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Programmed Multicopter Flies Through the Arctic Autonomously
How do you successfully pilot a remote-controlled helicopter in the remote expanses of the Arctic Ocean when the compass can’t provide reliable positioning data? Engineers on board the Alfred Wegener Institute’s research icebreaker Polarstern specially programmed a multicopter, allowing it to navigate despite the deviations produced by the Earth’s magnetic field near the North Pole. The researchers recently celebrated the copter’s first successful autonomous flight and landing on an ice floe.
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Federal President Gauck opens Sail 2015
Everything revolves around the Sail 2015 in Bremerhaven these days. Germany's Federal President Joachim Gauck opened the international windjammer festival - which happens every five years - on Wednesday 12 August. He took part in the "Sail-in" on board the historic polar research vessel Grönland (built in 1867) owned by the German Maritime Museum (Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum). AWI director Karin Lochte was a guest of honour.
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Change of Staff in the Directorate of the Alfred Wegener Institute
Dr Uwe Nixdorf is the new Vice Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). As resolved by the Board of Governors, on 1 August 2015 he assumed his office as a new member of the Directorate, joining Prof Karin Lochte (Director), Dr Karsten Wurr (Administrative Director) and Prof Karen Wiltshire (Vice Director).
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Minister President Albig visits the AWI Helgoland
The Minister President of the German federal state Schleswig-Holstein Torsten Albig visited Helgoland. During this year's summer trip he was guest at the Open Sea School laboratory of the Alfred Wegener Institute last Friday.
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First sunrise for the Antarctic wintering team
On July 27th the members of the wintering team at the Neumayer Station III have seen the sun for the first time since May 21st. The polar night officially ended on July 22nd in Atka Bay. But the wind blew with 20 metres per second and snowfall prevented the nine-member crew from watching the sun rising after two months.
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Argentinean ambassador visited the AWI Bremerhaven
The Argentinean ambassador in Germany, Daniel Polski, visited the AWI Bremerhaven today. In talks with AWI director Prof Dr Karin Lochte and several other AWI scientists the guest got to know more details about the institute itself and the long and successful German-Argentinean cooperation in Antarctica.
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Ban Ki-moon visits AWI research base
Together with AWI researchers and the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Norway Ban Ki-moon launched a radio-sonde. He was impressed by the balloon and the technical possibilities. In front of the glacier he called for action against the climate change.
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Research Vessel Heincke: Serving Science for 25 years
A quarter of a century old, with over 900,000 kilometres (488,842 nautical miles) logged and still on the cutting edge of science and technology: 8 July 2015 will mark the Research Vessel Heincke’s 25th “birthday”. Staff from the Alfred Wegener Institute, which operates the Heincke, take part in expeditions with the ship just as often as fellow researchers and students from Germany and abroad.
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The oceans can’t take any more: researchers fear a fundamental change in the oceans – even if greenhouse emissions are successfully reduced
Our oceans need an immediate and substantial reduction of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. If that doesn’t happen, we could see far-reaching and largely irreversible impacts on marine ecosystems, which would especially be felt in developing countries. That’s the conclusion of a new review study published today in the journal Science.
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From science to policy
How communicate researchers their scientific knowledge? And how is it carried to policy makers? These were two of the questions that were discussed in one of the "Arctic Discussion Series" in Potsdam.
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