• 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

  • The Transpolar Drift is faltering – and sea ice is now melting before it can leave the nursery

    Arctic Ocean
    The dramatic loss of ice in the Arctic is influencing sea-ice transport across the Arctic Ocean. As experts from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research [...] percent of the sea ice that forms in the shallow Russian marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean actually reaches the Central Arctic, where it joins the Transpolar Drift; the remaining 80 percent of the young [...] development not only takes us one step closer to an ice-free summer in the Arctic; as the sea ice dwindles, the Arctic Ocean stands to lose an important means of transporting nutrients, algae and sediments

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • ARCGATE

    ut) The Arctic boundary has been observed over many years to better understand and monitor the exchanges between the Arctic Ocean and its neighboring oceans. The unique geometry of the Arctic—surrounded [...] the Arctic Ocean with hydrographic observation lines (Figure 1). A method to treat the Arctic as a single box bounded by hydrographic lines and land has been developed recent years. This pan-Arctic approach [...] monitor the major oceanic heat and FW exchanges between the Arctic Ocean and surrounding Oceans? (2) Where is the most efficient place to add additional instruments to increase the accuracy of measurements?

  • Projects

    ARCGATE The Arctic boundary has been observed over many years to better understand and monitor the exchanges between the Arctic Ocean and its neighboring oceans. The unique geometry of the Arctic—surrounded [...] Polarstern set sail from Tromsø to drift in the Arctic Ocean for a year—trapped in the ice. The goal of the MOSAiC expedition was to study the Arctic, the epicenter of global warming, more closely than… [...] 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

  • Brochures and Reports

    the Weddell Sea Arctic Council Shipping in the Arctic Arctic and Antarctic – more differences than similarities? Arctic Governance Tourismus in Polar Regions EU Engagement in the Arctic Environmental Protection [...] Climate change in the Arctic Climate change and the Southern Ocean Climate change and the North Sea Climate change and the ocean Permafrost Information on Governance Svalbard Germany in Arctic research The c [...] Protection in the Polar Regions Knowledge on fish and their ecology in the Arctic Ocean Brochures AWI image brochure Brochure FRAM FOCUS on: Climate Research Brochure Coastal Research Brochure Climate Research

  • Torsten Kanzow

    Institute and Professor at the University of Bremen. Ocean currents Ocean topography of polar regions Ocean-ice sheet interaction Sea level Ocean currents play various important roles in the climate and in ecosystems [...] the two polar regions makes the Arctic and Southern Oceans key regions in the context of ocean circulation. At the AWI, we investigate the characteristics and role of ocean currents through interdisciplinary [...] mid-latitudes to the Arctic and Antarctic. Once there, this heat can delay the formation of sea ice or cause the floes to melt more rapidly. This applies to the ice covering the Arctic Ocean, as well as to the

  • Further Projects

    Observing System ( ArcticROOS ) working with ocean observation and modelling systems for the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas has been established within the EuroGOOS initiative. ArcticROOS will promote, develop [...] only open-ocean LTER site. LTER-D is a member in the international LTER umbrella organisation ILTER and in the European regional network LTER-Europe. Contact: T. Soltwedel ArcticROOS (Arctic Regional Ocean [...] Ocean Observing System) Project within the GOOS/EuroGOOS initiative Since 2006 Coordinator: Stein Sandven, Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC), Norway An Arctic Regional Ocean Observing