News

With great dismay and sadness, we have heard that our former Director, colleague and friend, Prof. Dr Jörn Thiede, has passed away. A few months ago, on his 80th birthday, we celebrated his impressive life and achievements for the German and international geosciences, especially marine and polar research - unfortunately mainly digitally.

Researchers around the globe should have access to the valuable data from the MOSAiC expedition. In order to rapidly make user-friendly access to this information possible, the Alfred Wegener Institute, together with the DKRZ Hamburg and the DLR Jena, will develop a series of analytical tools that will allow initially researchers, and subsequently the general public, to access and work with the Arctic data online. The project has received ca. 2 million euros of funding from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

On July 14, the EU Commission will present the "Fit for 2030 Package", which is aimed at clearing the way to climate neutrality. During the webinar "Fit for climate action?" AWI Director Antje Boetius will discuss the contents of the reform package and its consequences for economy and society with representatives from politics, economy and climate action. The event will take place online on July 14 at 7:00 pm in german with english subtitles. To the event

 

FACTS (Fluxes and Fate of Microplastics in Northern European Waters) is a European project funded by JPI Oceans and will create new knowledge and improve our mechanistic understanding of the sources, transport, occurrence, and fate of small microplastics from European waters to the Arctic. The consortium consists of 15 partners in 7 countries, with more than 50 people involved in the research activities.

As part of the premiere of the Frankfurt Fashion SDG Summit, AWI Director Antje Boetius will participate in the panel "Promoting Resilient Oceans through Conscious Fashion" on July 07 from 14:50-15:20 and discuss current challenges, opportunities, and areas for improvement at the intersection of ocean protection and fashion production. Further information

What does climate change have to do with foreign policy? Why is the Arctic so important in terms of foreign policy? These questions were the focus of an exchange between Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Markus Rex, MOSAiC expedition leader and scientist at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI).

Glaciers in High Mountain Asia have been melting more quickly in recent years due to rising summer temperatures. Glacier melt prevails now even in areas where glaciers were previously growing, a team of researchers led by the University of St Andrews and with contributions from the Alfred Wegener Institute has concluded.

 

Current rates of plastic emissions globally may trigger effects that we will not be able to reverse, researchers from Germany, Sweden and Norway report in a new study published in the prestigious journal Science on 2 July. According to the authors, plastic pollution is a global threat, and actions to drastically reduce emissions of plastic to the environment are ”the rational policy response”.

The Arctic is changing faster than average due to global warming. While some alarming effects, such as melting glaciers and sea ice, can be observed directly, most of the permafrost’s melting takes place deep below the surface. However, since the permafrost stores huge quantities of carbon, which is released in the form of carbon dioxide and methane when it thaws, there is a danger that continued thawing will further worsen global warming. In order to collect reliable, up-to-date information on permafrost thawing, the joint project UndercoverEisAgenten…

The joint Memorandum of Understanding between the Arctic University of Norway (UiT) and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) was first signed five years ago and extended today for another five years. With the extension, both institutions recognize again the great potential of their scientific collaboration, declare to further expand and intensify it. As one of the most important partners in Arctic research, UiT and AWI share many common projects, such as MOSAiC.