How did the polar regions respond during times of the various past high CO2, icefree, 'greenhouse' worlds? What were their significance in terms of biological productivity, albedo, and carbon cycling?
What is timing of the inception, rates, variability, growth and collapse of polar ice sheets and sea-ice systems and what are the underlying mechanisms?
How did varying paleo-atmospheric CO2 affect polar regions (on different time scales)?
What was the role of the polar oceanic-ecosystems including the deep biosphere, in terms of global carbon cycling, budgets and turn-over rates?
What was the significance of past polar shallow- and deep oceanographical changes for global oceanic circulation?
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research Am Handelshafen 12 G-27570 Bremerhaven Phone: +49(471)4831-2148 Fax: +49(471)4831-2142 Veronica.Willmott@awi.de
Lester Lembke-Jene Science and Technology Manager
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research Am Handelshafen 12 G-27570 Bremerhaven Phone: +49(471)4831-1736 Fax: +49(471)4831-2142 Lester.Lembke-Jene@awi.de