Alfred Wegener Institute
Alfred Wegener Institute is a research center that is part of the pulse of the water sector. Here we bring together everything it publishes on Smart Water Magazine: its news, its blogs and the events it takes part in.
Arctic ice algae heavily contaminated with microplastics, reports new research
The alga Melosira arctica, which grows under Arctic sea ice, contains ten times as many microplastic particles as the surrounding seawater. This concentration at the base of the food web poses a threat to creatures that feed on the algae at the sea surface. Clumps of dead algae also transport the plastic with its pollutants […]
Parts of Greenland now hotter than at any time in past 1,000 years
A temperature reconstruction from ice cores of the past 1,000 years reveals that today's warming in central-north Greenland is surprisingly pronounced. The most recent decade surveyed in a study, the years 2001 to 2011, was the warmest in the past 1,000 years, and the region is now 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than during the 20th […]
Thwaites Glacier: Significant geothermal heat beneath the ice stream
Researchers map the geothermal heat flow in West Antarctica; a new potential weak spot in the ice sheet’s stability is identified.
Droughts in Germany could become more extreme
Researchers analyse data from the last millennium.
The Arctic Ocean was covered by a shelf ice and filled with freshwater
Scientists from Alfred Wegener Institute: “We need to have a fresh look at the role of the Arctic Ocean.”
Observing phytoplankton via satellite
Thanks to a new algorithm, researchers at the AWI can now use satellite data to determine in which parts of the ocean certain types of phytoplankton are dominant. In addition, they can identify toxic algal blooms and assess the effects of global warming on marine plankton, allowing them to draw conclusions regarding water quality and […]
Can Arctic ‘ice management’ combat climate change?
A new AWI study shows that a radical geo-engineering concept could potentially slow sea-ice retreat, but not global warming
Microplastic drifting down with the snow
Over the past several years, microplastic particles have repeatedly been detected in seawater, drinking water, and even in animals. But these minute particles are also transported by the atmosphere and subsequently washed out of the air, especially by snow – and even in such remote regions as the Arctic and the Alps. This was demonstrated in a study conducted by experts at the Alfred Wegener Institute and at the Swiss WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, recently published in the journal Science Advances.