Polarstern departs for the Arctic

in the Arctic: the AWI’s Hausgarten observatory in the Fram Strait, where experts from various disciplines are investigating all aspects of the ecosystem, from the water’s surface to the ocean depths, [...] in order to determine the impacts of climate change on biodiversity in the Arctic. After roughly a month underway, in mid-September Polarstern will reach the Norwegian port of Tromsø, where she’ll receive [...] her final preparations for the one-year-long MOSAiC expedition, prior to leaving for the Central Arctic on 20 September.

Polarstern Expedition to the Arctic Ice

Today, the research vessel Polarstern will depart on a seven-week-long voyage to the Arctic, where the onset of summer also marks the beginning of the annual sea-ice melting. Over the past 40 years, the [...] zone, the team of researchers on board will investigate how heat fluxes and water layering in the ocean, as well as the characteristics of the ice, interact and influence melting. A further focus of the

Eyewitnesses to Arctic Change

of sea ice retreat on the entire ocean system from the surface to the deep sea. Eleven years ago, Antje Boetius was part of the largest ever sea ice minumum in the Arctic and its consequences for life in [...] the North Pole. For two months, a good fifty scientific expedition participants will explore the Arctic in transition as sea ice extent reaches its annual minimum in September. They will explore the biology [...] in the deep sea. Now she is returning with her team to compare the state of the Arctic today - also with the data from the MOSAiC expedition 2019/20.

Pioneering research reveals Arctic matter pathways poised for major shifts amidst climate change

Siberian river systems into the central Arctic and the North Atlantic. This material affects Arctic biogeochemistry and ecosystems, while the fresh water itself alters ocean circulation. The Alfred Wegener Institute [...] suspended matter from the Siberian shelves across the central Arctic towards the Fram Strait channel, which connects to the Nordic Seas. This cross-Arctic flow influences the delivery of both natural substances [...] known as the Transpolar Draft, operates. It also uncovers the various factors controlling this major Arctic surface current, including warmer temperatures which could increase the spread of human-made pollutants

Arctic Office

German Arctic Office The Arctic has become a key area where changes may raise complex sociopolitical issues of global importance. The development of the Arctic will affect Germany, Europe and the whole [...] working in the Arctic for more than 30 years. It is one of the few institutions worldwide with long-term interdisciplinary scientific research the northern polar region and the Arctic Ocean - from the seabed [...] in the Arctic Region, and informs German stakeholders from science, politics and industry with consitent information from the global Arctic research community. Forums and Events The German Arctic Office

Physical Oceanography

Observations in the Arctic Ocean The Arctic is an environment where global climate change is strongly manifested. The Arctic Amplification, represented by the atmospheric warming trend in the Arctic being about [...] deep oceans. We explore the importance of physical processes in the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans for a changing climate and the polar ecosystems. Polarstern in der Arktis / Polarstern in the Arctic Contact [...] Hoppmann @ awi.de Our Team Main research topics of our group Physical Oceanography of the Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean and the Nordic Seas are integral parts of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

Main Research Topics

Observations in the Arctic Ocean The Arctic is an environment where global climate change is strongly manifested. The Arctic Amplification, represented by the atmospheric warming trend in the Arctic being about [...] Main Research Topics Physical Oceanography of the Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean and the Nordic Seas are integral parts of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, and hence key regions for the [...] the global climate. The perennial sea ice cover makes the Arctic Ocean distinct from subarctic oceans – the presence of… Find out more PhytoOptics Analytical bio-optical techniques are applied to extract

Freshwater fluxes

the Eurasian shelf seas. Ocean waters with salinities below the average salinity of the Arctic Ocean also contribute positively to the fresh water balance of the Arctic Ocean. Such waters flow in from [...] shows the total Arctic (liquid + sea ice) freshwater content (integrated in the area in blue on the map) freFresh water content cha (Graphic: T. Kovacs, Alfred-Wegener-Institut) The Arctic Ocean receives freshwater [...] interchange of waters between the Arctic and the Nordic seas results in in seasaw fluctuations in fresh water content between the basins. To reach an equilibrium, the Arctic Ocean must on averageexport freshwater

Long-term Observations

Long-term observations in the Arctic and Southern Ocean Arctic Ocean The Arctic is an environment where global climate change is strongly manifested. The Arctic Amplification, represented by the atmospheric [...] atmospheric warming trend in the Arctic being about three times that of the global average, is also manifested in sea-ice and… Find out more Southern Ocean The oceans are key elements of the global climate [...] system, not at last due to their ability to extract and store heat and CO2 from the atmosphere. Polar oceans are of particular Find out more

UDASH

Since the early 20th century hydrographic measurements have been carried out in the Arctic Ocean. Although today the Arctic is a hotspot of climate change, data sampling is still sparse due to the large sea [...] climate studies in the Arctic Ocean. Many of the collected data are publicly available, but scattered across different electronic archives. Consequently, scientists working on Arctic climate change have to [...] awi.de The „Unified Database for Arctic and Subarctic Hydrography“ (UDASH) is an attempt to gather all publicly available temperature and salinity data for the Arctic Ocean and to provide them on a high quality