• what we do

      dition , the largest Arctic research expedition of our time, during which the research vessel “Polarstern” was frozen in the Arctic ice for a year to study the effects of climate change. Scientists from [...] from the subtropics and Arctic cold fronts? Antarctic expeditions on board the research icebreaker Polarstern take us to the stormy seas of the “Furious Fifties” and “Screaming Sixties” and to the majestic

    • Dr. Holger Schmithüsen

      Holger.Schmithuesen@awi.de
      +49(471)4831-1806
      Klußmannstraße 1, 27570 Bremerhaven

    • BEMO

      Seafloor Tools for Integrative Management of Marine Protected Areas Seafloor of the Weddell Sea. RV Polarstern expedition PS118 (2019). (Photo: Autun Purser (AWI) (Photo: Alfred-Wegener-Institut) BEnToolsMaPs:

    • Research at the Filchner Outflow System

      changes for the biodiversity in this area. Physical, biogeochemical and ecological studies with Polarstern in the FOS in the southern Weddell Sea shall characterize this hotspot in detail in order to recognize

    • Investigating unexplored ocean currents to the north of Greenland

      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 north and northeast of Greenland, a

    • 5 years Welcome back MOSAiC

      It was the largest Arctic expedition in history: on 12 October 2020 our research vessel Polarstern returned after a year-long drift.

    • Polarstern – Expedition into the Eternal Ice

    • Training Capacity Exchange

      secure the oceans as a sustainable resource. *** New training expedition Nov-Dec 2025 on board RV Polarstern *** Venue and Background The Nippon Foundation-POGO Centre of Excellence (NF-POGO CofE) provides

    • The new Polarstern features a high-tech heart

      The centrepiece of the new construction project for the Polarstern's successor is now taking shape: by the end of August, TKMS, Wärtsilä, Steerprop and Aker Arctic had inked the contracts for the entire

    • Unique concept for observing Arctic sea ice successfully implemented

      The Polarstern recently ended a two-month expedition in the Central Arctic in Longyearbyen, Svalbard. The international and interdisciplinary research team, led by the Alfred Wegener Institute, focused