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Jet streams are often referred to as the "motor" of global weather: High-altitude wind currents steer areas of high and low pressure, playing a crucial role in shaping our weather. However, how these atmospheric flows are affected by climate change remains uncertain. Now, a team of climate scientists from Leipzig University, working with other research institutions, has developed a new method that enables a deeper understanding of what is referred to as the Eddy-Driven Jet in the Southern Hemisphere.

Jet streams are considered the "weather engine": The wind currents at high altitudes drive high and low pressure areas and are therefore largely responsible for our weather. However, it is still unclear how climate change affects these air currents. A team of climate scientists from Leipzig University and other research institutions has now found a method that provides a deeper understanding of the so-called eddy-driven jet in the southern hemisphere and allows better predictions for the coming years as to how this wind band reacts to climate change.

Due to global warming, the North Atlantic Oscillation, an atmospheric circulation pattern that strongly influences European weather, is becoming more extreme in summer To the point North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO): Fluctuations in the air pressure difference between the Azores and Iceland influence the weather in Europe Increasing variability: Climate change will lead to more frequent and more severe NAO extremes in summer by the end of the cent

Laboratory experiments: Chlorine shapes the chemistry of the earth-facing side of the moon - new clues about formation How many halogens, that is volatile elements such as chlorine and fluorine, are present on the Moon and how they are distributed provides vital insights into the origin and evolution of our celestial companion - for instance, how the lunar crust formed and how it chemically changed over time.

Hot summers in Europe can be better predicted if an increase of the heat content in the North Atlantic is taken into account To the point Heat indicator in the ocean: European heat waves are often preceded by an increase in the North Atlantic heat content Better predictions: Model simulations that take into account the connection with the heat content in the Northern Atlantic predict past European heat waves more reliably than calculations which omit this mechanism.

Researchers from Freie Universität Berlin and the University of Potsdam have published the results of a study indicating that the slope of the seafloor plays a crucial role in how submarine canyons are formed Submarine canyons are large, kilometer-deep gorges on the seafloor along continental margins that transport sediments, nutrients, and carbon from offshore regions into the deep sea.

Göttingen University research team improves understanding of water availability in forest soil   Forest soil stores water, carbon and nutrients for trees and also provides a habitat for living organisms. When managing forests, it is particularly important to work in a way that protects the soil and to correctly assess soil moisture for that purpose.

Ultra-high precision analyses of volcanic rocks show Earth's core is leaking into rocks above   Earth's largest gold reserves are not kept inside Fort Knox, the United States Bullion Depository. In fact, they are hidden much deeper in the ground than one would expect. More than 99.999% of Earth's stores of gold and other precious metals lie buried under 3,000 km of solid rock, locked away within the Earth's metallic core and far beyond the reaches of humankind.

Team at Leibniz University Hannover and the University of Bonn more precisely pinpoints when flowering plants first appeared in earth's history. They are very tiny, but they are a key source of information when it comes to the earth's evolutionary history: pollen grains are usually no larger than 20 micrometres, or 0.02 millimetres.

Iceberg armadas and altered river courses caused parts of the northern hemisphere to cool rapidly on several occasions Abrupt climate changes: From the peak of the last ice age to the Holocene, the North Atlantic and neighboring regions cooled rapidly again and again, temporarily. Revealing model simulations: Between 20,000 and 13,000 years ago, ice masses breaking off from the ice sheets of the northern hemisphere enriched the North Atlantic with fresh water and weakened the Atlantic overturning circulation (Amoc), which transports heat from the tropics to the north.

International research team analyses magmatic crystals formed prior to volcanic eruption 40,000 years ago How long before the actual volcanic eruption are there warning signals deep down inside the Earth? An international research team led by the University of Göttingen has investigated this question by analysing volcanic deposits from a volcanic eruption that occurred in the Phlegraean Fields near Naples 40,000 years ago.

International research team investigates how environment and barriers to dispersal shape biodiversity Why do some plants thrive in specific regions but not in others? A study led by researchers at the University of Göttingen explores the factors shaping plant distributions and how these patterns have changed over millions of years.

Contrary to previous claims, the ocean absorbs more microplastics from the atmosphere than it releases into it A sink for microplastics: contrary to previous claims, the ocean releases less microplastics into the atmosphere than it absorbs from it. The result of a model calculation: 15 percent of all the microplastics contained in the air are deposited in the oceans.

Even after complete deforestation, the average annual precipitation would not change significantly - but its distribution over the year and the region would New evidence suggests that mean annual precipitation in the Amazon region is not going to change significantly even if it were completely deforested.

The tiny ice inhabitants darken the glacier surface and can thus accelerate its melting. Tiny algae darken the surface of glaciers and thus accelerate their melting. This is the case, for example, on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which plays an important role in our climate and is already melting increasingly fast due to global warming.

A new study with the involvement of multiple researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and the University of Jena found that biodiversity has changed faster in locations where warming or cooling was faster. Published in the journal "Nature", the study focused on how the composition of species in an ecosystem - rather than the number of species - has shifted over time.

Research team investigates influence of Zagros Mountains on bending Earth's surface An international research team led by the University of Göttingen has investigated the influence of the forces exerted by the Zagros Mountains in the Kurdistan region of Iraq on how much the surface of the Earth has bent over the last 20 million years.

International research team measures extreme winds on an exoplanet An international research team led by the University of Göttingen has discovered extremely strong winds on the exoplanet "WASP-127b". The winds along the equator of this planet can reach speeds of up to 33,000 kilometres per hour. These results help better understand the atmosphere of planets outside our solar system.

Extreme climate events endanger groundwater quality and stability, when rain water evades natural purification processes in the soil. This was demonstrated in long-term groundwater analyses using new analytical methods, as described in a recent study in "Nature Communications". As billions of people rely on sufficient and clean groundwater for drinking, understanding the impacts of climate extremes on future water security is crucial.