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Representatives from over 170 countries as well as from science, civil society and industry are meeting in Switzerland From 5 to 14 August, continuing the negotiations for a legally binding agreement to tackle the global plastic pollution.

A new study, led by the Lancaster University and involving the Alfred Wegener Institute, reveals how, under extreme conditions, melt water flooding underneath the ice can force its way upwards through the ice and escape at the ice sheet surface. Researchers observed this phenomenon for the first time in Greenland and described it in detail in the journal Nature Geoscience. It sheds new light on the destructive potential of meltwater stored beneath the ice sheet.

Since 1980, the AWI has been researching changes to the climate, ice and oceans in the Arctic, the Antarctic and the North Sea. Data from expeditions, long-term measurements, modelling and numerous research projects over the past 45 years have improved our understanding of global environmental change. This has all been made possible by the great commitment of many people in the fields of research, engineering, logistics and administration. Thank you to everyone who has helped shape this journey.
 

Waves, as we see them on the beach or at sea, are so-called gravity waves. They are created because the Earth's gravity pulls the water downwards. In addition to these waves that we see on the surface, there are also waves that form inside the ocean. They can grow as large as skyscrapers, travel thousands of kilometres and have a major impact on the transport of heat and nutrients. When they break, the surrounding ocean water is mixed. Oceanographer Dr Friederike Pollmann and her new Junior Researcher Group Artemics (Arctic internal wave energetics and…

Continuous, high-precision temperature measurements under the extreme conditions of the polar regions are the aim of a new borehole measurement system, now funded by the European Union as an ERC Proof of Concept Grant with 150,000 euros for 1.5 years.

For years, scientists have debated whether a massive, kilometre-thick ice shelf once covered the entire Arctic Ocean during the coldest phases of the Ice Ages. A new study, now published in Science Advances, questions this idea. The research team found no evidence of such a permanent, pan-Arctic ice shelf. Instead, the Arctic Ocean appears to have been covered by seasonal sea ice, allowing open water—and life—to persist even during the harshest glacial periods of the past 750,000 years. This discovery sheds new light on how the Arctic has responded to…

One of the most current topics in climate research is the impact of extreme events such as heat waves or cold spells on biological communities in ecosystems. The consequences of climate change can be seen particularly clearly in the Arctic, as the region is warming faster than the rest of the world. It therefore offers scientists a unique opportunity to better understand processes and relationships between environmental factors such as temperature, soil or nutrients and biological communities. In a recent study published in the journal Scientific…

A unique ice core is currently being examined in the Alfred Wegener Institute's ice laboratory: the oldest continuous ice core that has ever been drilled on Earth. As part of the EU-funded Beyond EPICA - Oldest Ice project, a research consortium set up a drilling camp on the high plateau in East Antarctica in 2019. Up until January 2025, international teams drilled over 2,800 metres of continuous ice during the Antarctic summer months. This ice core includes air bubbles that enable direct measurements of greenhouse gases from the last 1.2 million years…

Accompanied by neuroscientist Maren Urner, a group of students from the „Sustainable Transformation Design“ degree programme at FH Münster visited the AWI. Their agenda was filled with lectures on sustainability, science and science communication. Topics included, for example, the connection between the climate crisis and the food system as well as the potential that the sea offers for sustainable nutrition. Another highlight of the programme was a tour of the Centre of Aquaculture Research.

On Wednesday, 2 July 2025, the Polarstern will set sail from Tromsø, Norway, embarking on an expedition to the Arctic Ocean. Over the next two months, an international research team will analyse the feedback effects between global warming and sea ice retreat in the Arctic Ocean. The investigations will focus on the differences in the melting of various sea ice types – representing the Arctic of the past decades, the present and the future. A parallel airborne campaign will complement the measurements and, at the outset of the expedition, the Polarstern…