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A new study from the Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (CAU) investigates crater-like depressions on the seabed, so-called pockmarks. Previous research has been assuming that they are caused by rising gases and liquids. However, the study published in Communications Earth & Environment proposes an alternative assumption: Instead of gases and liquids, vertebrates may be the key to explaining pockmarks. Dr. Jasper Hoffmann from the Alfred Wegener institute, Helmholtz centre for polar and marine research (AWI), was part of this project. The University…

In Berlin, the AWI organized an event on "The Modern Arctic" in cooperation with the Nordic Embassies. The event showed that the Arctic is not only a remote and frozen wilderness, but also a region of dynamic innovation, modern cities and businesses. The Icelandic Ambassador María Erla Marelsdóttir opened the event. AWI Director Prof. Antje Boetius then introduced the topic. This was followed by a panel discussion with international guests.

This year the AWI celebrates the smallest member of its fleet: Mya II is 10 years old. "With the help of Mya II, we collect data as part of a long-term monitoring program that allows us to document ecological changes in the North Sea," says AWI Deputy Director Karen Wiltshire. An anniversary seminar provided insights into the historical research shipping in the Wadden Sea and the work with the multibeam echosounder. Topics such as the MOSES expeditions, the time series of the Sylt Roads and fish monitoring in the Sylt-Römö Bay rounded off the program.

At the end of the year, the magazine "DER SPIEGEL" has once again published a chronicle in which all the important events of the year are summarized in pictures and reports. A photograph of the research vessel Polarstern by AWI photographer Esther Horvath was selected for the pages of September. The picture was taken last summer during the ArcWatch expedition.

The Nobel Prize banquet is usually a culinary highlight - but never with caviar, because the roe was not sustainable and not originally produced in Sweden. Caviar produced according to the AWI's sustainable caviar production method, which does not kill the sturgeon, changes all that, and this year it was used for the first time by the star chefs at the Nobel Prize banquet.

The Global Tipping Points Report was presented at COP28 on 6 December 2023. The report is an authoritative assessment of the risks and opportunities of negative and positive tipping points in the Earth system and in society. Global Tipping Points is led by Prof. Tim Lenton from the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter and supported by more than 200 researchers from over 90 organisations in 26 countries. AWI researchers are also involved in the report.

At the AWI ice laboratories, part of an ice core from the North Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS) is currently being tested. The core was collected during “EastGRIP”, a joint project involving several international partners. Working together, they drilled to a depth of 2,668 metres, allowing them to penetrate the entire ice stream and reach the rocky substrate below. The analysis of the ice core is to yield new insights into the behaviour of ice streams and improve our grasp of how they could contribute to future sea-level rise. Another goal is to record past…

The time left to reach the climate goals of the Paris Agreement is running out fast. This is the conclusion of the latest Global Carbon Budget, which is published annually by the Global Carbon Project (GCP). The GCP is an association of international scientists with a large German contingent, including amongst others LMU geographers Julia Pongratz and Clemens Schwingshackl, who are part of the core writing team, and AWI scientist Judith Hauck. According to the report, global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel use will amount to 36.8 billion metric…

Biologin Anna Natalie Meyer vom AWI ist eine der ersten Preisträger:innen des Preises „Wissen der Vielen“ für Citizen Science. Der Preis wurde 2023 zum ersten Mal ausgeschrieben und ehrt herausragende wissenschaftliche Leistungen. Er wurde am 29. November auf dem Forum Citizen Science in Freiburg im Breisgau verliehen. Anna Natalie Mayer erhielt den 3. Preis für ihren Beitrag über die Untersuchung von Plastikmüll an arktischen Stränden auf Spitzbergen, den sie zusammen mit Birgit Lutz und Melanie Bergmann veröffentlicht hat. Ein wichtiger Teil des…

AWI Director Antje Boetius took part in the "Arctic Dialogue" in Ottawa: The German and French Embassies in Canada organized an intensive dialogue on the challenges of the Arctic as part of "Beyond the Ice: A deep dive into the ecological and geopolitical challenges of the Arctic". Possibilities for cooperation in an evolving landscape were discussed.