Zwei Männer pflanzen Bäume und bewässern sie, um den Sauerstoffgehalt in der Luft zu erhöhen und die globale Erwärmung zu verringern

07.11.2022

Natural CO2 reduction implemented faster and with less risk than high-tech approaches

Carbon dioxide can be removed from the atmosphere by natural or technical means. Natural sinks such as peatlands can be restored, and innovative technologies already exist to extract carbon from the air. Researchers from the Helmholtz Climate Initiative's Net Zero 2050 Cluster have identified the approaches with the highest potential for carbon removal in Germany.

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kleiner orangener Seestern in einer Seegraswiese

13.04.2021

Carbon-Hotspots in the Baltic Sea

Marine plants such as seagrass meadows, mangrove forests and salt marshes sequester large amounts of carbon in the sea floor. In the German Baltic Sea, for example, seagrass meadows currently store around 3 to 12 megatons. This is significantly more than was previously known, as the first results from Dr. Angela Stevenson from GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel show.

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Further press releases from Helmholtz

13.11.2024

Turning point in global fossil CO2 emissions has not yet been reached

Despite advances in clean and renewable energies, the growing consumption of oil and natural gas is causing global fossil emissions to climb: by the end of 2024, they are expected to increase by 0.8…

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12.11.2024

First amber find on the Antarctic continent

Roughly 90 million years ago, climatic conditions in Antarctica were suitable for resin-producing trees. A team of researchers led by the Alfred Wegener Institute and the TU Bergakademie Freiberg…

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08.11.2024

How much climate change is in the weather?

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…

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30.10.2024

Climate change could increase mobility of toxic metals in soils

These could enter the food chain and destabilise ecosystems, write researchers from UFZ and the University of Tübingen in Nature Communications Earth and Environment. They show that climate change…

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21.10.2024

The 2022 drought: What was the role of climate change?

Many regions of Germany experienced extreme drought in the summer of 2022. A research team coordinated by UFZ has now discovered that more than a third of the extraordinary intensity and physical…

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15.10.2024

AWI Director Antje Boetius will join the renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in California

In spring 2025, the Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Prof Antje Boetius, will be appointed president of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in California. MBARI is one of…

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11.10.2024

Comprehensive assessment of the changing Central Arctic Ocean

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…

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25.09.2024

Citizen scientists help discover microplastics along the entire German coastline

The global production of plastics and the resulting plastic waste has increased to such an extent that plastics have become ubiquitous in our environment. Plastics of various sizes are also found…

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19.09.2024

Atmospheric blocking slows ocean-driven melting of Greenland’s largest glacier tongue

Northeast Greenland is home to the 79° N Glacier – the country’s largest floating glacier tongue, but also one seriously threatened by global warming: warm water from the Atlantic is melting it from…

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06.09.2024

The role of micropollutants in fish mortality on the River Oder in 2022

An international UFZ-led team have detected ca. 120 organic micropollutants in the River Oder and investigated their role in damaging aquatic organisms. They found that high concentrations of these…

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04.09.2024

Photosynthesis in near darkness

Photosynthesis can take place in nature even at extremely low light levels. This is the result of an international study that investigated the development of Arctic microalgae at the end of the polar…

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28.08.2024

YESSS – Kick-off for a year-long research marathon in the Arctic

In the Arctic Archipelago Svalbard, this August roughly 20 experts from seven German universities and research centres set up their labs and instruments for the polar research project YESSS (Year…

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19.08.2024

Change of staff in coastal research: AWI Vice Director Prof Karen Wiltshire to helm new climate institute at Trinity College Dublin

In 2001, Prof Karen Wiltshire began investigating changes in the ecosystems of the North Sea, particularly in the Wadden Sea, in connection with anthropogenic and natural influences – like climate…

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14.08.2024

A belly full of jelly

For a long time, scientists assumed that jellyfish were a dead-end food source for predatory fish. However, a team from the Alfred Wegener Institute together with the Thünen Institute has now…

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12.08.2024

UFZ forest condition monitor online

Large parts of German forests show an increase in damage as a result of the recent extreme drought period. But how does forest condition vary across the landscape? The new UFZ forest condition…

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12.08.2024

What dangers lie in industrial contaminated sites in permafrost?

Industrial waste lurks in thousands of sites in the Arctic permafrost regions – some of it is highly toxic. If the permafrost thaws increasingly deeper due to the massive warming of the Arctic deeper…

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08.08.2024

Capitalizing on water research to overcome water crises

Water is a key resource for the 21st century whose sustainable use cannot be achieved with current practices. The conference provides an opportunity for the water science community to discuss…

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06.08.2024

How climate change is transforming the Wadden Sea

Climate change can produce a range of effects on flat sedimentary coasts. Researchers from the Wadden Sea Station on Sylt have just released a multidisciplinary overview of the far-reaching climate…

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19.07.2024

100 years of Wadden Sea research in List on Sylt

Exactly 100 years ago, Germany’s northernmost research facilities on the North Sea island Sylt were opened. What began as a small field outpost for oyster research in 1924 would evolve into a modern,…

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04.07.2024

The dawn of the Antarctic ice sheets

In recent years global warming has left its mark on the Antarctic ice sheets. The "eternal" ice in Antarctica is melting faster than previously assumed, particularly in West Antarctica more than East…

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10.06.2024

How is the dramatic decline in sea ice affecting biodiversity?

The depths of the Weddell Sea are home to diverse biotic communities consisting of sponges, cold water corals, and countless other organisms. Moreover, as climate change progresses, this ice-ladden…

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05.06.2024

25 years of the deep-sea observatory AWI-HAUSGARTEN

For the past 25 years, the Alfred Wegener Institute has operated a long-term observatory in the Arctic deep sea: the HAUSGARTEN. Located between Greenland and Svalbard, it is where researchers…

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04.06.2024

Record highs in the North Sea: Even the German Bight is warmer than ever before

Researchers around the globe are sounding the alarm: ocean temperatures are the warmest ever recorded. In 2023, the North Sea also experienced dramatic record highs, as readings taken by the Alfred…

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03.06.2024

Thawing permafrost: Not a climate tipping element, but nevertheless far-reaching impacts

Permafrost soils store large quantities of organic carbon and are often portrayed as a critical tipping element in the Earth system, which, once global warming has reached a certain level, suddenly…

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17.05.2024

How heatwaves are affecting Arctic phytoplankton

The basis of the marine food web in the Arctic, the phytoplankton, responds to heatwaves much differently than to constantly elevated temperatures. This has been found by the first targeted…

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15.05.2024

Jellyfish may dominate the future Arctic Ocean

Climate change is putting countless marine organisms under pressure. However, jellyfish in the world’s oceans could actually benefit from the rising water temperatures – also and especially in the…

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10.05.2024

Return from East Antarctica

After more than six months, the research icebreaker Polarstern is returning to its home port of Bremerhaven after a successful Antarctic season. The expeditions to the southern hemisphere and the…

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24.04.2024

100 excellent international experts trained for global marine science

A decade of excellence: Over the past ten years 100 scholars from 47 countries to become experts in marine science were trained at the Alfred Wegener Institute. This highly effective programme funded…

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12.04.2024

Drifting with the clouds

The role of clouds and warm air masses from the open ocean for the rapid warming of the Arctic is at the heart of a recent Alfred Wegener Institute project on Svalbard. The researchers are applying a…

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11.04.2024

No two worms are alike

Sport junkie or couch potato? Always on time or often late? The animal kingdom, too, is home to a range of personalities, each with its own lifestyle. In a study just released in the journal PLOS…

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Press

Further press releases from Helmholtz