• Chronicle

    Polarstern returns from the “Trans-Arctic Survey of the Arctic in Transition” (TransArc) expedition, intended to record physical, biological and chemical changes in the Arctic Ocean. One highlight of the expedition: [...] 2012-10.2012 – During the Polarstern’s 27th stay in the Arctic and in the context of the “Sea ice - ocean - seafloor interactions in the changing Arctic” (IceAr) expedition, e.g. long-term changes in this [...] on yet another Arctic expedition – its 29th. The expedition, officially designated “Transitions in the Arctic Seasonal Sea Ice Zone” (TRANSSIZ), was planned by the international “Arctic in Rapid Transition”

  • Circulation in the Arctic Ocean and the Nordic Seas

    the Arctic Mediterranean. The Arctic Ocean freshwater budget The Arctic Ocean freshwater budget A particular feature of the Arctic Ocean is the enormous freshwater surplus. The upper Arctic Ocean receives [...] cover makes the Arctic Ocean distinct from subarctic oceans – the presence of ice, as well as ice formation and melt significantly shape the circulation and water masses of both the Arctic Ocean and the Nordic [...] Circulation in the Arctic Ocean and the Nordic Seas The Arctic Ocean and the Nordic Seas are integral parts of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, and hence key regions for the global climate

  • Climate Modelling

    coupled Arctic climate system with the overall aim to (i) improve our understanding and model representation of key climate processes in the Arctic and (ii) to improve our understanding of Arctic – midlatitude [...] the observed drastic Arctic climate changes and the uncertainty in Arctic climate projections is large. That arises, in large part, from gaps in our understanding of key Arctic processes and feedbacks [...] national and international research projects, such as AC3 , REKLIM , Arctic CORDEX , PolarRES , and WarmWorld . Background The phenomenon of Arctic amplification has a suite of causes, which include various i

  • Climate Sciences

    systems across the Arctic and Antarctic, using research vessels, such as the icebreaker Polarstern , observatories, aircrafts, and satellites to capture the evolving dynamics of the ocean, atmosphere, sea [...] climate is shaped by intricate physical and biogeochemical processes in the atmosphere, cryosphere, and ocean. Understanding these processes – especially in the rapidly changing polar regions where the changes

  • Climate change threatens Arctic polar cod stocks

    Arctic cod is the most abundant fish in the Arctic Ocean. It is an important food source for Arctic marine mammals and plays an important role in the self-sufficiency of the Inuit. An international study [...] now evaluated the most important scientific work on Arctic cod of the past decades. The conclusion: Above all, the already advanced decline in arctic sea ice cover as a result of man-made climate change

  • Climate modelling

    reflect in detail processes in the ocean, which have a major influence on the climate. In response, the AWI has developed a special ocean model (FESOM), which simulates e.g. ocean currents and sea ice. For their [...] All around the world, there are natural climate archives – the sediments on the ocean floor, ancient ice in the Arctic and Antarctic, wood for tree-ring analyses, and more. These archives contain what [...] computer programmes used to simulate reality: the motion of air masses, radiation from the sun, and ocean currents – they’re all climate-relevant processes that, with the aid of mathematical formulas, can

  • Climate refugee Cod

    Agreement is not achieved. Under conditions of further warming and acidification of the ocean, Atlantic cod and its arctic relative polar cod would be forced to look for new habitats in the far north. Their [...] dwindle. If so, this could be disastrous, as the polar cod is the most important food source for Arctic seals and seabirds. In addition, fishers could lose the world’s most productive area for catching

  • Coastal carbon sinks protect permafrost material from decomposition

    show, part of the biomass released becomes trapped in deep sinks on the ocean floor off the Arctic coast – where it is protected from microbial decomposition. The outcomes of their analyses are intended [...] Permafrost
    The Arctic is warming more strongly than any other region on Earth, which leads to serious erosion of coasts where organic matter was frozen in the permafrost for thousands of years. Once [...] Once eroded material is released into the ocean, microorganisms break down ancient plant remains, releasing sizable quantities of greenhouse gases. Yet, as the latest analyses conducted by AWI experts show

  • Coastlines’ contribution to climate change possibly underestimated

    result of accelerated climate change, whole sections of coastline rapidly thaw, and erode into the Arctic Ocean. A new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters now shows that large amounts [...] of carbon dioxide are potentially being produced along these eroding permafrost coastlines in the Arctic.

  • Completed Projects

    increased to 1 km in the whole Arctic Ocean and further refined to subkilometer scales at the MOSAiC sites. The decades-long eddy-resolving model results for the Arctic Ocean and the well-evaluated and documented [...] variability of the Arctic Ocean and the cryosphere on time scales of decades to millennia and to use these results to robustly assess the impact of projected future climate changes on the Arctic. Deniz Aydin [...] Changing Arctic" (EPICA) is a BMBF funded project that will use high-resolution modeling and observations to understand the properties and impacts of (sub)mesoscale eddies in the Arctic Ocean, especially