Newsletter
Easy to Read
For German
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Index

Newsletter
Easy to Read
For German
research institutions
Newsletter
Easy to Read
For German
research institutions
Newsletter
Easy to Read
For German
research institutions
Newsletter
Easy to Read
For German
research institutions
Newsletter
Easy to Read
For German
research institutions

Research in focus: From Arctic ice to supercomputers

Germany drives climate research worldwide

An icebreaker in the pack ice, a measuring mast in the rainforest, a supercomputer in Hamburg: Climate research in Germany is setting standards worldwide and includes international collaboration in many projects. Why? Climate research is one of the most important fields actively shaping our future. Germany sees itself as a pioneer in developing and implementing effective measures for climate protection and adaptation. For example, new environmentally friendly technologies and processes are emerging in emission-intensive industries. Researchers in Germany are developing sophisticated climate models in other areas.  

Researchers from around the world wishing to contribute to these projects are welcome to Germany. Two key research fields are showcased here: marine research and climate system research.

Researcher holding a large red helium balloon on the Arctic sea ice during a field experiment at sunset.

Alfred-Wegener-Institut/Esther Horvath

Scientists of the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research measure turbulence, terrestrial and solar radiation and black carbon with a tethered balloon at Station Nord, Greenland, 2018

At a glance: Why Germany is an ideal location for climate research

Germany has an impressive international reputation in climate and marine research. Key factors: 

  • Outstanding networking with European and international partner organizations 
  • Effective research infrastructures  
  • Germany's significant involvement in global climate reports 
  • Promotion of worldwide exchange of climate and marine researchers 
  • Germany's involvement in global initiatives for climate protection and sustainable use of the oceans. 

Climate research in Germany involves not only theories and models, but also large-scale projects with international standing. An outstanding example of this is the MOSAiC Arctic expedition, in which the German research icebreaker Polarstern drifted in the sea ice for a full year, collecting unprecedented data for improved climate models. The Max Planck Institute for Meteorology's high-resolution climate simulations on the Levante supercomputer are also groundbreaking, representing processes such as cloud formation and heavy rainfall in unprecedented detail. Other projects range from the long-term observation of atmospheric greenhouse gases in the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory to the HALO research aircraft and European satellite programs. 

From research to results:

Projects like these demonstrate Germany's implementation of scientific aspirations in practical solutions, creating an attractive environment for international researchers. Marine and climate system research are just two examples of the wide range of German excellence in this field.  

Infographic explaining the structure and seasonal dynamics of Arctic sea ice, showing ice layers and melt processes.

Alfred-Wegener-Institut/Martin Künsting

Depiction of the methods used to investigate the sea-ice cover in the nothern and southern hemisphere by AWI sea ice physicist

Research focus on marine science – understanding the role of the oceans

The oceans and the atmosphere are inextricably connected. Their interaction determines how the climate on our planet develops. We need first-class research to understand how strongly the oceans influence the global climate, especially where extreme conditions prevail: in the oceans and at the poles. 

Germany is playing a leading role here. Its institutes rank among the world leaders in marine and polar research. The Alfred Wegener Institute, which made scientific history with the largest Arctic expedition of all time in the international MOSAiC Expedition (Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) is especially well known. 


A year in the arctic: unraveling the complex web of the climate

The German research icebreaker Polarstern spent an entire year drifting in the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean. More than 300 scientists from 17 countries investigated the Arctic in greater detail than ever before. They wanted to understand the manifestations of climate change in this sensitive region. The initial analyses show how closely the processes in the atmosphere, snow, sea ice and ocean are interwoven, and how important it is to consider them as a whole.

The data collected in this expedition will keep researchers around the world busy for many years to come, and will have a lasting effect on our knowledge of the climate system. 

Icebreaker ship Polarstern navigating through thick sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, breaking large ice floes under bright sunlight.

Alfred-Wegener-Institut/Mario Hoppmann

The Polarstern during an expedition into the central Arctic Ocean in 2015

Climate Research in Germany

Strong infrastructure: the most modern research fleet worldwide

Germany has one of the most modern research fleets in the world:  

GOOD TO KNOW

The Polarstern

Follow the AWI-crew on their current expeditions with their public logbook on the Polarstern App:

Arktis 2025 – AWI Polarstern Expeditionen

Climate system research made in Germany – modeling our future climate

German science also plays a leading role in climate system research, studying the complex interplay between the atmosphere, oceans, ice and land surfaces in order to better understand global climate change. The Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M) provides an impressive example of this: Researchers there have succeeded for the first time in the world in running a climate simulation with a fully coupled atmosphere/ocean model on the German Climate Computing Center's Levante high-performance computing system at an unprecedented level of detail. With a horizontal resolution of roughly one kilometer, processes such as cloud formation and precipitation can now be depicted much more realistically. This opens up the future possibility of directly simulating even heavy rainfall events instead of only estimating them statistically. 

Infographic explaining the structure and seasonal dynamics of Arctic sea ice, showing ice layers and melt processes.

Alfred-Wegener-Institut/Esther Horvath

MOSAiC data: 150 terabytes of data from 10,000 samples

Hundreds of international researchers are currently evaluating unprecedentedly precise climate and environmental data from the MOSAiC expedition of the century (2019-2020) to improve climate models. 

Milestone in climate research: The oldest ice core ever drilled on Earth is 1.2 million years old. It is being studied by researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in Bremerhaven. 

Nobel Prize for climate research: Klaus Hasselmann developed the statistical model with which global warming can be attributed to the increase in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. For this work, the founding director of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2021. 

 

GOOD TO KNOW

Mission in the Arctic Ocean, 2018

In this picture Dr. Marco Zanatta and Nora Fried from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research measure black carbon and radiation by collecting snow.

Climate adaption – risk management and resilience

Heatwaves lasting for days and hot tropical nights, weeks-long droughts, torrential rainfall and severe storms: climate change has long been a fact of life all over the world – including in Germany.  

Our eyes were opened to this at the very latest when the Ahr Valley in the southwest of Germany was hit by disastrous flooding in the summer of 2021: in a matter of hours, around 200 liters of rainfall per square meter were recorded in the region, causing rivers and streams to burst their banks – with the result that streets were swept away, houses destroyed and entire villages devastated. More than 130 people died here, hundreds were injured and the damage to buildings and infrastructure was immense. It is clear that we must adapt on all kinds of levels to cope with the new climate situation. 

Two researchers in high safety vests are standing on a field, doing measurements.

AdobeStock

Young engineers team use an anemometer to measure wind speed, temperature and humidity on a wind farm background.

And for this we need climate impact research. Scientifically sound adaptation research provides decision-makers with climate-related information and develops transformation projects that can make for example cities and regions more resilient to climate change. Universities and research institutions such as the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI are working on strategies to help municipalities to adapt successfully to climate change. Or, like the Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum hereon, they study regional climate modeling in order to make climate change information available on the local scale.  

Climate-resilient urban development is one of the key issues here. Sponge cities for example feature solutions to various climate impact scenarios such as heavy rainfall, high temperatures and prolonged drought. A sponge city such as the EcoQuartier Pfaffenhofen near Munich can absorb rainwater like a sponge, storing and then releasing it later in the form of vapor or for specific irrigation purposes. This prevents flooding and keeps the EcoQuartier cool.

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