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The Arctic is changing rapidly due to climate change: sea surface and air temperatures are increasing, the sea ice is thinning and retreating more and more. This has a major impact on the local ecosystem, because: The zone directly under the sea ice is a highly dynamic habitat for a variety of organisms. A research team from the Alfred Wegener Institute has now investigated what these organisms are and how they are affected by the melting ice in the northern Fram Strait. They present their findings in the journal Science of The Total Environment.

In recognition of her services to science, to the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research and to Bremen as a location for science, Prof. Antje Boetius has been awarded the Bremen Senate Medal for Art and Science. The Mayor of Bremen, Dr Andreas Bovenschulte, and the Senator for the Environment, Climate and Science, Kathrin Moosdorf, presented Prof. Boetius with her medal and certificate at a ceremony in the Upper Hall at Bremen Town Hall. The Senate had passed a motion approving the honour in June 2024. Musicians from…

A recent study in the journal Science traces the natural cycles of the Earth's climate over a period of one million years. The international research team analysed sediment core data and looked at past climate changes between ice ages and interglacial periods.

There is a greater variety of hydrothermal systems in the deep sea than previously assumed. This is the result of a recent study lead by MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences and the Faculty of Geosciences at the University of Bremen. On an expedition with the research icebreaker POLARSTERN, researchers discovered the northernmost hydrothermal field on Earth here – only around 300 kilometers from the North Pole. This discovery suggests that research into hydrothermal activity in the deep sea needs to be rethought. The results were published in…

Like a conveyor belt, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) transports warm water from the tropics northwards at the ocean surface and cold water southwards in the deep sea. Through this heat distribution, it plays a central role in the global climate system. However, increasing global warming as a result of climate change is altering the circulation patterns of the AMOC. In a recent study, researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute found that this change has led to asynchronous poleward shifts of the Atlantic subtropical gyre in…

The Arctic plays a central role in the global climate system, particularly through its function as a carbon sink. However, climate change could disrupt its balance. An international research team headed by the Alfred Wegener Institute and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam has presented a comprehensive analysis of the current state of the Arctic carbon cycle. The results, which have been published in the scientific journal Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, provide new and updated numbers and highlight existing uncertainties.

Modern working conditions for marine biodiversity research – that's what the new building of the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at Wechloy Technology Park provides. The facility is an eye-catcher both inside and out.

Der Ozean gehört zu den größten Senken der Erde, um Kohlenstoff aus landbasierten (terrestrischen) Ökosystemen zu speichern. Trotz seiner entscheidenden Rolle im globalen Kohlenstoffkreislauf ist jedoch noch immer nicht klar, woher dieser Kohlenstoff stammt. Forschende des Alfred-Wegener-Instituts haben mit neuartigen Methoden Sedimentkerne aus dem Pazifik untersucht und können anhand von alter Pflanzen-DNA nun zum ersten Mal detaillierte Aussagen über die genaue Herkunft und die Dynamik terrestrischen Kohlenstoffs in Ozeanen machen. Das kann helfen, die…

Marine heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense. The Arctic Ocean also suffers from this development: The absence of sea ice will lead to more extreme fluctuations in ocean temperatures, with abrupt temperature changes occurring at unprecedented rates. A new study led by the Alfred Wegener Institute shows how marine heatwaves will also become much more intense and frequent in the Arctic in the 21st century. With drastic consequences for the ecosystem. The researchers published their findings in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change.

The Arctic experiences some of the most rapid climate changes on the planet, resulting in significant sea-ice melt. This transformation exposed the Arctic Ocean to increasing sunlight, driving a 56% rise in organic matter production through photosynthesis (net primary production) over the past two decades, according to remote-sensing studies. At the same time, permafrost thaw is accelerating due to warming, releasing more nutrients and carbon into the Arctic Ocean, delivered from rivers and coastal erosion. While it might seem logical that these…