• Circulation in the Arctic Ocean and the Nordic Seas

    the Arctic Mediterranean. The Arctic Ocean freshwater budget The Arctic Ocean freshwater budget A particular feature of the Arctic Ocean is the enormous freshwater surplus. The upper Arctic Ocean receives [...] cover makes the Arctic Ocean distinct from subarctic oceans – the presence of ice, as well as ice formation and melt significantly shape the circulation and water masses of both the Arctic Ocean and the Nordic [...] Circulation in the Arctic Ocean and the Nordic Seas The Arctic Ocean and the Nordic Seas are integral parts of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, and hence key regions for the global climate

  • Celebrating 40 Years of the Alfred Wegener Institute

    Anniversary
    40 years of research in the Arctic, Antarctic and in coastal regions: on 15 July, the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) celebrates its 40 th [...] and internationally recognised centre for climate research in the two polar regions and the world’s oceans.

  • CONTRASTS

    is to characterize the key processes that determine the observed sea ice, ocean, and ecosystem changes in the Central Arctic Ocean during meltseason. The process studies and continuous observations of CONTRASTS [...] (Graphic: Alfred-Wegener-Institut) Regime 1: Future Arctic (Photo: Marcel Nicolaus) Regime 2: Present Arctic (Photo: Marcel Nicolaus) Regime 3: Past Arctic (Photo: Marcel Nicolaus) Objectives The overall objective [...] is to characterize the key processes that determine the observed sea ice, ocean, and ecosystem changes in the Central Arctic Ocean during melt season. We will investigate the causes and consequences of

  • CLIMAREST

    European coastline. The project belongs to the EU Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters, and is a member of the Lighthouse for the Arctic and Atlantic Basin. Innovative solutions for marine restoration will [...] will be demonstrated in five different environments across a latitudinal gradient, from the high-Arctic Svalbard at 79°N to the Madeira archipelago at 33°N. CLIMAREST will be developed on a latitudinal gradient

  • Bathymetric compilations

    Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) , the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) ,the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO) , and the Southwest Indian Ocean Bathymetric [...] world’s oceans by 2030, and hosts the Seabed 2030 Southern Ocean Regional Center (SORC) . SORC’s and IBCSO’ s responsibility is to produce the best possible authoritative map of the Southern Ocean, the South [...] Global and regional bathymetric models IBSCO (International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean) (Graphic: Alfred-Wegener-Institut / IBSCO v2, Dorschel et al., 2022) IBSCO v2 Datenabdeckung (Graphic:

  • Awards and honors

    the Arctic lost its white landscape and had a blue, ice-free ocean. Alexander Haumann , ERC Starting Grant VERTEXSO , January 2023 - Dcember 2027. VERTEXSO (VERTical EXchange in the Southern Ocean) studies [...] Artemics (Arctic internal wave energetics and mixing and their interdependence with sea ice in changing climate conditions) aims to elucidate the role of internal gravity waves in the warming Arctic Ocean. We [...] the North Atlantic Ocean but also in remote areas such as the Pacific Ocean and the Antarctic. Heinrich, H.: Origin and consequences of cyclic ice rafting in the northeast Atlantic Ocean during the past 130

  • Award-winning – deep sea researchers receive the Humboldt Memorial Award for investigations into the biodiversity of the deep Arctic Ocean

    Press release

  • Artemics

    mixing in the warming Arctic. The current, relatively weak mixing processes in the interior Arctic Ocean are the life insurance for its sea ice: The waters entering the Arctic Ocean from the Atlantic are [...] to shed light on the various feedback processes between Arctic internal waves and sea ice and the ramifications for ocean dynamics in the Arctic and beyond. Climate models do not resolve the small and [...] d in a physics-based way in the Arctic. We will close this research gap and thereby contribute to improving climate projections. News How waves stir up the Arctic Ocean - new Emmy Noether Group… Waves

  • Arctic sea ice shrinks to second-lowest summer extent since the beginning of satellite observation

    Arctic Ocean
    This summer the sea-ice cover on the Arctic Ocean shrank to the second-smallest extent since the beginning of satellite observation in 1979. By mid-September it covered only 3.8 million [...] formed in Russia’s marginal seas, and soon melted again when the spring came. Secondly, this year the Arctic has seen extremely high air and water temperatures. Accordingly, heat gnawed away at the ice from

  • Arctic Ocean: Greater Future acidification in summer

    Over the past 200 years, our planet’s oceans have absorbed more than a quarter of all anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. As a result, their acidity has increased by nearly 30 percent their [...] recently demonstrated. If this comes to pass, it could have far-reaching consequences for life in the ocean, as they report in the journal Nature.