Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean – one of the early warning systems of global environmental changes. It is mostly covered by ice. However, with the influx of warmer water and increasing air temperatures, the sea ice declines – in the extent and also in the thicknes.

But there are even more problems. Ocean acidification for example which is called "the evil little brother of global warming". Additionaly the Arctic Ocean becomes increasingly polluted with plastic litter, even on the ocean floor. Therefore the AWI explores the Arctic Ocean interdisciplinary. This page compiles all interesting articles from the different subject areas.

Map of the Arctic (Graphic: meereisportal.de)

Sea Ice

Laptev Sea

The Birthplace of Arctic Sea Ice

The Laptev Sea is known as the Arctic's ice machine. However, due to warming it is already changing

Viele einzellige Melosira arctica hängen in Gallerte verpackt von den sie tragenden Eisschollen in das Meerwasser herab.

Algae of the year 2016

The most productive algae in the Arctic

Whether in or under the ice: The diatom Melosira Arctica grows and prospers like no other life form

When will the Arctic ocean be ice free? Why did the sea ice cover of the Southern Ocean grow during the last years? And how is marine life changing, when the Arctic sea ice is getting thinner and thinner? To answer these and many other questions, AWI sea ice physicists observe and investigate the sea-ice cover in both hemisphere thoroughly. Which different technique and methods they are using shows this graph, created by AWI designer Martin Künsting.

Infograph

Sea Ice Physics: Working on an ice floe

Methods of the AWI sea ice physicists

Ocean Acidification

Crustaceans

Success story of a resistance fighter

They are small, but very important for the food web: How copepods defy ocean acidification

Carbon cycle

The limit of the blue lungs

The increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the air alters the chemistry of the Arctic ocean

CBD Report

The evil brother of global warming

Felix Mark studys how ocean acidification impacts fish and other ocean dwellers

Marine Litter

Deep seas

In every Nook and Cranny

AWI researcher Melanie Bergmann analyses the level of pollution on the ocean floor of the Arctic

Infographic

Pathways of litter into the ocean

Plastic litter is present in large amounts in the oceans. But where does all the litter come from?

Mission in the Arctic ice

What is the role of sea ice as an element of the climate system? Is sea ice an indicator for climate changes? Is it possible to conclude from changes in sea ice to climate changes?

All these are questions that we aim to answer with our work in the sea-ice physics section. Here you can see how we approached our main questions during a summer expedition into the Arctic with the research vessel Polarstern.

News

Arctic

How the Arctic Ocean Became Saline

The Arctic Ocean was once a gigantic freshwater lake. Only after the land bridge between Greenland and Scotland had submerged far enough did vast quantities of salt water pour in from the Atlantic. With the help of a climate model, researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute have demonstrated how this process took place, allowing us for the first time to understand more accurately how Atlantic circulation as we know it today came about. The results of the study have now been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Project launch

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 MOSAiC Expedition

Adventure in the Ice

Two-and-a-half years from now, the research vessel Polarstern will depart on an adventurous expedition. For an entire year, the ship will drift through the Arctic, stuck in the pack ice. Using this approach, the researchers hope to gain new insights into climate change.