Archive of News and Press Releases
The ice opens the way – climate scientists take part in project on opportunities and risks of Arctic use
The extent of sea ice in the Arctic has substantially declined to a possibly record-breaking magnitude this summer so that both the Northeast Passage and the Northwest Passage are navigable. For climate scientists of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research these changes in the northern polar region are a good reason to conduct research on the prospects and consequences of increased commercial use of the Arctic. ACCESS is the name of this forward-looking project whose second workshop takes place in Bremen on 5 and 6 September.
Find out more
Research Vessel Polarstern at North Pole
You can’t get any “higher”: on 22 August 2011 the research icebreaker Polarstern of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association reaches the North Pole. The aim of he current expedition is to document changes in the far north. Thus, the researchers on board are conducting an extensive investigation programme in the water, ice and air at the northernmost point on the Earth. The little sea ice cover makes the route via the pole to the investigation area in the Canadian Arctic possible.
Find out more
New study in journal Nature: Calcifying microalgae are witnesses of increasing ocean acidification
For the first time researchers have examined on a global scale how calcified algae in their natural habitat react to increasing acidification due to higher marine uptake of carbon dioxide.
Find out more
How is the Arctic Ocean changing? – Research vessel Polarstern launches expedition to Arctic Ocean
On coming Wednesday, 15 June, the research vessel Polarstern of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association will set off on its 26th arctic expedition. Over 130 scientists from research institutions in six countries will take part in three legs of the voyage.
Find out more
Research ship Polarstern returns from Antartica – investigations of changes in Weddell Sea habitat
The research vessel Polarstern of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association will arrive back at its homeport of Bremerhaven after a seven-month expedition on Friday, 20 May. Nearly 200 researchers from institutes in 15 countries took part in the expedition.
Find out more
Research aircraft Polar 5 returned from spring measurements in the high Arctic
The research aircraft Polar 5 of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association returned to Bremerhaven from a six-week expedition in the high Arctic on May 6. Joint flights with aircraft of the European and American space agencies (ESA and NASA) were a novelty in sea ice research.
Find out more
100th anniversary of start of Filchner expedition to the Antarctic – Significant discoveries in favourite area for modern German polar research
The bark “Deutschland” set sail from Bremerhaven on the second German Antarctic expedition on 6 May 1911. Its destination was the Weddell Sea sector of Antarctica. The expedition headed by Asia researcher Wilhelm Filchner (1877-1957) got as far as 78° South where it came across an ice shelf barrier – the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf. Frozen in the pack ice, the “Deutschland” drifted across the Weddell Sea over the winter for nine months.
Find out more
Arctic coasts on the retreat - International studies describe current state of the Arctic coasts
The coastline in Arctic regions reacts to climate change with increased erosion and retreats by half a metre per year on average. This means substantial changes for Arctic ecosystems near the coast and the population living there.
Find out more
Record depletion of Arctic ozone layer caused increased UV radiation in Scandinavia - Brief episodes of increased UV radiation may also occur over Central Europe
Over the past few days ozone-depleted air masses extended from the north pole to southern Scandinavia leading to higher than normal levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation during sunny days in southern Finland. These air masses will move east over the next few days, covering parts of Russia and perhaps extend as far south as the Chinese/Russian border.
Find out more
Large-scale assessment of the Arctic Ocean: significant increase in freshwater content since 1990s
The freshwater content of the upper Arctic Ocean has increased by about 20 percent since the 1990s. This corresponds to a rise of approx. 8,400 cubic kilometres and has the same magnitude as the volume of freshwater annually exported on average from this marine region in liquid or frozen form.
Find out more