• 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • AWIPEV Arctic Research Base

    AWIPEV Arctic Research Base Research Without Borders in the Arctic The Svalbard archipelago is located east of Greenland in the Arctic Ocean. The archipelago is home to Ny-Ålesund, one of the northernmost [...] 120 people from all over the world live together here. The small town is a hotspot of international Arctic research - eleven countries operate stations and research laboratories here. France and Germany maintain [...] from both countries have been conducting joint research on the effects of climate change in the Arctic as part of the Ny-Ålesund Research Station coordinated by Norway. The main task of the AWIPEV research

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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.

  • Arctic

    benthos. The Fram Strait essentially forms a connection between Arctic and Antlantic waters and due to the Fram Straits importance for global ocean circulation, it is vital to understand the physical but also [...] connectivity within the Arctic. Particular attention will be placed on assessing the contribution of small cells, imperceptible with traditional techniques, to export processes in the Arctic. [...] Hausgarten/FRAM (Frontiers in Arctic Marine Monitoring) Sampling stations in the Hausgarten observatory: Experimental sites (red circles), mooring sites (black triangles) The Hausgarten deep sea observatory