The junior research groups at the Alfred Wegener Institute are funded by the Helmholtz Association, German Research Association and the European Research Council.
Observation of permafrost on Herschel Island (Photo: Boris Radosavljevic)
With the Helmholtz Junior Research Groups, the Helmholtz Association supports the early independence of young scientists and offers them a reliable career perspective. This programme is designed to provide outstanding working conditions in a research-oriented environment for the best foreign and domestic junior researchers. It is aimed at junior employees who have completed their doctorates within the past two to six years.
Schneedicken Messungen auf dem antarktischen Meereis (Photo: Alfred-Wegener-Institut)
The Emmy Noether Program of the German Research Foundation (DFG) offers outstanding young scientists the opportunity to qualify for a university professorship by independently leading a junior research group over a period of six years. Postdocs and junior professors with fixed-term contracts who are in the early stages of their scientific careers (usually up to four years after completing their doctorates) are eligible to apply. Junior professors who have received a positive interim evaluation are no longer eligible for the program.
Soil sampling on the Bykovsky Peninsula (Photo: Thomas Opel)
ERC Starting Grants support aspiring research group leaders who want to establish a well-equipped research team and conduct independent research in Europe. The programme is aimed at promising researchers with proven potential to become independent leaders of a new and excellent research team. It is aimed at junior employees who have completed their doctorates within the past two to seven years.
CLOC (Cosmic Links between Ocean Sediments and Ice Cores) uses cosmogenic radionuclides (10Be, 14C, 26Al, 36Cl) to date and synchronize environmental archives. Global fluctuations in the production rates of these radionuclides due to changes in the Earth's magnetic field and solar activity make it possible to link a wide variety of climate archives (ice cores, sediments, stalagmites) and regions and draw conclusions about the dynamics of past climate change.
The aim of SiDe-EFFECT – Silicic acid Decline Effect in the Arctic Ecosystem – is to assess the consequences of the decline in silicic acid concentration in the inflow of North Atlantic water into the Eurasian Arctic for the Arctic marine ecosystem using an ecosystem biology approach. By combining novel and classical approaches to study phytoplankton physiology, species diversity, and zooplankton interactions, we aim to improve current predictions about the fate of the Arctic Ocean in times of climate change
To better understand the role of jellyfish in Arctic seas, the Helmholtz Young Investigators Group ARJEL (ARctic JELlifish) will combine the latest technologies in optics, acoustics, and environmental DNA analysis. Integrative field studies will enable us to link jellyfish distribution patterns with sea ice and oceanographic characteristics. In addition, we will apply species distribution models to a broader set of archived data to understand the observed species patterns and predict changes under future scenarios.
Using modern biochemical methods, experimental approaches, and modeling techniques, Double-Trouble investigates the influence of global warming and anthropogenic pollution on the structure and functioning of the Central Arctic food web under current and future environmental conditions. The aim is to identify its vulnerability and resilience to ongoing environmental changes and human influences for future sustainable ecosystem management in the Central Arctic.
The Helmholtz Investigators Group “Southern Ocean & Antarctic Sea ice Evolution (SO-ASE)” is looking into the unexpected changes that have been seen in Antarctic sea ice over the last few decades and the need to reduce the uncertainties in polar climate projections for the future. SO-ASE aims to improve our understanding of the Antarctic climate, sea ice, and ocean systems using Earth system models and observations.
The group wants to understand why climate change in the Arctic is more pronounced than the global average, and how the exchange and transformation of air masses links the Arctic to the global climate system.
