The Earth’s total amount of freshwater dropped abruptly starting in May 2014 and has remained low ever since. The shift could indicate Earth’s continents have entered a persistently drier phase. An international team of scientists using observations from NASA-German satellites found evidence that Earth’s total amount of freshwater dropped abruptly starting in May 2014 and has remained low ever since. Reporting in Surveys in Geophysics, the researchers suggested the shift could indicate Earth’s continents have entered a persistently drier phase….

Research team analyze biodiversity, ecosystems and economics of enriching beech forests with conifers. Forests provide biodiversity, ecosystem functions, income and much more. How can these diverse and seemingly diverging demands be met? An international research team led by the University of Göttingen addressed this question by analysing the effects of enriching beech forests in Germany with commercially valuable native (to mountainous regions of Europe) and non-native conifer species, in this case, the Norway spruce and Douglas fir, respectively. Their study…

The odor of recycled plastics is a major challenge for their recycling and requires customized solutions. Recyclates can have undesirable odors that come from various sources, such as microbiological degradation or residues of previous contents. This is precisely where the Fraunhofer CCPE compact on December 5, 2024, on the topic of “Emission and odor optimization in plastics and recyclates” comes in. Prof. Andrea Büttner, Board of Management Member of the Fraunhofer CCPE and Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Process…

New AWI simulations make it possible to compare actual extreme weather events in various climate scenarios, and to gauge the role of global warming in connection with these extremes in the process. Only a few weeks ago, massive precipitation produced by the storm “Boris” led to chaos and flooding in Central and Eastern Europe. An analysis conducted by the Alfred Wegener Institute shows that in a world without the current level of global warming Boris would have deposited roughly nine…

Europe is preparing for climate-neutral flight powered by sustainably produced hydrogen. Last year, the EU launched a project to support industry and universities in the development of a hydrogen-powered medium-haul aircraft. Among other things, jet engines will have to be adapted to run on the new fuel. Today’s engines are optimised for burning kerosene. “Hydrogen burns much faster than kerosene, resulting in more compact flames,” explains Nicolas Noiray, Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering at ETH Zurich….

On Sept. 26, 2024, as Hurricane Helene slammed into the Gulf Coast of Florida, NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment, or AWE, recorded enormous swells in the atmosphere that the hurricane produced roughly 55 miles above the ground. On Sept. 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene slammed into the Gulf Coast of Florida, inducing storm surges and widespread impacts on communities in its path. At the same time, NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment, or AWE, recorded enormous swells in the atmosphere that the hurricane produced roughly…

How the Hunga Tonga Eruption has affected Ecosystems in the South Pacific. The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano in January 2022 released massive quantities of volcanic material into the ocean and atmosphere. Researchers from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel have investigated how this has affected surface water biogeochemistry in the South Pacific. During a GEOTRACES expedition, the team showed that large amounts of trace elements, including iron, were introduced into the ocean, fostering phytoplankton growth….

University of Tübingen and Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) team investigates the effects of rising temperatures and carbon dioxide levels on agriculture. The changes scientists expect in the climate could cause the toxic metals naturally occurring in soils to become more mobile, destabilize ecosystems and increasingly enter the human food chain via agriculture. Such scenarios are particularly likely to occur in slightly acidic soils, which make up around two thirds of all soils. These are the conclusion of an…

EU Twinning Project to Investigate Deep-Sea Food Webs around Madeira. A kick-off meeting was held yesterday in Funchal, Madeira, to officially launch the EU Twinning project TWILIGHTED. Over the next three years, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel will work as the German partner alongside institutions from Norway and Portugal to explore the twilight zone in waters around Madeira. At the same time, marine research in Madeira will be strengthened through knowledge transfer, with the goal to establish a…

A new study shows that increasing plant diversity in agriculture can be used to improve the carbon sequestration potential of agricultural soils. As the agricultural sector strives to reduce its carbon footprint, promoting biodiversity in agricultural practices could be the key to more sustainable and climate-friendly food production systems. As agricultural expansion and intensive farming practices continues to degrade soils and release carbon into the atmosphere, finding ways to enhance soil carbon storage is critical. Given that over 40% of…

Two Hereon studies call for clear framework conditions for CO2 sequestration in coastal areas . A digital twin for projections, an independent body for certification and new legal structures for monitoring. This should help projects for CO2 storage in coastal areas, according to two recent studies with lead authorship or participation of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon. The two papers were recently published in Environmental Research Letters and Elementa. The expertise of the Hereon authors is primarily aimed at politics and business….

More than 800,000 km2 of the Arctic were affected by human activity in 2013, according to an analysis of satellite-derived data on artificial light at night. On average, 85% of the light-polluted areas are due to industrial activities rather than urban development. According to the international team led by UZH researchers, the results are crucial for sustainable development and nature conservation in this highly vulnerable region. The Arctic is threatened by strong climate change: the average temperature has risen by…

Researchers in the Stanford Radio Glaciology lab use radio waves to understand rapidly changing ice sheets and their contributions to global sea-level rise. This technique has revealed groundwater beneath Greenland, the long-term impacts of extreme melt, a process that could accelerate ice sheet mass loss in Antarctica, the potential instability of an ice sheet that could raise sea levels by 10 feet, and more. Now, PhD students within the group have created an open-source tool that others can use to…

Scientists at the Wood Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have been working for years to find out what types of plastics have the shortest and longest lifespans in the ocean, and what types of plastic products, like straws and food wrappers, most commonly contribute to plastic pollution. With more biodegradable materials being developed , like cellulose diacetate (CDA)—a plastic-like polymer derived from wood pulp—researchers are racing to ensure they can replace traditional plastics without causing harm to ocean environments. Now after…

Today, the research vessel ALKOR embarks on an expedition in the Bay of Lübeck. The aim is to study the effects of munitions clearance on the marine environment. Four weeks ago, pilot UXO clearance operations began in the areas of Haffkrug and Pelzerhaken. These operations are closely monitored and supported by GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. Since mid-September, three professional companies have been removing unexploded ordnance (UXO) from a dump site in the Bay of Lübeck. This is…

Research Vessel Polarstern returns to port with new findings and a wealth of data and samples. Sparse sea ice, thousands of datapoints and samples, a surprising number of animals and hydrothermal vents – those are the impressions and outcomes that an international research team is now bringing back from a Polarstern expedition to the Central Arctic. After a four-month-long Arctic season, the Alfred Wegener Institute’s research icebreaker is expected to arrive back in Bremerhaven with the morning high tide on…