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The German Association of University Professors and Lecturers (DHV – Deutsche Hochschulverband) honors Professor Antje Boetius as an excellent, multiple-award-winning scientist who uses extensive field research to examine the effects of climate change on the oceans and the diversity of life in the deep sea. Thanks to her research, Boetius is “an advocate of the oceans” who urges close international cooperation and is committed to promoting future-proof climate, nature, and environmental protection.

The 5-part science documentary "Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops" explores how human activities trigger chain reactions, setting in motion processes that can no longer be stopped - from melting ice in the Arctic, to thawing permafrost. The goal is to use the short films to teach the next generation about the urgency of climate change. AWI has provided footage from the MOSAiC expedition for the series. It is available online and can be used for teaching purposes.

The “Destination Earth” (DestinE) initiative from the EU Commission started in 2022 and is an important part of Europe's Green Deal and Digital Strategy. By 2030, DestinE aims to create a high-resolution digital model of the Earth to support climate change adaptation policies and decision-making for reducing the impacts of extremes. Numerous European authorities, climate research institutions and supercomputing centers are involved in the project. Alfred Wegener Institute is participating in DestinE with its ocean model FESOM, which efficiently simulates…

9 December 2022 marks the 40th anniversary of the research icebreaker Polarstern’s commissioning. Built by a consortium combining the shipyards Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in Kiel and Werft Nobiskrug in Rendsburg, the Alfred Wegener Institute’s flagship has successfully completed more than 130 expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic and offered a temporary home for thousands of researchers from Germany and around the globe. In the process, the Polarstern has safely traversed 1.8 million nautical miles. The ship is currently on an expedition in the…

From January 2023, AWI Director Antje Boetius will become a new Fellow of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS). On December 7, she will be welcomed in her new role during the event "Nature and Prosperity - still salvageable?". In addition to a keynote speech by Antje Boetius, there will be a panel discussion with her, Kim Thy Tong, co-founder of Climate Union, and Andreas Jung, climate and energy policy spokesperson for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag. It is possible to register online for the event (event in German and in presence).

Major ice streams can shut down, shifting rapid ice transport to other parts of the ice sheet, within a few thousand years. This was determined in reconstructions of two ice streams, based on ice-penetrating radar scans of the Greenland ice sheet, that a team of researchers led by the Alfred Wegener Institute have just presented in the journal Nature Geoscience.

On December 6, AWI Director Antje Boetius speaks at two events. In the morning, at the invitation of the BMBF, she will give a keynote lecture on "Care of marine ecosystems for climate protection: global perspectives" at the online expert talks of the Action Program Natural Climate Protection. Afterwards, she will give a keynote speech on "Ambition for a greater planet - ocean and polar perspective" at the "Franco-German Fellowship Programme on Climate, Energy, and Earth System Research (Make Our Planet Great Again)" conference at Futurium Berlin.

In Uruguay, the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) has begun negotiations on a global plastics agreement, including in the marine environment. The first part of the INC to develop an international legally binding instrument to combat plastic pollution is taking place in Punta del Este until December 2. AWI scientist Melanie Bergmann is also attending as part of the German delegation.

"Highly Cited Researchers in 2022": The company "Clarivate" has honored AWI scientists Hans-Otto Pörtner, Sebastian Primpke and Gunnar Gerdts as highly cited scientists. The list recognizes individuals at universities, research institutes and commercial organizations who have demonstrated a disproportionate level of significant and broad influence in their field or fields of research. More information.

With the retreat of ice sheets during the transition from the last glacial period to the current interglacial, massive amounts of old organic material were released and found their way into the ocean. The material stemmed e.g. from oil shale, a type of rock containing substantial organic material, which was left behind as finely ground “glacial meal” by melting glaciers, was exposed to the atmosphere, and ultimately transported out to ocean, rapidly oxidising during the process. As our planet warmed after the last glacial, the release of old carbonaceous…