In Europe's far North, researchers use cutting-edge remote sensing to understand how climate change shapes our planet.
Wolfgang Kießling traces Earth’s history through layers of fossils. The data he uncovers together with his team serves to create a reliable database for climate research, opening up opportunities for nature-based conservation solutions.
Biodiversity researchers develop mechanistic simulation models to unravel the processes influencing biodiversity origin, maintenance and dynamics across space and time, from individuals to entire ecosystems.
Scientists at the University of Bayreuth are investigating how extreme weather events affect biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Together with their international partners, they study the local impacts of global climate change.
Although more than half of the world’s rivers have been altered by human activity and climate change, the floodplain ecosystems along the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan remain largely untouched.
- TUM researchers are using drones on the Aeolian island of Vulcano and on Mount Etna to measure gases above volcanic fields. - The measurements produce a map showing gas concentrations at each location. - The ratio of carbon dioxide to sulfur dioxide is an important indicator of impending eruptions.
European brown bears are masters of survival: These animals have weathered Pleistocene climate fluctuations and survived the cycles of ice ages and interglacial periods to the present day. Zoologists have now investigated the origins of this evolutionary flexibility: 3D analyses of bear jaws show that certain chewing structures in the lower jaw of brown bears have apparently adapted very flexibly to changing climatic conditions. SNSB zoologist Anneke van Heteren has now published her findings in the journal Comptes Rendus Palevol.
• Land subsidence intensifies flood risks in coastal cities • Groundwater extraction, oil and gas production, and heavy buildings drive sinking • Groundwater management offers an effective countermeasure Densely populated coastal regions in many parts of the world are particularly vulnerable to flooding. The sinking of land masses exacerbates the impacts of rising sea levels in these areas. This is shown by researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Tulane University.
A German-Argentine team of paleontologists led by SNSB dinosaur expert Oliver Rauhut has discovered a new long-necked dinosaur, Bicharracosaurus dionidei, from the Upper Jurassic period in Argentina, dating back approximately 155 million years. Long-necked dinosaur fossils from the Jurassic period in the Southern Hemisphere are rare, so the new fossil contributes to a better understanding of the evolution of these giant herbivores on the southern continents. The researchers have now published their findings in the journal PeerJ.
• Geological formations could store up to 25.2 terawatt hours of hydrogen • Storage facilities are essential for the energy transition Geological formations in southern Bavaria offer a previously underestimated potential for storing large quantities of hydrogen. They could therefore be an alternative to salt caverns in northern Germany and thus contribute to a better geographical distribution of storage capacities. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in cooperation with the Technical University of Leoben (MUL) on behalf of the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs.
