Torsten Kanzow

Professor Torsten Kanzow, Ph.D. is a Professor at the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven, Germany, where he leads research in the Department of Climate Sciences, specifically within the Section of Physical Oceanography of the Polar Seas.

His research focuses on critical oceanographic processes in polar regions that influence global climate systems:

• Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation dynamics
• Vertical mixing processes in ocean basins
• Arctic amplification and sea ice-ocean-atmosphere interactions
• Deep water formation in polar seas
• Atlantic water pathways to polar ice sheets

Professor Kanzow's work examines how polar ocean processes drive global climate patterns, with particular attention to how climate change affects these systems. His current research investigates the coupling between atmospheric processes, sea ice dynamics, and ocean circulation in the rapidly warming Arctic region.

He has led multiple significant research projects funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), including investigations of deep water formation in the Weddell Sea, vertical mixing near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and the role of marginal seas in global ocean circulation.