The Alfred Wegener Institute carries out research in the Arctic and Antarctic as well as in the high and mid latitude oceans. The institute coordinates German polar research and makes available to national and international science important infrastructure, e.g. the research ice breaker “Polarstern” and research stations in the Arctic and Antarctic.
Polarstern meets Merian
RV POLARSTERN meets RV MARIA S. MERIAN in the tropical Atlantic. Photo: Holger Uhlig, Alfred Wegener Institute
German research vessels RV Polarstern and RV Maria S. Merian met on Novembre 18th in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Chief scientists Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kattner from Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association and Prof. Dr. Martin Visbeck from "Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften" (IFM-GEOMAR) arranged mutual visits of scientists and crew. Polarstern is currently on its way to Capetown. Scientist are engaged in the chemical characterisation and composition of dissolved organic matter in the different climatic zones of the ocean. Polarstern crossed Merian's research area: in the tropical Atlantic near the equator circulation and mixing of water masses are investigated.
Latest Press Releases
30. October 2008: In which way does climate change affect the complex interaction in ecosystems? - A perspective for a network of ecological and physiological research
Changes to marine ecosystems caused by climatic conditions show how closely physiological and ecological processes are intertwined. This is described by Prof. Dr. Hans-Otto Pörtner, physiological ecologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association, in the current issue of the periodical Science.
17. October 2008: Research around the North Pole - RV Polarstern returns home after its expedition through the Northeast and Northwest Passages
The German research vessel Polarstern has returned today to Bremerhaven from the Arctic Sea. It has cruised as the first research vessel ever both the Northeast and the Northwest Passages and thereby circled the North Pole. The third part of the research vessel’s 23rd Arctic expedition, operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute in the Helmholtz Association, started its journey on August 12th in Reykjavik and ended it on October 17th in Bremerhaven. The ship travelled a distance of 10.800 nautical miles, equivalent to 20.000 kilometres. On board were 47 researchers from 12 nations.
15. October 2008: Genome of the diatom Phaeodactylum sequenced
A large international group of researchers succeeded in sequencing the genome of a marine alga. The periodical nature reports that it is the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum (“The Phaeodactylum genome reveals the evolutionary history of diatom genomes” nature online, October 15th 2008). The researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association who participated in the research project concentrated primarily on this diatom’s evolution.
To press release: Genome of the diatom Phaeodactylum sequenced
1. October 2008: New training strategy for climate research in the German federal state Bremen
The joint graduate programme “Earth System Science Research School” (ESSReS) will be inaugurated today in Bremerhaven. The interdisciplinary graduate programme will train 24 PhD-students of geo- and climate sciences during the next three years. Apart from the doctorate, far-reaching skills in geo-, bio- and climate sciences will be confirmed for the PhD-students. The research training group is a joint project of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association, the University of Bremen and Jacobs University Bremen. It is sponsored by the Helmholtz Association with 900.000 Euros for three years.
To press release: New training strategy for climate research in the German federal state Bremen
