News

A decade ago scientists feared that the ability of the Southern Ocean to absorb additional atmospheric CO2 would soon be stalled. But the analysis of more recent observations show that this carbon sink reinvigorated during the past decade.

The growing world population, climate change, rapid urbanisation, and the international interdependence of economies are all increasing our vulnerability to natural hazards. Such major global challenges are the focus of the second Potsdam Summer School on "Facing Natural Hazards". From 14 to 23 September 2015, 40 young professionals from 28 countries will meet with renowned scientists from Potsdam's Earth and Environmental Science institutions as well as with international experts.

Hamburg/Bremerhaven, Germany: Even before the annual summer minimum, typically seen in mid-to-late September, the Arctic sea ice covers 4,35 million square kilometres. The Northeast and Northwest Passages are mostly ice-free already. Scientists from Universität Hamburg and the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) estimate that the ice extent will not hit a record low in 2015 but confirm the negative trend. During the International Polar Meeting in Munich, Germany, leading sea ice specialists will be available for interviews and background discussions.

The Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and the TU Dresden’s Institute for Cartography present their joint three-dimensional map of the Antarctic continent and the seafloor of the Southern Ocean at this year’s International Cartographic Conference in Rio de Janeiro.

Today the graduates of the Nippon Foundation-POGO Centre of Excellence hosted by the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) say goodbye to the AWI. During the past ten months the scholarship holders from different nations have learnt standard methods of the marine science to be able to use them in future in their homecountries.

West Antarctica is one oft he fastest warming regions on Earth. An international team which involved the Alfred-Wegener-Institut researched which impacts the warming has. The new study is published in the current edition of The Cryosphere.

How do you successfully pilot a remote-controlled helicopter in the remote expanses of the Arctic Ocean when the compass can’t provide reliable positioning data? Engineers on board the Alfred Wegener Institute’s research icebreaker Polarstern specially programmed a multicopter, allowing it to navigate despite the deviations produced by the Earth’s magnetic field near the North Pole. The researchers recently celebrated the copter’s first successful autonomous flight and landing on an ice floe.

Everything revolves around the Sail 2015 in Bremerhaven these days. Germany's Federal President Joachim Gauck opened the international windjammer festival - which happens every five years - on Wednesday 12 August. He took part in the "Sail-in" on board the historic polar research vessel Grönland (built in 1867) owned by the German Maritime Museum (Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum). AWI director Karin Lochte was a guest of honour.

Dr Uwe Nixdorf is the new Vice Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). As resolved by the Board of Governors, on 1 August 2015 he assumed his office as a new member of the Directorate, joining Prof Karin Lochte (Director), Dr Karsten Wurr (Administrative Director) and Prof Karen Wiltshire (Vice Director).

The Minister President of the German federal state Schleswig-Holstein Torsten Albig visited Helgoland. During this year's summer trip he was guest at the Open Sea School laboratory of the Alfred Wegener Institute last Friday.