the thickness of the Arctic sea ice is steadily declining and meltwater pools are increasingly forming in summer, covering large areas of the Arctic sea ice, both the ice and the ocean below absorb more solar [...] between the ocean and atmosphere sea ice modulates the flow of energy, kinetic force, salt, moisture and trace gases between the two components. Though our knowledge of the sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic [...] data are needed in order to validate our computer models and depict the realities of sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic as precisely as possible using computers. If we succeed in this detail work, we’ll

North. Arctic Council https://arctic-council.org/en/ The Arctic Council is the leading intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States, Arctic Indigenous [...] the Arctic play in the Earth system? What characterizes the Arctic environment? What changed in the Arctic over the last decades? What is permafrost? How does thawing permafrost affect the Arctic environment [...] permafrost connects to the Arctic climate explain how the Arctic residents and economy depend on the Arctic environment the relationship between the Arctic environment and especially permafrost assess the

SF6 record Our SF6 observational network data comprise: (1) long- term data records from Alert (Arctic), Izaña (sub-tropics, Tenerife Island), Cape Grim (Tasmania, Australia), and Neu- mayer (Antarctica) [...] (Antarctica), (2) two meridional profiles collected in November 1990 and November 1993 over the Atlantic Ocean (50◦ N to 68◦ S), (3) regular vertical aircraft pro- files over the Rhine Valley (Germany), Syktyvkar [...] Observations at the four globally distributed stations and along meridional transects over the Atlantic Ocean show relatively uniform SF6 mixing ratios north of 30◦ N, and south of about 15◦ S. A nearly linear

N. and Dommergue, A. (2018): Atmospheric Transport Pathways to Antarctica and the Remote Southern Ocean using Radon-222, Frontiers in Earth Science, 6. doi: 10.3389/feart.2018.00190 Weller, R., Legrand [...] Schrems, O. (1998): Tropospheric ozone depletion in polar regions - A comparison of observations in the Arctic and Antarctic, Tellus, Vol. 50B, pp. 34-50, www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3402/tellusb.v50i1

N. and Dommergue, A. (2018): Atmospheric Transport Pathways to Antarctica and the Remote Southern Ocean using Radon-222, Frontiers in Earth Science, 6. doi: 10.3389/feart.2018.00190 Weller, R., Legrand [...] Schrems, O. (1998): Tropospheric ozone depletion in polar regions - A comparison of observations in the Arctic and Antarctic, Tellus, Vol. 50B, pp. 34-50, www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3402/tellusb.v50i1

Arctic Ocean
The Arctic has a serious litter problem: in just ten years, the concentration of marine litter at a deep-sea station in the Arctic Ocean has risen 20-fold. This was recently reported in

is thought to be the warming of Atlantic water that flows from Europe’s Norwegian Sea into the Arctic Ocean, passing through the Barents Sea and the Fram Strait in the process. However, not all the Atlantic [...] In the last few decades, the Arctic sea ice has receded ever further, including increasingly in winter when the extent of sea ice is at its most prominent. One of the main drivers of this development is

(Photo: Alfred Wegener Institut) The research vessel Polarstern operates in the southern and arctic ocean. As an icebreaker RV Polarstern enables to enter ice covered polar areas and to conduct diving [...] research village (Kongsfjorden - West Spitsbergen). (Photo: Max Schwanitz) The northernmost permanent arctic research station of the AWI (AWIPEV Station - till 2005 Koldewey-Station) is located in the small [...] offers a wide range of muddy, sandy and rocky habitats with a wide variety of endemic underwater Arctic flora and fauna. The AWIPEV dive base is operated for about 6 month per year upon request by scientific

(Neumayer-Station III) Infrasound (Neumayer-Station III) Biology North Sea Arctic (Fram and Svalbard) Antarctic Oceanography Arctic Time series Antarctic time series Terrestrial time series Samoylov Bayelva [...] terrestrial ecosystems and therefore mankind, is exceedingly difficult. The study of atmospheric, open ocean, deep sea or even processes in shallow coastal waters require sustained long-term observations often [...] position in that its scientists jointly generate a particularly large set of time series, in the Arctic, Antarctic as well as the North Sea. These data are used in the context of AWI research programmes

this region, ocean currents from lower latitudes impact the sea water temperature, and the ocean is a heat storage affecting the local climate. Although Ny-Ålesund is situated in the high Arctic (78.9°N, 11 [...] Long Term Observations Surface Meteorology in the Arctic (AWIPEV Research Base in Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen) Ny-Ålesund from above. (Photo: Alfred Wegener Institut) Ny-Ålesund is located on a fjord at the [...] risen by 1.1° C per decade, while the strongest warming is observed during the winter season. The 'Arctic Amplification' of global warming is analysed under various aspects by measurements and model simulations