologist Seibold has trained and shaped generations of marine researchers, and would have turned 100 this year. Following the symposium, a new research vessel was christened ‘Eugen Seibold’.
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Leaving Punta Arenas
On our arrival on 5th and 6th May the weather in Punta Arenas in Chile showed an unexpectedly pleasant side with scattered clouds, temperature just under 10°C and hardly any wind – unexpected, because here in the Southern Hemisphere it is now autumn and the climate at the southern extremity of Chile is harsh anyway. On 7th May the cruise participants were brought on board the Polarstern at anchor offshore by a harbour launch.
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Signs of tipping point for oxygen minimum zone in the ocean
When ocean temperatures change, the natural variability of the oxygen supply and the associated biogeochemical cycles don’t respond in a lineal manner. Instead, circa 6,000 years ago a tipping point was reached relatively suddenly. This was the key finding of a study by group of researchers led by geologists from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), which has now been published in the journal PNAS.
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New species in the North Sea
Experts from the Alfred Wegener Institute and the Universities of Oldenburg and Potsdam, Germany have confirmed the existence of a new cryptic amphipod species in the North Sea. For the first time for the description of a new species, they used a level of mitogenomic information, which was normally applied in other areas of genetics. The discovery of Epimeria frankei was now published in the journal Scientific Reports. In the future, this level of molecular information could revolutionise biodiversity research.
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Of Fin Whale aggregations, trace metals and the end of the expedition
We have now entered the last phase of our expedition. After spending a week surrounded by sea- and glacier ice south of the West Antarctic Peninsula we have arrived back at Elephant Island, where we will spend the remaining time of the expedition before heading back to Punta Arenas.
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Arctic Survivalists
They form the basis of the Arctic food web – and are extremely tough: even when the water becomes more acidic and the available light or temperatures change, various phytoplankton assemblages in the Arctic demonstrate undiminished productivity and biodiversity. This was the main finding presented in a study by researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute, which they jointly release with their Canadian colleagues advanced online in the journal Nature Climate Change. Yet the question of whether this source of food for seals, whales and commercially…
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In the focus of international cooperation on signs of climate change
The delegations were informed in detail about international cooperation at the site with a focus on climate and environmental research. Accompanied by Kim Holmen, International Director at the Norwegian Polar Research Institute NPI, the visit to Svalbard gave them a chance to see the effects of climate change up close.
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The future of the Thwaites Glacier
A joint UK-US research programme launched today is one of the most detailed and extensive examinations of a massive Antarctic glacier ever undertaken. The Alfred Wegener Institute directly participated in an expedition during which researchers explored the structure of the ice and of the ground below it.
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AWI researchers measure a record concentration of microplastic in arctic sea ice
Experts at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) have recently found higher amounts of microplastic in arctic sea ice than ever before. However, the majority of particles were microscopically small. The ice samples from five regions throughout the Arctic Ocean contained up to 12,000 microplastic particles per litre of sea ice. Further, the different types of plastic showed a unique footprint in the ice allowing the researchers to trace them back to possible sources. This involves the massive garbage patch in…
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Krill, seals and humpack whales in the Weddell Sea
The last week, we spent in the waters around the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. We have been really lucky again regarding the weather and, in addition to our scientific endeavors, spent some wonderful sunny days in the ice around Joinville Island and the Peninsula.
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