Federal Minister of Research Stark-Watzinger christens research cutter Uthörn. Today, German Federal Minister of Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger christened the Alfred Wegener Institute’s new research vessel Uthörn at the Fassmer shipyards in Berne. The new ship, measuring 35 metres long and with a price tag of ca. 15 million euros, will be the first seaworthy German ship powered by environmentally friendly, low-emissions methanol, setting new standards for sustainability in German shipping. After a two-year construction phase, the cutter is…
Global warming is changing the Arctic by causing permafrost thaw, glacier melt, droughts, fires and changes in vegetation. These developments are strongly linked to the energy exchange between land and the atmosphere. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now shown that different plant communities in the tundra play a key role in this energy exchange but are not taken into account in climate models. The heat waves that swept across Europe this summer made many people realize how important…
When algae, mussels or barnacles settle on ship hulls, this can lead to billions of euros worth of damage. To counteract this, they are treated with antifouling coatings. A scientist at the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) has now investigated the extent to which newly developed antifouling coatings could be used to curb algal growth, which often affects coral larvae as they settle and develop. The results of the study were published in the journal Scientific Reports. Tropical…
Chinese and European satellite missions to advance global carbon dioxide monitoring. An international research team has analyzed measurements from the TanSat mission and the Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor mission to identify carbon dioxide from human activities. This is the first attempt to use TanSat measurements to detect anthropogenic, or human-caused, carbon dioxide emission signatures. Quantifying anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions is one of the most important requirements needed for greenhouse gases to be monitored on a global basis. The team, with researchers…
‘The Trapping Zone’ – creating oasis of life in the Maldives. The Nekton Maldives Mission, involving researchers from the University of Oxford, has found evidence of a previously undescribed ecosystem – ‘The Trapping Zone’ – that is creating an oasis of life 500 metres down in the depths of the Indian Ocean. The discovery has been hailed as highly significant by the Maldives Government. Video evidence from Nekton science cameras aboard the Omega Seamaster II submersible, combined with collected biological…
A newly discovered type of transferrable DNA structure with a sci-fi name appears to play a role in balancing atmospheric methane. In Star Trek, the Borg are a ruthless, hive-minded collective that assimilate other beings with the intent of taking over the galaxy. Here on nonfictional planet Earth, Borgs are DNA packages that could help humans fight climate change. Last year, a team led by Jill Banfield discovered DNA structures within a methane-consuming microbe called Methanoperedens that appear to supercharge…
The process is associated with warming of the ocean subsurface resulting in a reduction of surface salinity due to the release of huge iceberg armadas from glaciers. The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), a system of ocean currents that carry warm water from the tropics into the North Atlantic and transport cold water from the northern to the southern hemisphere, is a fundamental mechanism for the regulation of Earth’s climate. The conveyor belt has collapsed in the past owing to…
Climate change is causing the Arctic Ocean’s sea ice to melt away. When the polar ocean loses its cover of sea ice, carbon dioxide uptake increases disrupting the food web in the water according to a study in the journal Science co-authored by researchers from the University of Gothenburg. By comparing data from a long list of Arctic expeditions, researchers have been able to see how the pH of the ocean north of Alaska and Siberia has decreased rapidly. In…
… must be factored into global climate targets. By the end of this century, permafrost in the rapidly warming Arctic will likely emit as much carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere as a large industrial nation, and potentially more than the U.S. has emitted since the start of the industrial revolution. But that’s only one possible future for the vast stores of carbon locked in the formerly perennially frozen but now-thawing ground in the Arctic. Using over a decade…
A major new project will help benchmark biodiversity change in the Arctic Ocean and guide conservation efforts by identifying unique species and assessing their extinction risk. Developed by an international team of scientists under the joint leadership of the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK and the Alfred-Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI) in Germany, the EcoOmics dataset will also support bioprospecting to tackle the shortage of antibiotics and antiviral medication, as well as…
How are species richness and the characteristics of running waters related worldwide? This question is being addressed by a team led by IGB scientist Sami Domisch. The researchers have developed the highest-resolution map of the world’s river systems ever produced. The map provides a basis for the detailed analysis of what characterises riverine habitats and how they are interconnected. Rivers are the “lifelines” of all land masses on earth. This is also visible in the map that Sami Domisch has…
Human-induced climate change has already had a major impact on Earth’s biodiversity. The habitat of many species – including those in the oceans – Is disappearing, and invasive species are conquering new regions. In a comprehensive data analysis, a team of researchers from Bremen and Oldenburg has studied how species communities in the North Atlantic have changed over a period of 24,000 years – since the last ice age. As expected, species have migrated northward, but new communities have also…
New technology developed at the University of Waterloo could make a significant difference in the fight against climate change by affordably converting harmful carbon dioxide (CO2) into fuels and other valuable chemicals on an industrial scale. Outlined in a study published today in the journal Nature Energy, the system yields 10 times more carbon monoxide (CO) – which can be used to make ethanol, methane and other desirable substances – than existing, small-scale technologies now limited to testing in laboratories. Its individual…
Study identifies cause of lake’s water loss. The Salton Sea, California’s most polluted inland lake, has lost a third of its water in the last 25 years. New research has determined a decline in Colorado River flow is the reason for that shrinking. As the lake dries up, the concentration of salt and chemicals in the remaining water has increased dramatically, causing a mass die-off of fish and birds, including endangered species. The dry lakebed, coated in the salty, toxic…
The scientific expedition to the Nord Stream leak from the University of Gothenburg has arrived back home. The researchers discovered that the methane levels near the leak were about 1,000 times higher than normal, but it’s too early to draw any conclusions from that discovery. The researchers have brought back heaps of samples to analyse. After five days at sea, the research vessel Skagerak is back home in Gothenburg. The hastily organised expedition to the Nord Stream leaks in the…
Kick-off meeting for DFG Priority Programme “Tropical Climate Variability & Coral Reefs”. Corals and coral reefs store information about how the ocean-atmosphere system functioned in the past, but also about what environmental stresses they were exposed to. For example, instrumental records of sea surface observations and reef monitoring can be extended to provide a near-monthly record of past conditions. The Priority Programme is coordinated by Dr. Thomas Felis (University of Bremen, MARUM). More than 40 scientists from ten universities, three…
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