© Alfred Wegener Institute / Stefan Hendricks

Information platform on the marine protected area initiative in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica

Are you interested in or involved in marine spatial planning / conservation in Antarctica? Then join us on the road to a Marine Protected Area in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica (WSMPA). This information platform offers you prepared information and products on the ongoing WSMPA planning initiative. The website is aimed at Antarctic and Weddell Sea stakeholders and those interested in the topic of marine spatial planning from science and politics, environmental organisations and the general public. MORE ...


Recent research findings

© Alfred Wegener Institute / Daniel Zitterbart

Emperor penguins live up to 600 kilometers further north than assumed

Researchers have found that juvenile emperor penguins travel much further than previously assumed by experts. The travel tracks recorded by satellite tags fitted to 8 juvenile individuals revealed that the travels also extended as much as 1260 km outside of any established or proposed marine protected area in the Southern Ocean. Read more...

A group of fin whales near the proposed Weddell Sea Sanctuary

© Alfred Wegener Institute

150 whales observed feeding together

After blue whales, fin whales are the largest whales in the world – and human beings have hunted both species to near-extinction. After the ban on commercial whaling in 1976, the stocks of these long-lived, but slow-growing creatures are rebounding: in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers and filmmakers jointly present videos and photos of large groups of up to 150 southern fin whales in their historical feeding areas – more than has ever been documented before using modern methods. Read more...

 

© Alfred-Wegener-Institut / Ulrich Freier

Northwest Weddell Sea identified as possible region of origin for krill larvae

Oceanic advection models identified the area of the northwestern area of the proposed WSMPA as a possible region of origin for krill larvae, which as juveniles take advantage of the large food supply in the southern Scotia Sea to grow rapidly the following spring. Over the past 5-10 years, the area north of the South Orkney Islands and the southern Scotia Sea has been subject to increasing krill fishing pressure. Read more ...

© Alfred Wegener Institute / PS124, AWI OFOBS team

World's largest fish breeding area discovered in Antarctica

Near the Filchner Ice Shelf in the south of the Antarctic Weddell Sea, a research team has found the world's largest fish breeding area known to date. A towed camera system photographed and filmed thousands of nests of icefish of the species Neopagetopsis ionah on the seabed. The density of the nests and the size of the entire breeding area suggest a total number of about 60 million icefish breeding at the time of observation. These findings provide support for the establishment of a Marine Protected Area in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. A team led by Autun Purser from the Alfred Wegener Institute publish their results in the current issue of the scientific journal Current Biology. Read more...