News

On Wednesday, 14 October 2015 the research icebreaker Polarstern from the Alfred-Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), entered its homeport in Bremerhaven. Since mid-May, over 200 biologists, physicists, chemists, ice physicists, oceanographers and geoscientists have taken part in a total of four expeditions, with changes of personnel in Longyearbyen (Spitsbergen) and Tromsø (Norway). In the course of these five months, Polarstern covered over 16,000 nautical miles (more than 30,000 kilometres).

The Alfred Wegener Institute welcomes the new scholarship holders of the Centre of Excellence in Observational Oceanography. The international young scientists will be embarking a ten-month traineeship as ocean experts.

Using a new net, marine biologists from the Alfred Wegener Institute have, for the first time, been able to catch polar cod directly beneath the Arctic sea ice with a trawl, allowing them to determine their large-scale distribution and origin. This information is of fundamental importance, as polar cod are a major source of food for seals, whales and seabirds in the Arctic. The study, which was recently published in the journal Polar Biology, shows that only juvenile fish are found under the ice, a habitat the researchers fear could disappear as a result…

Today, AWI biologist and climate researcher Professor Hans-Otto Pörtner was officially voted Co-Chair of the IPCC’s Working Group II at a ceremony held in Dubrovnik, Croatia. He’ll be leading the Group, which primarily focuses on the risks and impacts of climate change, as well as potential adaptation strategies, together with Debra Roberts from South Africa.

Alfred Wegener is known for his theory of continental drift which he published exactly 100 years ago in 1915. Slightly less known, but equally important are the studies on the climates of the geological past, which he carried out and published together with his father-in-law Wladimir Köppen.

AWI permafrost researcher Moritz Langer received the climate award of the Reinhard Süring Foundation. The award is endowed with a prize money of 1500 euro and honours Langer outstanding study: Satellite-based modeling of permafrost temperatures in a tundra lowland landscape, published in the scientific journal Remote Sensing of Environment.

The northern Antarctic Circumpolar Current’s flow speed in the Drake Passage was reduced by 40 % during the last glacial in comparison with the present interglacial. This is one result of a study by Dr. Frank Lamy from the Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and colleagues in this week’s “Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences of the United States of America” (PNAS).

Understanding regional climate change, identifying the consequences and discussing the effects. The REKLIM research association’s fifth regional conference this year focuses on coastal regions. What effect does climate change have on areas between land and sea, and what are the consequences? Researchers from the Helmholz Association’s research consortium REKLIM “Regional Climate Change” discuss with representatives from politics and business the challenges facing society as a result of climate change.

The earthquake and tsunami in Chile a few days ago show how important a precise early warning system is. Scientists of the Alfred Wegener Institute support Indonesians to create new tsunami scenarios for the northeast of the archipelago.

The 50th European Marine Biology Symposium takes place on Helgoland from 21th to 25th September 2015. Around 200 participants from 24 countries meet to discuss long-term changes to environmental conditions and ecosystems. This jubilee is a return to the roots: In 1966, the Biological Institute Helgoland hosted the first of these symposiums, which have since been held annually at different locations.