News

Photosynthesis in near darkness

Research team publishes new results of the MOSAiC project

[04. September 2024]  Photosynthesis can take place in nature even at extremely low light levels. This is the result of an international study that investigated the development of Arctic microalgae at the end of the polar night. The measurements were carried out as part of the MOSAiC expedition at 88° northern latitude and revealed that even this far north, microalgae can build up biomass through photosynthesis as early as the end of March. At this time, the sun is barely above the horizon, so that it is still almost completely dark in the microalgae's habitat under the snow and ice cover of the Arctic Ocean. The results of the study now published in the journal Nature Communications show that photosynthesis in the ocean is possible under much lower light conditions, and can therefore take…

YESSS – Kick-off for a year-long research marathon in the Arctic

[28. August 2024]  In the Arctic Archipelago Svalbard, this August roughly 20 experts from seven German universities and research centres set up their labs and instruments for the polar research project YESSS (Year-round EcoSystem Study on Svalbard). Coordinated by the AWI, YESSS is intended to yield new insights into climate change effects. To help make that a reality, a small team of researchers – and this is the unique aspect – will also spend the long, dark seasons at AWIPEV research station in Ny-Ålesund, the northernmost town in the world. 

Change of staff in coastal research: AWI Vice Director Prof Karen Wiltshire to helm new climate institute at Trinity College Dublin

In July, the AWI’s Vice Director for Coastal Research and Director of the Biological Institute Helgoland transfered to Trinity College Dublin, where she will head a newly founded climate institute. At the AWI, she is succeeded by aquatic ecologist Prof Ma

[19. August 2024]  In 2001, Prof Karen Wiltshire began investigating changes in the ecosystems of the North Sea, particularly in the Wadden Sea, in connection with anthropogenic and natural influences – like climate change – at the Alfred Wegener Institute. After working more than two decades in the High North, she assumed a new position at Trinity College Dublin and will found a new climate institute in the Irish capital. Prof Maarten Boersma, currently Speaker for the Biosciences Division at the AWI, is assuming her duties since 1 July. 

A belly full of jelly

Fish in Greenlandic waters consume significantly more jellyfish than previously assumed. This changes the understanding and role of jellyfish in marine ecosystems

[14. August 2024]  For a long time, scientists assumed that jellyfish were a dead-end food source for predatory fish. However, a team from the Alfred Wegener Institute together with the Thünen Institute has now discovered that fish in Greenland waters do indeed feed on jellyfish. The results suggest that the role of jellyfish as prey in marine food webs should be reconsidered, especially in regards to the fact that they could be profiting from climate change and spreading farther and farther north.

What dangers lie in industrial contaminated sites in permafrost?

A research team led by the Alfred Wegener Institute investigates environmental risks from drilling mud pits in Canada's Mackenzie Delta

[12. August 2024]  Industrial waste lurks in thousands of sites in the Arctic permafrost regions – some of it is highly toxic. If the permafrost thaws increasingly deeper due to the massive warming of the Arctic deeper and becomes unstable, ecosystems and the local communities can be endangered by the waste. In August, researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute, together with national and international partners, therefore, keep a close eye on drilling mud pits in the Mackenzie Delta in which residues from oil and gas exploration are stored. The expedition is part of the joint project “ThinIce”.

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