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“Two degrees is too high”. The State of the Cryosphere report 2023 has been released, presenting findings on the impacts of 2°C global warming with a focus on the ice and permafrost regions of our planet. The report aims to reach politicians and policymakers for the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference. The message: Limiting global warming to 2°C is not enough. Multiple AWI scientists contributed to the report which was published on November 16 by the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI). To the report.

Dwindling beaches on the Tunisian island of Djerba are the focus of a week-long workshop taking place at the Alfred Wegener Institute on Helgoland from 14 November. As part of the "Oceanographic and Ecological Data for Nature-based coastal protection" (ORIENTATE) project jointly applied for with the Tunisian University of Sfax, 15 students and representatives of youth and tourism organisations from Tunisia will meet with their German colleagues. They are exchanging scientific methods and discussing solutions that work with nature and not against it in…

Invasive species like the Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis), introduced roughly 100 years ago, pose a threat to native ecosystems and can do enormous ecological and economic harm. In its latest report, released just a few weeks ago, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) once again highlighted the lack of internationally coordinated strategies to combat invasive species. The Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) and Dresden University of Technology (TUD), together with partners from Belgium, France…

As part of the Berlin Science Week, the German Arctic Office at the AWI and the Norwegian Embassy in Berlin have organized a seminar on 9 November in Potsdam to provide insights into the current German-Norwegian scientific cooperation in Arctic research. The results from recent Arctic expeditions and plans for future exploration were presented and discussed. Among the presenting institutions were the Norwegian Polar Institute, The Arctic University of Norway, the Fridtjof Nansen Institute and the AWI.

In the context of the “One Planet - Polar Summit”, taking place on 8-10 November in Paris, France and hosted by the Paris Peace Forum, UNESCO announced the endorsement of a new major programme aimed at better understanding, protecting and sustainably managing the Southern Ocean and Antarctica in the framework of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 (‘Ocean Decade’).

Mechanical cleaning devices: A remedy for marine plastic pollution or a danger to marine life? This is the question addressed in a new paper by an international group of scientists published in the journal One Earth. Lead author is AWI biologist Melanie Bergmann. The Article shows that plastic removal technologies can cause harm and cannot provide a solution to global plastic pollution. Instead, the international focus needs to be on preventing plastic pollution. To the original press release.

The One Planet - Polar Summit will take place in Paris from November 8 to 10. The Summit is a scientific forum for the protection of polar regions and glaciers, bringing together the international scientific community. During the three-day event, experts will discuss and seek solutions for the preservation of the Arctic and Antarctic. The Summit will be streamed live on the Internet. Further information​​​​​​​

On November 16, an international team of researchers and drilling experts will set out from Christchurch, New Zealand, for Antarctica to drill up to 200 metres into the seabed beneath the inner Ross Ice Shelf. The team aims to obtain geological records of changing sediments that reflect environmental conditions at the time of their formation in a warmer world than today. The hope is that these records will provide important insights into West Antarctica's past, allowing us to learn more about Antarctica's potential future contribution to sea level rise.

Up to now, the results of climate simulations have sometimes contradicted the analysis of climate traces from the past. A team led by the physicist Thomas Laepple from the Alfred Wegener Institute in Potsdam and the climatologist Kira Rehfeld from the University of Tübingen has therefore brought together experts in climate models and climate tracks to clarify how the discrepancies come about. The surprising result has now been published in the journal Nature Geoscience: in a way, both sides are right. Climate models correctly simulate global temperature…

AWI scientist Hans-Otto Pörtner has received an award at the 16th Planetary Health Awards in Monaco: Already since 2008, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation has been honoring individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the preservation of our planet. Hans-Otto Pörtner was honored in particular for his work as Vice Chair of Working Group II of the IPCC. To the original press release.