Home - AWI Overview & Contact Data

The Alfred Wegener Institute, also known as AWI, is a German research center dedicated to polar regions and oceans in middle and high latitudes. As one of eighteen research centers within the Helmholtz Association, it coordinates Germany’s polar research program and supports scientific work on the Arctic, Antarctica, and the surrounding sea. The institute focuses on how ice, ocean circulation, and climate systems interact, providing research relevant to global climate change, sea-ice dynamics, and the stability of polar ecosystems. Its work helps build long-term climate records and explains how melting ice, shifting currents, and changing sea-ice conditions affect weather patterns and coastal regions. AWI serves researchers, universities, government agencies, and international scientific partners who need long-term observation, field campaigns, and access to specialized infrastructure. The institute operates research vessels such as the icebreaker Polarstern and maintains research stations, including Neumayer-Station III in Antarctica. These platforms allow scientists to study the West Antarctic ice sheet, ocean processes, glacial change, and the broader effects of warming on polar environments. The site presents information on research projects, expeditions, publications, and the institute’s role in national and international polar science. The website is notable for its focus on applied and fundamental polar and marine research, with content that connects fieldwork to environmental monitoring and public understanding. It documents collaborations with partners from countries such as Japan and Namibia, as well as cultural heritage and geoscience activities linked to Bremerhaven and polar logistics. For readers seeking reliable information on German polar research, ice-sheet studies, ocean observation, and the institutions behind high-latitude field science, AWI offers an authoritative entry point.