Archive of News and Press Releases
AWI’s underwater robot Tramper successfully recovered
On 27 August 2017, deep-sea researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) recovered the underwater robot Tramper, which had been taking measurements at a depth of 2435 metres for nearly 60 weeks – the first long-term mission involving a crawler under the Arctic sea ice. For the first 24 weeks, the robot took biogeochemical readings at various sites, just as it was intended to. Unfortunately, because of a broken tread, Tramper got stuck in the same place in January, though it continued to record the…
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Polar 6 is the first German research aircraft to traverse the North Pole
At 2:10 pm UTC on 22 August 2017, the Polar 6 became the first German research aircraft to fly over the North Pole. The aircraft “departed from (10:11 am UTC) and returned to (5:00 pm UTC) Station North (81.5°N, 16W)”, as Dr Thomas Krumpen reported in an email sent from Greenland.
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New findings on the past and future of sea ice cover in the Arctic
Temperatures in the Arctic are currently climbing two to three times faster than the global average. The result – and, thanks to feedback effects, also the cause – is dwindling sea ice. In a study published in the actual volume of Nature Communications, geo- and climate researchers at the Alfred-Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI) show that, in the course of our planet’s history, summertime sea ice was to be found in the central Arctic in periods characterised by higher global temperatures – but less CO2 – than today.
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Potsdam Summer School Explores the Future of Cities
The rapid pace of change around the world is presenting humankind and human environments with tremendous challenges. What solutions and strategies can we employ to future-proof our cities in the age of climate change? Experts from 30 countries will meet to discuss these issues with leading sustainability researchers at the 2017 Potsdam Summer School on 4 – 13 September. Their findings will be presented to the public in a memorandum on 13 September.
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Underwater robot scheduled to surface after a year exploring the Arctic depths
On Tuesday, 22 August the research icebreaker Polarstern will depart the Norwegian port of Tromsø for a unique expedition to the Arctic: the autonomous underwater robot TRAMPER is scheduled to resurface, after a full year of deep-sea exploration in the Arctic. It and other robotic systems jointly designed by deep-sea and aerospace researchers in the context of the Helmholtz Alliance ROBEX will now undergo nearly three weeks of testing under real-world operating conditions. The purpose of ROBEX is to develop new technologies for exploring remote regions…
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Federal Cross of Merit for Karin Lochte
AWI Director Prof. Dr. Karin Lochte has been awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on August 16 in Berlin. With this honor Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier appreciates the outstanding professional und private work of Karin Lochte.
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Long-term investigations & catching micro plastics
We finished our scientific program in the western Fram-Strait at the East-Greenland slope and went back to our main research area of the long-term observatory LTER-HAUSGARTEN – west off Svalbard. Like every summer here we realize an extensive sampling program from the sea-surface through the water column down to the seafloor. Here we are analyzing at almost twenty stations within water depth between 200 m and 5500 m seawater, plankton is caught, deep-sea sediments are sampled and photos and videos from the seafloor were made. By a multidisciplinary…
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How to find an eddy
On HAUSGARTEN cruises we typically study and sample the oceanographic conditions and the biological communities on a relatively large scale. Consecutive stations are often separated by 20-40 km or more. However, many important processes and physical-biological interactions take place on much smaller spatial scales. In order to show how new measurement and sampling techniques capable of achieving a high horizontal resolution in combination with interdisciplinary cooperation can study such small scale processes, we decided to launch a complementary…
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Into the unknown - high altitude research aircraft explores the upper levels of the Asian Monsoon
The Asian Monsoon System is one of the Earth’s largest and most energetic weather systems, and monsoon rainfall is critical to feeding over a billion people in Asia. An international team of scientists led by the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) is now conducting the first-ever scientific mission to the upper levels of the monsoon system, using a high-altitude research aircraft flying out of Nepal. The results will help to better understand how this important weather system affects global climate and how it…
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Finally, we are let loose
In the late afternoon of June 23rd we (48 scientists, engineers, technicians and students from eleven nations) departed from Tromsø and enjoyed the marvellous weather. The sun was shining from a blue sky while POLARSTERN passed the fjords towards the North-Atlantic. Finally, we are let loose. In particular, the newbies are thrilled by this new experience of being on a research vessel heading to the Arctic. We set course north and when reaching the open Atlantic and the midnight sun was hiding behind a deep cloud cover, we all were looking forward for our…
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