Alfred Wegener Institute
banner
awi.de
Alfred Wegener Institute
@awi.de
We research ice, ocean and climate.
Website: www.awi.de
Imprint: https://www.awi.de/en/imprint.html
The Beyond EPICA project begins the fifth and final drilling campaign in Antarctica. AWI researchers are part of the international research team that will drill into the bedrock beneath the Antarctic ice sheet – at an altitude of 3,200 meters above sea level and temperatures around -35°C.
November 26, 2025 at 1:14 PM
AWI biologist Simeon Lisovski is currently travelling to the Danger Islands in Antarctica with the Team Malizia sailing crew. There, he will study a colony of over 750,000 Adélie penguins. 🐧🇦🇶
November 20, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Looking back on yesterday's wonderful #PolarPrideDay at our AWIPEV station in the Arctic on Spitsbergen. 🐻‍❄️🏳️‍🌈

#PolarPride2025

🎥Wenceslas Marie-Sainte
November 19, 2025 at 12:22 PM
AWI scientists around the world took part in today's global climate strike. They included those at the AWIPEV station in the Arctic, expedition participants aboard the Polarstern and employees at Neumayer Station III in Antarctica. 🐻‍❄️🐧🌡

📸 L.Weis, A.Herbaut, A.Seidenstuecker.
November 14, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Former AWI director and marine biologist Antje Boetius was awarded a place in the prestigious Order Pour le Mérite for her contributions to ocean research. Boetius led the AWI from 2017 to 2025, after which she became president of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. 💐

📷 E. Horvath
November 13, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Our research vessel Polarstern will set sail on a new expedition at the end of the week: an international group of young scientists will immerse themselves in the fascinating world of marine research.

@pogo-ocean.bsky.social

📸 J.Lemburg
November 11, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Our research vessel Polarstern is back in Bremerhaven after a long journey. ⚓️❤️

During the expedition, researchers took measurements in the seawater north of Greenland. Initial results show that there is a current band that transports warm Atlantic water from the Arctic Ocean southward. 🌊

📸Nicolaus
October 24, 2025 at 10:36 AM
AWI climate researcher Markus Rex receives the NOMIS Award 2025. 🏆👏

The award recognizes his leadership of the MOSAiC expedition, in which scientists from 20 countries researched the interaction between ice, ocean, atmosphere, and ecosystem in the Arctic.

Photo: NOMIS Foundation / David Biedert
October 23, 2025 at 2:26 PM
New #AWI study shows how sustainable management of #krill in the Southern Ocean can work. The concept for managing krill stocks involves close cooperation with fisheries. #Antarctica #CCAMLR

www.awi.de/en/about-us/...

Photo: Carsten Pape
October 20, 2025 at 12:04 PM
AWI researchers have mapped 19,000 driftwood in Alaska and northwestern Canada for the first time.
The data will help to better understand coastal processes, carbon storage and environmental changes such as storm surges and erosion.

www.awi.de/en/about-us/...

Photo: Carl Stadie
October 10, 2025 at 6:35 AM
The heart of the new Polarstern ❤️🚢

Together with our shipyard TKMS, we have reached a milestone in the construction of the new Polarstern: the new propulsion unit for the icebreaker has been finalized and the corresponding contracts have been signed.

www.awi.de/en/about-us/...
September 15, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Can you spot the Polarstern amid the ice floes of the Arctic? 🧊A satellite image shows, that we are just a pixel amidst ice floes (light grey) and open water (dark). Polarstern appears as a bright spot in the image because it reflects electromagnetic radiation more strongly than its surroundings.
September 11, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Unique concept for observing Arctic sea ice successfully implemented: AWI scientists were able to study different types of sea ice in parallel during the Polarstern expedition “CONTRASTS.” 🧊

www.awi.de/en/about-us/...

Photo: Evgenii Salganik
September 8, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Johann Klages gave a plenary talk on Antarctic research at #ICP15 in Bangalore, India. A once-in-a-lifetime honor for groundbreaking insights. AWI colleagues from Marine Geology and Marine Biogeochemistry also presented on their diverse projects.👏

Photos: personal
September 4, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Lukas Weis, who is spending the winter at Neumayer Station III in Antarctica, explains in the AtkaXpress blog how he takes the most beautiful photos of the polar night. #AureliaBorealis

blogs.helmholtz.de/atkaxpress/e...
August 29, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Our icebreaker Polarstern is currently in the Arctic, where it has met up with our polar aircraft Polar 6 for the second time. The joint measurements enable researchers to place their data in an even broader context.🧊

More information in the Polarstern app:

follow-polarstern.awi.de/blog/21-08-2...
August 21, 2025 at 10:13 AM
AWI Vice Director Dr. Uwe Nixdorf, has been awarded with the "Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs" (COMNAP) Medal. 🏆🎉

This international honor recognizes outstanding contributions to the promotion and support of #Antarctic research. Congratulations!
August 8, 2025 at 11:46 AM
🧊✈️ On Sunday, Polar 6 launched this year's IceBird summer campaign by flying from Longyearbyen to Station Nord, a Danish military base in Greenland. The mission is to track changes to the sea ice and to support the CONTRASTS expedition aboard the Polarstern research vessel.
July 22, 2025 at 2:20 PM
The new Emmy Noether Group, 'Artemics', at the AWI is investigating how waves stir up the Arctic Ocean. Using advanced climate models, the team aims to investigate how waves that form inside the ocean affect the Arctic sea ice.

www.awi.de/en/about-us/...

Photo: S. Hendricks
July 16, 2025 at 10:10 AM
What is life like in the darkness of the polar night? The overwintering team at #Neumayer Station III in #Antarctica share their experiences on the #AtkaXpress blog.

blogs.helmholtz.de/atkaxpress/e...

Photo: Lukas Weis
July 8, 2025 at 8:10 AM
AWI scientists examine 1.2 million-year-old ice: An international research team is currently analyzing the oldest ice core in the world. In January, the research team brought the ice core back from Antarctica. 🧊

Photo: Kerstin Rolfes
July 4, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Today, the Polarstern sets off for the Arctic: From Tromsø in Norway, our research icebreaker sets off on the "Contrasts" expedition. Over the next two months, the international research team on board wants to investigate why the sea ice is melting and what consequences this has.🧊

Photo: F.Mehrtens
July 2, 2025 at 12:44 PM
The overwintering at the Franco-German research station #AWIPEV in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, also celebrated midsummer last weekend! 🥳

Photo: Esther Horvath
June 25, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Krill fishing in the Antarctic: overlaps with consequences 🐋🌊

New AWI study shows: Acoustic data reveal when and where fishing vessels compete with whales and penguins for krill in the Southern Ocean – and what this entails for the ecosystem

www.awi.de/en/about-us/...

Photos: S. Menze
June 17, 2025 at 12:37 PM
How does the overwintering team at Neumayer Station III in #Antarctica obtain food? The most important thing is probably planning and stockpiling. Because the Polarstern only comes to the ice shelf edge once a year and supplies the station with food. 🍎🥖

blogs.helmholtz.de/atkaxpress/e...

📸 L.Weis
June 13, 2025 at 10:28 AM