• Experimental work at the deep seafloor

    deep Arctic Ocean. Deep-Sea Research I 73(3): 31-45. Freese, D., Schewe, I., Kanzog, C., Soltwedel, T., Klages, M. (2012): Recolonisation of new habitats by meiobenthic organisms in the deep Arctic Ocean: [...] small benthic biota to decreasing food availability, which is a common scenario for the changing Arctic Ocean, we installed cages (2 x 2 m in dimension, 50 cm in height) at the deep seafloor (2500 m water [...] (2009): Response of benthic microbial communities to chitin enrichment: an in-situ study in the deep Arctic Ocean. Polar Biology 32(1): 105-112. Gallucci, F., Fonseca, G., Soltwedel, T. (2008): Effects of megafauna

  • Implementation

    species we work with in the Southern Ocean are krill, specifically Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba and the gelatinous pelagic tunicate Salpa thompsoni . In the Arctic Ocean, we work with the krill species

  • Projects

    Antarctic food web in the global ocean, our project has a large societal relevance enabling us to predict the consequences of global warming for the Southern Polar Ocean. Participants Prof. Dr. Bettina [...] in a warming Southern Ocean (PEKRIS II) Project description Antarctic krill ( Euphausia superba ) is a key structural element for the functional biodiversity of the Southern Ocean ecosystem and an important [...] effects of climate changes on the ecosystem of the Southern Ocean and support a more adaptive risk assessment of the krill fishery in the Southern Ocean. Participants Prof. Dr. Bettina Meyer (AWI/ICBM) (Principal

  • Nicole Biebow

    The polar regions are a key driving force for the Earth's climate and oceans. With the Alfred Wegener Institute's research in the Arctic and Antarctic, we contribute to the understanding of the global climate [...] relating to the Arctic and Antarctic and is designated by the European Union as a central element of its joint polar research strategy. Another important EU project is ARICE, the Arctic Research Icebreaker [...] Icebreaker Consortium. Within its framework, international coordination of ship-based research in the Arctic is being expanded. ARICE will also give scientists from different countries access to a number of

  • Annual sea ice minimum in the Arctic

    Arctic Ocean
    The sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean reached its annual minimum of 4.81 million square kilometres on 12 September 2021. As such, the 2021 Arctic sea-ice minimum comes in at 12th place

  • Passive Acoustic Monitoring - AWI OZA

    Maps of the Arctic and Antarctic with underwater sound recording sites occupied by the AWI Ocean Acoustics group since 2006. PALAOA (PerenniAL Acoustic Observatory in the Antarctic Ocean) Between 2006 [...] in the Antarctic Ocean, or “whale” in Hawaiian. attached, since 2008, to deep-sea mooring of the oceanographic Hybrid Antarctic Float Observatory (HAFOS) and the Frontiers in Arctic Marine Science (FRAM) [...] seals, fish and invertebrates between Spitsbergen and Greenland. Further moorings in the adjacent Arctic Ocean extend this array slightly to the North. MAP of FRAM moorings hosting PAM recorders an AZFPs.

  • 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

  • Current research

    climate state. doi: 10.1038/NGEO2974 . How the Arctic Ocean became saline FS Heincke in Spitsbergen (Photo: Alfred-Wegener-Institut) [06 June 2017] The Arctic Ocean was once a gigantic freshwater lake. Only [...] Atlantic-Arctic Ocean circulation controlled by the subsidence of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge. Nature Communications. doi: 10.1038/NCOMMS15681 . 2016 Intensification and poleward shift of oceanic boundary [...] present the ocean surface net heat flux. Positive values mean that the ocean release heat to the atmosphere, and [28 June 2016] Global warming results in fundamental changes to important ocean currents.

  • Seismology on drifting sea ice

    a seismic station on sea ice Seismic station installed on drifting sea ice In the ice-covered Arctic Ocean we also use seismic land stations deployed on drifting ice floes to record small earthquakes.

  • Meltwater influences ecosystems in the Arctic Ocean

    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 [...] 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.