The scarcely explored region to the north of Greenland was the area of study in the last of three Arctic expeditions undertaken by the Polarstern since the end of May 2025. In the largely untraveled waters [...] oceanographer Torsten Kanzow of the Alfred Wegener Institute were able to collect unique data on ocean circulation in the area. A chain of six moorings was also deployed to conduct autonomous measurements

Ocean Eddies
In a new study, researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) investigated the long-term changes in the Arctic Ocean eddy activity [...] study reveals a remarkable surge in Arctic eddy activity in a warmer climate, a trend that is probably unparalleled when compared to other regions across the global ocean.

in various research areas: Climate and Geoscience (atmosphere, ocean, ice and land), Coastal and Shelf Sea Systems, Terrestrial Arctic Ecosystems and Permafrost, Marine and Polar Life, Aquaculture, Bionics

the impact of the Arctic on global climate. In addition to this major campaign, numerous field work activities take place every year in the mainland Arctic and in the adjacent Arctic Ocean. The coast plays [...] drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate ). From fall 2019 to fall 2020, the German research icebreaker POLARSTERN drifted frozen through the Arctic Ocean. The data collected will be valuable [...] Ecological processes in the terrestrial Arctic: Prof. Dr. Ulrike Herzschuh • Permafrost processes in the Arctic: Prof. Dr. Guido Grosse • Atmospheric processes in the Arctic: Prof. Dr. Markus Rex AWI Research

roughly two-thirds of global sea-level rise; the remaining third is primarily due to the warming of the oceans, which causes seawater to expand. Accordingly, the development of our planet’s ice sheets and glaciers [...] and that ice-loss processes have been set in motion that will have lasting consequences. In the Arctic, temperatures are rising twice as quickly as the global average; as a result, the Greenland ice sheet’s

Polar bear mother and cup in the Arctic ocean Automatic Marine Mammal Mitigation by Infrared Imaging Use of loud seismic airguns and naval sonars in marine surveys is feared to potentially injure whales [...] adjustment. ARK 27.3 Aug - Oct 2012 1563h operational Operation of FIRST-Navy infrared imager in the Arctic Ocean. (+) Successful operation of sensor for entire expedtion without any member of the IR team on [...] hindrance which is less prevalent in off-shore seismic and renewable energy construction settings. Arctic Ocean PS101 Sep-Oct 2016 Ship based operation of FIRST-Navy infrared imager on RV Polarstern. (+) O

and O. Schrems, Tropospheric ozone depletion in polar regions: A comparison of observations in the Arctic and Antarctic. Tellus, 50B, 34-50, 1998. Frieß, U., J. Hollwedel, G. König-Langlo, T. Wagner, and [...] half-life time of 3.82 days. The main source is emission of 222 Rn from terrestrial soil, while the oceanic source strength (with two order of magnitude lower emission rates) can usually considered as negligible [...] However, in case of Neumayer continental sources are far away and our measurements indicate that oceanic emissions significantly contribute to the measured signal and especially to the seasonal maximum

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

record levels found in Arctic sea ice Find out more > BBC | 24.04.2018 Record concentration of microplastics found in Arctic Find out more > Dialogue & Lectures Policy advice Arctic Monitoring & Assessment [...] in the oceans is a current and growing problem, since every year several million metric tons of plastic find their way from the land to the water. Plastic particles are broken down in the ocean by sunlight [...] Climate change is especially putting the polar regions under pressure. Environmental changes in the Arctic result primarily from the decline in the area of sea ice and the decrease in its thickness, since

flux in polar oceans In both Polar Regions, areas covered by sea ice are shrinking due to climate warming. What are the consequences of sea ice decline in the Arctic and the Antarctic Ocean? Answering this [...] and nature conservation in the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans under environmental change. The research project investigates ice-covered deep-sea ecosystems in the Arctic and Antarctic sea ice zones. Iceflux