News

A data competence center for the Bremen region: In close cooperation within the U Bremen Research Alliance and with other partners, including the AWI, the University of Bremen is establishing a data competence center for the entire region. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the establishment of the center with more than 3.5 million euros. To the original press release.

What are the global impacts of an ice-free Arctic? How will the Arctic develop with increasing climate warming? What does an ice-free Arctic mean for our environment and our society? Researchers want to answer these questions with the "i2B - Into the Blue" project, looking back to the past and forward to the future. This project has now been funded with 12.5 million euros by a Synergy Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for six years. The project's proposers are Dr Jochen Knies and Research Prof Dr Stijn De Schepper from Norway, and climate…

On 23 October, the New Zealand Ambassador Craig Hawke was a guest at the AWI. AWI Director Antje Boetius welcomed him to Bremerhaven in the morning. Afterwards, all participants exchanged ideas with each other and presented their scientific work.

The Arctic Circle Assembly 2023 took place in Reykjavík from 19 to 21 October with over 700 speakers. Director Antje Boetius represented the AWI together with four other representatives. The topics ranged from science diplomacy to the use of AI. The Arctic Circle is the largest network of international dialogue and cooperation on the future of the Arctic. More information.

The European funded Horizon 2020 “NUNATARYUK”-project, led by the Alfred Wegener Institute, has carried out a comprehensive six-year investigation into the rapidly changing permafrost regions in the northern hemisphere. The project seeks to answer pressing questions about the role of permafrost thaw in the global climate system, and the consequences for ecosystems, the economy, and the people living in these regions. The culmination of this ambitious endeavour is the "Arctic Permafrost Atlas," a ground-breaking publication set to launch during the Arctic…

A team of experts from the Alfred Wegener Institute’s Physical Oceanography working group and led by Hongyan Xi presented the results of a long-term study in the recently released 7th Copernicus Ocean State Report (OSR7). The satellite data analysed by the team shows that, for the majority of phytoplankton groups in the Atlantic Ocean, the quantity has barely changed over the past 20 years. The findings shared in the OSR7 offer researchers and political decision-makers a comprehensive and up-to-date status assessment of the ocean and of European waters;…

After more than four years under construction, today (19 October 2023) an opening ceremony was held for the newly built Technical Centre on the new Climate Campus in Bremerhaven. In future, the Technical Centre is where the Alfred Wegener Institute will develop, test and prepare new equipment for use on expeditions. The project received 18.5 million euros of funding from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Federal State of Bremen. In honour of Alfred Wegener’s last companion, the building was named after the Greenlander…

The current political and social context raises the question of the future of academic mobility and the role of science. AWI Director and marine biologist Antje Boetius will join diplomat and journalist Ralf Beste and infectious disease specialist Beate Kampmann on a panel dedicated to this and related questions. It is part of the event "The future of academic mobility in a changing world" of the Einstein Foundation Berlin and will take place on 19 October. More information.

The transition from the last glacial period to the current warm period was marked by major Antarctic climate warming and concomitant atmospheric CO2 rise at ~18,000–11,000 years ago, whose origin may lay in the Southern Ocean. A study by former AWI researcher Henrik Sadatzki reveals that the Antarctic sea ice cover declined substantially at the transition from the last glacial period to the current warm period, playing a key role in driving significant deglacial climate and atmospheric CO2 changes. The findings contribute new important information to the…

"Sea Level Rise - what does this imply for Germany?" - this was the title of a parliamentary breakfast organised by the Helmholtz Platform SynCom. Glaciologist Ingo Sangen represented the AWI and gave a presentation on the topic "Polar perspective on a global risk". A fact sheet with information on sea level rise is available online. More info​​rmation.