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Climate change can produce a range of effects on flat sedimentary coasts. Researchers from the Wadden Sea Station on Sylt have just released a multidisciplinary overview of the far-reaching climate-based changes in the Wadden Sea, a listed World Heritage Site. The review paper in celebration of the station’s centennial was published in the journal Marine Biodiversity. It covers the coastal morphology, including sediment dynamics, as well as the biology, from genetic effects to interspecies interactions, to the ecosystem level.

The intensifying global warming is increasingly affecting our planet. The Arctic and Antarctic are showing serious changes with far-reaching consequences for the global climate system. While the Greenland ice sheet and the sea ice in the Arctic are melting comparatively quickly today, the ice in the Antarctic is reacting more slowly and with a delay to climate change. Asymmetrical developments of the ice sheets have also occurred in the Earth's past. An international research team has now shown for the first time how such an asymmetric development of the…

The Southern Ocean plays an important role in absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere that is released by human activities - a process that is of crucial importance for climate change. In a new study, an international research group led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), with the participation of the Alfred Wegener Institute, has found that the Southern Ocean around Antarctica absorbs more carbon dioxide (CO2) than previously thought. The results, which were published in the journal Science Advances, are based on a…

The documentary "Expedition Arktis 2 – Tauchfahrt am Nordpol" (Expedition Arctic 2 – Traveling underwater at the North Pole) by Philipp Grieß and Manuel Ernst has received the German Environment and Sustainability Award at NaturVision Film Festival. The festival is one of the largest international film festivals for nature and environmental topics. The award-winning film accompanies researchers during the ArcWatch-expedition. The prize is sponsored by the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector Baden-Württemberg.

Exactly 100 years ago, Germany’s northernmost research facilities on the North Sea island Sylt were opened. What began as a small field outpost for oyster research in 1924 would evolve into a modern, fully equipped research station that has been part of the Alfred Wegener Institute since 1998. Today, the AWI Wadden Sea Station on Sylt is pursuing answers to what is likely the most important question concerning the fragile ecosystem at its doorstep: how will climate change affect the Wadden Sea and North Sea in the long term?

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), also known as the oceanic conveyor belt, plays a central role in the global climate system by transporting enormous amounts of heat. Global warming is expected to weaken the AMOC, which could lead to serious climatic changes in Europe. A current study in the journal Physical Review Letters shows that the AMOC under the influence of global warming shows regional and disproportionately abrupt shifts, contrary to the previous results of a long-term and smooth decline. 

As part of the MELT Festival, the CarbonCycleCultureClub (C4), a discussion and thinking format organized by Forum Rathenau, took place at the Zschornewitz power plant. The main topic of the discussion was 'Blue Carbon: Achieving climate goals with natural CO2 storage?'. Besides music producer and biologist Jayda G, Antje Boetius also took part in the discussion. The AWI director explained the importance of blue carbon ecosystems for climate protection. 

AWI researcher Lauri Hofmann participated in a side event of the UN High Level Political Forum Event in New York. The topic of the event was macroalgae. In her presentation and as part of a panel, Lauri Hofmann spoke about the importance of macroalgae biobanks and their contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. More Info

The AWI researchers Luisa von Albedyll and Simone Maria Stünzi participated in the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. There, they engaged in discourse with Nobel laureates and young scientists. Luisa von Albedyll presented her work on Arctic sea ice to a broad audience in the "Scientific Exchange Among Young Scientists" session.

In recent years global warming has left its mark on the Antarctic ice sheets. The "eternal" ice in Antarctica is melting faster than previously assumed, particularly in West Antarctica more than East Antarctica. The root for this could lie in its formation, as an international research team led by the Alfred Wegener Institute has now discovered: sediment samples from drill cores combined with complex climate and ice-sheet modelling show that permanent glaciation of Antarctica began around 34 million years ago – but did not encompass the entire continent…