Tag Archives: Climate

Göttingen study shows: Larger beech seedlings have better long-term survival chances.

By | October 14th 2026
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Natural regeneration of European beech trees in the forest. Credits: Karel Drozda, pexels

Light, water, nutrients: The competition for resources in the forest is fierce. Especially after so-called mast years, in which plants produce a large number of seedlings, a "race to grow" begins. However, it was previously unclear whether height differences between the young trees in their first year of life are relevant for their future development, even if they are only one or two centimeters. Researchers at the University… Read more »

Most comprehensive land use database now available

By | August 14, 2025
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Credits: SERHAT TU?, pexels

Climate change, biodiversity loss, and rapid urbanization are making the question of sustainable land use increasingly urgent. Modeling can enable well-informed decisions in policy and planning, but its sheer number complicates its application. An EU-funded research project led by the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg) has now developed a comprehensive database of modeling tools and freely accessible modeling maps to support sustainable land-use strategies across Europe… Read more »

British-French satellite MicroCarb revolutionizes climate monitoring

By | July 31, 2025
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Kourou, July 31, 2025 – With the successful launch of the MicroCarb satellite on July 26, 2025, British-French cooperation has reached a milestone in global climate research. Launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana, MicroCarb, Europe's first dedicated satellite for monitoring carbon dioxide (CO2), will significantly advance climate monitoring. The satellite, developed in cooperation… Read more »

Deep heat under the United States attributed to ancient rift valley with Greenland

By | July 31, 2025
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A large region of unusually hot rock deep beneath the Appalachian Mountains in the United States may be linked to the separation of Greenland and North America 80 million years ago, according to a new study led by the University of Southampton. The scientists argue that it is not, as long thought, the result of plate tectonic movements that occurred before… Read more »

Harvard study shows climate benefits from expanding solar energy in the USA

By | July 30, 2025
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A new study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, published on July 30, 2025, in Science Advances, shows that increasing solar power generation in the US by 15% could reduce CO2 emissions by 8,54 million tons annually. The research demonstrates how targeted investments in solar energy can deliver significant climate benefits, with the effects varying by region… Read more »

Illegal logging in the Romanian Carpathians: Europe's primeval forests under pressure

By | July 26, 2025
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In the Romanian Carpathians, one of the last refuges of Europe's primeval forests, a silent but devastating war against nature is raging. Illegal logging not only threatens the unique biodiversity of this region but also has far-reaching consequences for the climate in Europe. While Western companies are implicated in the scandal, the European Union (EU) remains conspicuously inactive, despite having the authority to implement measures… Read more »

Freshwater is disappearing at an alarming rate

By | July 25, 2025
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New findings from the analysis of satellite observations spanning two decades show that Earth's continents have experienced unprecedented freshwater loss since 2002. The causes include climate change, unsustainable groundwater use, and extreme droughts. The study, published today in Science Advances and led by Arizona State University, sheds light on the formation of four continental "mega-drylands," all located in the Northern Hemisphere. They… Read more »

Climate and infrastructure: Online tool CAN provides information on the need for improvement in cities

By | May 16
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Credits: Heidelberg Marketing GmbH

The new Climate Action Navigator (CAN) from HeiGIT (Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology gGmbH) provides data-driven answers to the question of what a climate-neutral city could look like. This interactive online tool supports cities, non-governmental organizations, and citizen initiatives in identifying and implementing targeted areas of action for greater climate protection and quality of life – scientifically sound, locally adaptable, and practical. The project is funded by… Read more »

Environmental news of the week: Climate protection, plastic crisis and nature conservation in focus

By | April 17, 2025
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The week of April 14-17, 2025, saw important developments in the field of environment and climate protection. From alarming studies on microplastics to new nature conservation initiatives, here is an overview of the key topics, based on verified and current reports. Microplastics: A growing global threat. A new study published this week shows that micro- and nanoplastics… Read more »

Local weather trends and extreme weather events: How do farms adjust their production decisions?

By | August 4, 2023
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Stefan Wimmer, Christian Stetter, Jonas Schmitt, and Robert Finger*. Climate change poses a major challenge for agriculture. We show that extreme weather events influence agricultural production decisions not only immediately, but also in subsequent years. Agriculture is more dependent on the environment than any other sector. Changing climate has impacted production conditions in recent years […] Local weather trends… Read more »