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Prince Frederik, who took part in a four-month sledge expedition in Greenland in the winter of 2000, is interested in marine and polar research, especially in connection with Greenland, the Faroe Islands and the surrounding seas. Since this is one focus of the research at the ZMAW, he expressed the wish to become acquainted with the work here. After being welcomed by the Staatsrat of Hamburg's Department of Science and Health, Dr. Roland Salchow, and the Speaker of the ZMAW, Prof. Dr. Jochem Marotzke, the Danisch Prince was first presented with a new method for plankton surveys at sea. Prof. Dr. Axel Temming of the Institute for Hydrobiology and Fisheries Science demonstrated the Video Plankton Recorder, which is capable of high resolution sampling of plankton organisms with simultaneous registration of underwater conditions such as temperature and salinity. Then Prof. Dr. Jochem Marotzke of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology gave a summary of the research at the Centre and introduced the latest climate projections for the polar ice caps to the Prince. According to the most recent calculations, at the end of this century the north polar sea ice may melt completely during summer. The oceanic circulation in the North Atlantic transports huge quantities of heat and is thus a strong influence on the climate. With measurements at sea, the ZMAW investigates the stability of the oceanic circulation in the North Atlantic. The possibility that the Gulf Stream might be weakening has been a topic of lively discussion in recent times. The mechanism of the circulation in the North Atlantic was demonstrated to the Crown Prince by Prof. Dr. Detlef Quadfasel. With the help of a water tank he simulated the North Polar Sea, where vast amounts of surface water cool and sink to lower depths. This process is an important factor for global ocean circulation, where compensatory currents at the surface and at depth keep global climate stable. Contact: Susan Beddig Dr. Annette Kirk Prof. Dr. Jochem Marotzke Prof. Dr. Axel Temming Prof. Dr. Detlef Quadfasel |
