Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research

The Alfred Wegener Institute of Polar and Marine Research is a scientific organization located in Bremerhaven, Germany. The institute was founded in 1980 and is named after revolutionary meteorologist climatologist, and geologist Alfred Wegener.

Structure of the institute

The institute has four major departments:

Climate System Department, which studies oceans, ice and atmosphere as physical and chemical systems.
Pelagic Ecosystems Department, which studies the ecology of plankton with regard to sea ice and sea shelf systems.
Benthic Ecosystems Department, which studies the biology of ocean floors at a variety of depths.
Geosystems Department, which studies climate development, especially as revealed by sediments.

Besides its main site in Bremerhaven, the institute has research stations in the Arctic and Antarctic, and a research vessel.