Markus Janout

Dr. Markus Janout is a senior researcher specialized in Physical Oceanography at the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in Bremerhaven. His work focuses on high-latitude oceanographic processes, particularly in the Arctic and Southern Oceans. Key research interests include shelf-basin interactions, mesoscale dynamics, and the role of freshwater and stratification in polar regions. He leads observational campaigns using moored instruments and ship-based sampling to study ocean circulation patterns beneath ice shelves and along continental margins.

Janout's expertise spans interdisciplinary projects such as the MOSAiC expedition, where he contributed to Arctic Ocean dynamics studies. His research addresses critical climate-related topics like ice shelf-ocean interaction, heat fluxes, and the impact of warming waters on Antarctic ice shelves. He has published extensively on Arctic boundary currents, Siberian shelf processes, and the influence of sea ice retreat on marine ecosystems.

Notable contributions include discovering exceptionally warm water inflows toward the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf and elucidating mechanisms behind Arctic halocline weakening. His work integrates observational data with numerical models to improve understanding of polar ocean-climate linkages, with implications for global climate projections.