Archive of News and Press Releases
Crossing the Tropic of Capricorn for New Years Eve
After countless hours processing and cleaning bathymetry data for the past couple weeks the days tend to blend together. Sediment-echosounder training program came to an end back in Las Palmas, but the data is still gathered and checked for interesting features.
Find out more
A green laser pierces the clear night sky
The week before the Christmas holidays was quite eventful: Outdoor cinema on the helideck, more Saharan dust than before and the start of an additional radiosonde.
Find out more
Some final tests and a sunny goodbye
Final device tests, packing equipment, interesting weather patterns and a BBQ were all part of activities this week before reaching Las Palmas.
Find out more
![[Translate to English:] Leben am Meeresboden](/fileadmin/_processed_/3/e/csm_EIS-4c_seafloor_video_still_004_450eddcc0d.jpg "Life on the seafloor")
Abundance of life discovered beneath an Antarctic ice shelf
Far beneath the ice shelves of the Antarctic, there is more marine life than expected, finds a recent study in the journal Current Biology, published this week (20 December 2021). Despite occupying nearly 1.6 million km2, ice shelves are amongst the least known environments on Earth. Life has been seen in these perpetual dark, cold and still habitats on camera but has rarely been collected.
Find out more
Meltwater influences ecosystems in the Arctic Ocean
In the summer months, sea ice from the Arctic drifts through Fram Strait into the Atlantic. Thanks to meltwater, a stable layer forms around the drifting ice atop the more salty seawater, producing significant effects on biological processes and marine organisms. In turn, this has an effect on when carbon from the atmosphere is absorbed and stored, as a team of researchers led by the Alfred Wegener Institute has now determined with the aid of the FRAM ocean observation system. Their findings have just been published in the journal Nature Communications.
Find out more
Drilling into Antarctica’s past to see our future
Can meeting CO2 emission targets and thus limiting global warming prevent Antarctic ice from melting catastrophically? An international research team is preparing to drill into the sediment of the seabed deep beneath Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf to find out.
Find out more
A stormy send-off
After a snowy Bremerhaven departure on Dec 5th 2021 at 13:00, Polarstern made its way through the port, the locks and towards the English Channel.
Find out more
Quick, save the climate – but how?
For its 50th anniversary, the University of Bremen is organizing an online talk series to discuss how the university can help shape the major issues of our time. The next talk will take place on December 14 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. under the title "Quick, save the climate – but how?", with AWI Director Antje Boetius as guest. The event will be broadcasted via livestream.
Further information
What is life like beneath the polar ice?
Under this title, AWI Director Antje Boetius will give a lecture in the new online format "Garden Talk" on December 8 at 8:30 pm. There, she will talk about the life forms under the polar ice and thus about one of the most undiscovered regions on the planet. Afterwards, she will be available to answer questions from all participants.
Further information
Ulva Tomorrow’s ‘Wheat of the Sea’
Over the past decade, interest in using the marine coastal areas as a source of alternative, sustainable food production has grown significantly. A team of experts from 28 countries, including scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) has launched the SeaWheat project as a part of the EU program “COST” to modernise traditional aquatic diet from the coastal seas to make them more sustainable and healthier.
Find out more