Earth Sciences

 

Honeycombs in the desert

Convection of salty water creates hexagonal patterns more

The airborne observatory SOFIA during its last southern deployment at Christchurch/New Zealand in summer 2022. The 18O observations were performed with the GREAT receiver, built by MPIfR and Cologne University, onboard SOFIA.

First detection of the heavy 18O isotope both in the upper and lower atmosphere of Earth more

Enhanced ocean oxygenation during Cenozoic warm periods

Earth’s past warm periods witnessed the shrinkage of the open ocean’s oxygen-deficient zones. more

Many publications by Max Planck scientists in 2021 were of great social relevance or met with a great media response. We have selected 12 articles to present you with an overview of some noteworthy research of the year more

The human imprint in meteorological background noise

The statistical model with which global warming can be attributed to increasing concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere was developed by former Director of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Klaus Hasselmann, who will be receiving the Nobel Prize in Physics 2021 for his work. more

Balzan Prize for Susan Trumbore

The Director at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry is being awarded the Prize in the field of Earth System Dynamics more

New ethane-munching microbes discovered at hot vents

Deep-sea microbes can break down and form ethane more

Clouds from every angle

The EUREC4A field study is aimed at solving one of the great mysteries in relation to climate change more

Something old, something new in the Ocean's blue

The discovery of a forgotten metabolic pathway adds a new dimension to the global carbon cycle more

<p>'There could be conflicts and wars'</p>

Ulrike Niemeier from the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, on measures that should keep climate change in check, such as geoengineering more

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Honeycombs in the desert

Convection of salty water creates hexagonal patterns more

Enhanced ocean oxygenation during Cenozoic warm periods

Earth’s past warm periods witnessed the shrinkage of the open ocean’s oxygen-deficient zones. more

Many publications by Max Planck scientists in 2021 were of great social relevance or met with a great media response. We have selected 12 articles to present you with an overview of some noteworthy research of the year more

Balzan Prize for Susan Trumbore

The Director at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry is being awarded the Prize in the field of Earth System Dynamics more

New ethane-munching microbes discovered at hot vents

Deep-sea microbes can break down and form ethane more

Clouds from every angle

The EUREC4A field study is aimed at solving one of the great mysteries in relation to climate change more

Something old, something new in the Ocean's blue

The discovery of a forgotten metabolic pathway adds a new dimension to the global carbon cycle more

Earliest animals developed later than assumed

Ancestors of today's sponges formed 560 million years ago more

Wind energy supplies almost three quarters of expected electrical energy

Ageing and slipstream effects restrict the actual yield – 20 percent of the difference remains unclear more

How predatory plankton created modern ecosystems after ‘Snowball Earth’

After global glaciation, predatory plankton apparently enabled the development of today's ecosystems more

Show more
The human imprint in meteorological background noise

The statistical model with which global warming can be attributed to increasing concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere was developed by former Director of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Klaus Hasselmann, who will be receiving the Nobel Prize in Physics 2021 for his work. more

<p>'There could be conflicts and wars'</p>

Ulrike Niemeier from the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, on measures that should keep climate change in check, such as geoengineering more

'The effects of climate change are visible in many places'

Mathias Göckede, a scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, talks about the consequences of global warming for permafrost soils more

Every grain of sand is a met­ro­polis for bac­teria

A single sand grain harbours up to 100,000 microorganisms from thousands of species. more

Earth's climate engine

The star that sustains life on Earth has no influence on the current global temperature increase more

The myth of the pristine Amazon rainforest

Indigenous inhabitants shaped the rainforest by domesticating tree species in pre-Columbian times more

My contribution to Arctic sea ice melt

Measurements reveal the relationship between individual CO2 emissions and the Arctic's shrinking summer sea ice more

Warmer Mediterranean turns the Sahel green

Anthropogenic climate change contributes to fanning of the West African monsoon by moisture from the Mediterranean more

Eukaryotes: A new timetable of evolution

The first single-celled organisms with a nucleus originated more than a billion years later than biogeochemical evidence had previously indicated. more

Flowing water energises minerals

The electric charge of mineral surfaces changes in flowing water – a finding that is also important for understanding geological processes more

Climate: how the earth breathes

Researchers understand Earth’s climate system very accurately by now. For a long time, however, an important piece of the puzzle remained very elusive - the role played by vegetation and soils. Markus Reichstein has now finally succeeded in clarifying this important question.Further information more

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