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Limiting global warming - increasing importance of non-fossil greenhouse gases 

Aside from carbon dioxide (CO2), other greenhouse gases such as methane (CH4) or nitrous oxide (N2O) contribute to global warming. In the past, this additional warming effect was partially compensated...

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Mobilizing the ocean for climate protection

In 2015, the international community agreed in Paris to limit global warming to two degrees or less. In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a special report which shows...

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New opportunities for ocean and climate modelling

In their model simulations, climate researchers always have to make compromises. Even with the largest computers available worldwide, they can only reproduce the real world to a limited extent....

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Climate predictions several years into the future?

Our planet’s climate system is complex. Different components, like atmosphere, ocean, sea and land ice influence each other and cause natural climate variations on a range of timescales from months to...

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Variability in the Arctic Carbon Cycle

The polar regions are particularly affected by climate change. However, extreme climatic conditions pose a challenge in understanding the rapidly changing environment as many areas are only safely...

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Improved models show stronger climate change signal in the tropical Atlantic

A long-standing problem in global climate models (coupled ocean-atmosphere-sea ice models) is the too warm sea surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Atlantic, which also influences the nature of...

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Arctic sea ice: A look back into the future

The changes caused by global warming are particularly obvious in the Arctic. The area covered by sea ice in summer has strongly decreased in the last decades. In mid-September 2020 it reached the...

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Increasing usage of nitrogen fertilizer poses an increasing climate threat

Not only has the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased significantly since the beginning of industrialization. The concentrations of other greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide have...

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The uncertain future of the oceans

The ocean plays a key role in the current climate change, as it absorbs a considerable part of the atmospheric carbon dioxide emitted by mankind. On the one hand, this slows down the heating of the...

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Ozone and the Jetstream: A complex relationship

Although the stratosphere is located at an altitude of ten to 50 kilometers, it does directly or indirectly influence life on the Earth's surface. Extreme events in the stratosphere can, for example,...

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A stable ocean circulation in a changing North Atlantic Ocean

The Gulf Stream is often described as the long-distance heating system of Europe, since it transports thermal energy across the Atlantic Ocean to the British Isles and the Norwegian Sea. Strictly...

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Past river activity in northern Africa reveals multiple Sahara greenings

29 January 2021/Potsdam, Kiel. Large parts of today's Sahara Desert were green thousands of years ago. Prehistoric engravings of giraffes and crocodiles testify to this, as does a stone-age cave...

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New factor in the carbon cycle of the Southern Ocean identified

The term plankton describes usually very small organisms that drift with the currents in the seas and oceans. Despite their small size, they play an important role for our planet due to their immense...

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Sediments are Nutrient Mediators in Arctic Fjords

Algae and other photosynthesising organisms in the ocean may often be tiny, but they play a major role in the Earth's climate system. They use large amounts of carbon and produce around half of the...

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The gate between the deep ocean and the atmosphere is becoming more impermeable

The earth is warming. The warming of the atmosphere would be even more pronounced if the ocean did not function as a gigantic climate buffer. The oceans have absorbed more than 90 percent of the...

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New Laser Measurement System at the Ocean Science Centre Mindelo

The Ocean Science Centre Mindelo (OSCM) located on the Cabo Verdean Island São Vicente is an ideal base for both ocean and atmosphere research in the tropics, jointly operated by the Cabo Verdean...

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Coastal Ecosystems Worldwide: Billion-dollar Carbon Reservoirs

Besides Australia, Indonesia and the USA provide the largest carbon storage potential with their coastal ecosystems, according to calculations by Christine Bertram (Kiel Institute, until February...

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Making the ocean an ally in climate protection

The human-induced increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the atmosphere continues. With well-known consequences: The climate is changing, extreme weather events are increasing in many...

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Weaker ocean cir­cu­la­tion led to more car­bon stor­age in the deep sea

As a nat­ural sink for car­bon, the ocean is a cent­ral ele­ment of the Earth’s cli­mate sys­tem. The amount of car­bon re­moved from the sys­tem in the long run de­pends on how much particles...

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For responsible research on marine carbon dioxide removal

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting global warming are the top priorities of international climate policy. However, as emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are continuing to rise, it is now...

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A grand measuring journey across the Atlantic

Although the Atlantic is several thousand kilometres wide, the water masses in the west and east of this large ocean are closely connected. Off West Africa, nutrient-rich water rises from the depths...

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Looking back from the future: How does Germany become carbon neutral?

Germany in the year 2050. The goal of a carbon dioxide-neutral life and economy has been achieved: Greenhouse gas emissions have fallen drastically, and unavoidable emissions are counterbalanced....

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Learning and researching on the high seas

After two years of pandemic, it's finally time to cast off: Several months of preparation and planning lie behind the participants of expedition MSM106 with the German research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN....

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Acting now – to protect the ocean, biodiversity and our climate

270 authors from 67 countries have analysed thousands of scientific publications over more than three years to show how far climate change has already progressed, what effects it has across all regions...

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Reducing emissions and advancing research for net-zero

Our own lifestyles, unsustainable energy and land use, patterns of consumption and production have made it difficult for us to limit global warming as enshrined in the Paris Agreement and to reach...

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Out of the Air

Press release of the Helmholtz Climate Initiative Based on current studies and interviews with experts, researchers from the Helmholtz Climate Initiative have developed a new framework for evaluating...

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Using alkaline rock minerals to combat climate change

The target is clear: In the Paris Agreement, the global community agreed to limit global warming to well below 2° Celsius and to make efforts to keep it below 1.5° Celsius. This can only be achieved if...

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Decline of diatoms due to ocean acidification

While calcifying organisms like oysters and corals have difficulty forming their shells and skeletons in more acidic seawater, diatoms have been considered less susceptible to the effects of ocean...

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Getting a better understanding of the influence of eddies in the ocean

Upwelling areas are among the most productive marine areas in the world. They are not only significant for biodiversity, but also play a major role in the global food supply and economy as high-yield...

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GEOMAR calls for consistent action for marine protection

The ocean is also known as the planet's blue lungs. It produces much of the oxygen we breathe. At the same time, it absorbs and stores carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, helping us mitigate...

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