An international research team deployed the unmanned submarine ‘Ran’ from the University of Gothenburg underneath thick ice in Antarctica. They got back the very first detailed maps of the underside of a glacier, revealing clues to future sea level rise. The autonomous underwater vehicle, Ran, was programmed to dive into the cavity of Dotson ice shelf in West Antarctica, and scan the ice above it with an advanced sonar system. For 27 days, the submarine travelled a total of over…

New Nature Geoscience study shows variable behavior of currents in the deep sea. The seafloor is the final destination for all sorts of particles, like sand, mud, organic carbon that provides food for seafloor organisms, and even pollutants. Accumulations of these particles in the deep sea are used to reconstruct past climates, natural hazards and ocean conditions; providing valuable archives of past change that extend far beyond historical records. The lead scientist on the project, Dr Mike Clare of National…

How Sapphires Formed in Volcanoes. Researchers at Heidelberg University are studying the formation of this characteristically blue-colored crystal in volcanic melts. Sapphires are among the most precious gems, yet they consist solely of chemically “contaminated” aluminum oxide, or corundum. Worldwide, these characteristically blue-colored crystals are mainly found in association with silicon-poor volcanic rocks. This connection is widely assumed to result from sapphires originating in deep crustal rocks and accidentally ending up on the Earth’s surface as magma ascended. Through geochemical…

July 22, 2024, was the hottest day on record, according to a NASA analysis of global daily temperature data. July 21 and 23 of this year also exceeded the previous daily record, set in July 2023. These record-breaking temperatures are part of a long-term warming trend driven by human activities, primarily the emission of greenhouse gases. As part of its mission to expand our understanding of Earth, NASA collects critical long-term observations of our changing planet. “In a year that…

Study highlights economic and environmental efficiency of Indigenous harvesting in the Canadian Arctic communities. Local foods are critical to the food security and health of Indigenous peoples around the world, but local “informal” economies are often invisible in official economic statistics. Consequently, these economies may be overlooked in the policies designed to combat climate change. For instance, Indigenous communities in the North American Arctic are characterized by mixed economies featuring hunting, fishing, gathering and trapping activities, alongside the formal wage…

A decarbonised steel industry that includes carbon dioxide removal techniques in its net zero arsenal could use lower-grade iron ore, according to a new study.  Steel accounts for 5-8% of carbon dioxide emissions globally. Its total emissions have risen over the past decade, largely due to increased demand. The International Energy Agency has stated that, without innovation, the scope to limit emissions is ‘limited’. Therefore, the commercialisation of new zero-emission production processes is critical. Innovative processes are the focus of…

Herbicide use in agriculture and urban areas may not be the dominant source of glyphosate in European waters, says University of Tübingen study – Far-reaching implications for indus-try and politics. Analysis of sewage sludge for the formation of glyphosate in Professor Carolin Huhn’s laboratory at the University of Tübingen. Foto: Friedhelm Albrecht / University of Tübingen A research team at the University of Tübingen has found that most glyphosate that ends up in Euro-pean rivers likely does not come from…

One of the first major studies on non-exhaust emissions from rail vehicles shows that a lot of particulate matter contaminated with heavy metals is produced especially along railway lines. In addition to exhaust emissions, abrasion emissions from tyres and brakes have become increasingly important when assessing the environmental impact of traffic. However, the focus here was on road vehicles; rail was hardly considered. In a study commissioned by the German Centre for Rail Transport Research (DZSF), researchers from the Institute…

New study finds metallic minerals split water to generate ‘dark oxygen’. An international team of researchers, including a Northwestern University chemist, has discovered that metallic minerals on the deep-ocean floor produce oxygen — 13,000 feet below the surface. The surprising discovery challenges long-held assumptions that only photosynthetic organisms, such as plants and algae, generate Earth’s oxygen. But the new finding shows there might be another way. It appears oxygen also can be produced at the seafloor — where no light…

Through international teamwork, scientists’ on-site weed resistance diagnosis boosts knowledge exchange and sustainable agriculture. Dr. Ulrich Lutz with Arvind Ramburn from the Parmessur team, during a training session in the lab of the Biotechnology department of the MSIRI. (c) Ulrich Lutz A collaborative effort between Dr. Ulrich Lutz from the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen and Dr. Yogesh Parmessur from the Mauritius Sugar Industry Research Institute (MSIRI) has led to a significant breakthrough in combating herbicide-resistant weeds that are…

Greenland is surrounded by the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans – both oceans are significantly affected by climate change. The consequences are warmer, less salty and more acidic waters, an increased input of melt and river water and a rapid decline in sea ice. The international team of the MSM130 expedition, led by GEOMAR, is investigating these effects off the east coast of Greenland with the research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN. The focus is on research and modelling on the…

Current study involving GEOMAR calls for aquatic oxygen loss to be recognised as another Planetary Boundary. Oxygen concentrations in our planet’s waters is decreasing rapidly and dramatically – from ponds to the ocean. The progressive loss of oxygen threatens not only ecosystems, but also the livelihoods of large sectors of society and the entire planet, according to the authors of an international study involving GEOMAR published today in the scientific journal Nature Ecology and Evolution. They call for the loss…

A reef island adapts to changing environmental influences. Although it is surrounded by stressed coral reefs, an island in the Indonesian Spermonde Archipelago has not shrunk but continued to grow. Reef islands hence react dynamically to environmental changes that disturb their reef systems according to a new study by researchers from the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) in Bremen, Germany. Scientists examined the composition of the inhabited reef island Langkai off Makassar and reconstructed the course of the…

Findings has critical implications for predicting extreme weather events such as hurricanes and heavy rainfall. In a groundbreaking meteorological study, an international team of researchers from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF; Reading, UK), and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR; Boulder, CO) are improving scientific understanding of atmospheric waves in the tropics, including how they impact extreme weather events like hurricanes and heavy rainfall….

IOW leads large Baltic Sea field experiment with four research vessels. On July 16, 2024, a 19-day research cruise will start in the Baltic Sea led by the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW) to investigate the impact of bottom trawling on the seabed and the organisms living there. In addition to the IOW research vessel ELISABETH MANN BORGESE, three more research vessels from other institutions are involved in the large-scale bottom trawling simulation experiment near Warnemünde. The…

Sustainable and affordable building materials are therefore more in demand than ever. This is where the “ZEROES” project comes in: The project partners Betonwerk Büscher, Rohstoffbauwerke and project management Fraunhofer UMSICHT are pursuing the goal of reducing CO2 emissions in the production of mineral building materials. A central approach is the use of carbonates as binders or fillers in concrete and sand-lime bricks. The project partners met on July 3, 2024 for the official kick-off at Fraunhofer UMSICHT in Oberhausen….