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A combination of multiple stressors reduces the acclimation potential of Atlantic herring larvae. A recent study shows that an increased temperatures and bacterial exposure together impair the larval stress response. The outcomes of the study highlight the high sensitivity of herring early life stages towards multiple climate change-related stressors. The study was published in the journal Science of the Total Environment by scientists from the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg (HIFMB), the Alfred…

National and international water policy must adapt to ongoing, accelerated changes in the global water cycle and respond to them quickly and comprehensively. This is the key message of the WBGU report 'Water in a heated world', which the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) today presented to Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke and the Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Mario Brandenburg.

The Arctic is a key region for global environmental changes and developments in security policy that also concern Germany. In the following, Dr Volker Rachold, head of the Arctic Office at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), explains why the federal government has updated its Arctic policy guidelines in view of the rapid climate warming and geopolitical changes like the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. On 18 October, these revised guidelines – which the Arctic Office contributed to – will be…

Toxic trace elements such as lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium naturally occur in small quantities in coastal seas. However, human activities, such as industry and agriculture, contribute significantly larger amounts. A new study has examined how climate change already affects the distribution and accumulation of these elements and how it could impact them in the future. One of the findings: Climate-related natural events are releasing more contaminants, which pose a risk to both human and animal health. However, there is still insufficient knowledge…

Microbes were the only life form on Earth for most of the history of our planet. Even today, they still make up the majority of species that are vital to the health of our planet. They produce much of our oxygen, help plants grow, maintain biogeochemical cycles and thus sustain our ecosystems. A. Murat Eren, a researcher at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB), the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (MPIMM) and the Carl von…

The 21st Coastal Summer School, which brought 17 young researchers from eight countries to the Biological Institute Helgoland, came to an end. This year, the participants delved deep into topics relating to offshore wind farms and get an idea of how they can be integrated into ecosystems in various ways. The Alfred Wegener Institute, the Helmholtz Center Hereon and the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde, together with other research institutions, gave participants theoretical and practical insights into their projects, while an industry…

The doors of our Wadden Sea Station on Sylt were open to the public on Saturday, 7 September - and the interest of Sylt residents, islanders and tourists in celebrating our 100th birthday was huge.

While the warm Baltic Sea water is inviting for swimming, the warming of the sea also brings risks. Rising temperatures promote the spread of vibrios, bacteria that can cause serious infections. Such challenges require a deep understanding of the interactions between extreme marine events and natural hazards as well as their long-term consequences for humans and the environment. This is precisely where the research mission mareXtreme - Pathways to Improved Risk Management, coordinated at MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University…

From 23 August to 31 October 2024, the photo exhibition “Wir können Watt - Küstenforschung im Takt der Gezeiten” will take place in the Rathauspark in Westerland. The exhibition is a collaboration between the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) and the municipality of Sylt and provides an insight into the daily work of the institute’s scientists on Sylt, who are investigating the ecosystem on their doorstep and exploring the question of how climate change is altering the Wadden Sea and the North Sea in the long term.

The intensifying global warming is increasingly affecting our planet. The Arctic and Antarctic are showing serious changes with far-reaching consequences for the global climate system. While the Greenland ice sheet and the sea ice in the Arctic are melting comparatively quickly today, the ice in the Antarctic is reacting more slowly and with a delay to climate change. Asymmetrical developments of the ice sheets have also occurred in the Earth's past. An international research team has now shown for the first time how such an asymmetric development of the…