news

Freie researchers contribute to new study in "Nature" detailing evidence of unusual drought conditions in Europe in recent years Using data taken from tree-ring isotopes, researchers have proven that the summer droughts that have swept parts of Europe in recent years were actually very unusual in comparison to droughts experienced during the past centuries.

For the first time, researchers have recorded live and in atomic detail what happens to the material in an asteroid impact. The team of Falko Langenhorst from the University of Jena and Hanns-Peter Liermann from DESY simulated an asteroid impact with the mineral quartz in the lab and pursued it in slow motion in a diamond anvil cell, while monitoring it with DESY's X-ray source PETRA III.

Palaeobotanists analyse plant fossils 252 million years old 252 million years ago, there occurred the greatest mass extinction in the history of the Earth up to that time: three-quarters of life on land and up to 95 percent of marine species vanished within just a few thousand years. This far-reaching event at the end of the Permian period marked the transition to a new age - that of the dinosaurs.

Geophysicist Michael Becken on the -Sensational Find- in Sweden and the Involvement of the University of Münster Some observers speak of a "sensational find", others warn against too great expectations. The fact is that a few days ago, experts in Kiruna in northern Sweden found the largest deposit of so-called rare earths in Europe to date.

Freiburg researchers describe a ridge network on the membrane of B lymphocytes for the first time Using new microscopic methods in combination with machine learning-based image analysis, researchers from Freiburg have discovered new structures on the surface of living B cells that affect the distribution and possibly the function of their antigen receptors.

Brown algae could remove up to 0.55 gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year Brown algae take up large amounts of carbon dioxide from the air and release parts of the carbon contained therein back into the environment in mucous form. This mucus is hard to break down for other ocean inhabitants, thus the carbon is removed from the atmosphere for a long time, as researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen now show.

Composition of gases emitted by volcanoes can provide information on the possibility of imminent eruptions / Lightweight drones make investigation possible even in areas that are difficult to access The main gases released by volcanoes are water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. Analyzing these gases is one of the best ways of obtaining information on volcanic systems and the magmatic processes that are underway.

Research team analyses oxygen isotopes in 550 million-year-old samples Several billion years ago, the oceans were probably not as hot as often assumed, but were instead at much more moderate temperatures. This is the conclusion of a research team from the University of Göttingen and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), Potsdam.

Heidelberg geographers use new methods to capture large dune shapes in time and space and to explain their origin Star dunes are among the largest dune formations on Earth and - due to their changing shape over time - they can be important indicators for understanding the effects of climate change. Scientists from Heidelberg University's Institute of Geography have examined such a dune in the Erg Chebbi sandy desert in Morocco by means of state-of-the-art laser scanning.

Sediment cores obtained from Eifel maar sites provide insight into the presence of large Ice Age mammals in Central Europe over the past 60,000 years / Overkill hypothesis not confirmed Herds of megafauna, such as mammoth and bison, have roamed the prehistoric plains in what is today's Central Europe for several tens of thousands of years.

Sediment cores from Eifel maars provide information on the development of ice-age large mammals in Central Europe during the past 60,000 years / Overkill hypothesis not confirmed For tens of thousands of years, herds of large mammals such as mammoth and bison roamed the landscape of what is now Central Europe.

Major ice streams can shut down, shifting rapid ice transport to other parts of the ice sheet, within a few thousand years. This was determined in reconstructions of two ice streams, based on ice-penetrating radar scans of the Greenland ice sheet, that a team of researchers led by the Alfred Wegener Institute, in which the University of Tübingen is also involved, has just presented in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Trade wind cumulus clouds are found on about 20 percent of the globe and cool the planet. Until now, it was expected that these clouds would become fewer due to global warming and thus exacerbate climate change. A team led by Dr. Raphaela Vogel of the University of Hamburg has now been able to disprove this.

International research collaboration shows influence of iodine chemistry on formation of new particles in marine atmosphere and recycling of iodine during particle growth The natural cycling of materials between the biosphere and the atmosphere is of great importance to the Earth's climate system. The best known example is the cycling of carbon between the atmosphere, the land biosphere and the ocean.

Researchers led by Göttingen University use earthquake sensors to track magnitude and velocity of 2021 summer flood Rapidly evolving floods are a major and growing hazard worldwide. Currently, their onset and evolution is hard to identify using existing systems. However, seismic sensors already in place to detect earthquakes could be a solution to this problem.

An international research team led by Leipzig University has used satellite data to demonstrate that concentrations of pollutant particles have decreased significantly since the year 2000. This is necessary due to their impact on health. But it is also of great significance for another reason, since it has reduced the particles- cooling effect on the climate.

Scientists develop platform that combines measurements of surface topography in a digital twin Scientists from the University of Freiburg, Germany, and the University of Pittsburgh have developed a software platform that facilitates and standardizes the analysis of surfaces. The platform enables users to create a digital twin of a surface and thus to help predict, for example, how quickly it wears out, how well it conducts heat, or how well it adheres to other materials.

Earth's past warm periods witnessed the shrinkage of the open ocean's oxygen-deficient zones. According to a new study from an international team led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, the oxygen-deficient zones that occur in the open ocean shrank in long warm periods of the past.

Increasing drought, less precipitation, increased demand for water in agriculture - climate change is taking its toll on our groundwater.

An international team of researchers, including scientists from Freie Universität Berlin, publish a new study Scientists from Freie Universität Berlin, University of Bristol, Northwest University Xi'an, and the Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have published the results of a new determination of the crystallization age of 4566.6 ± 0.6 million years for a meteorite called Erg Chech 002 (EC 002).