Wittgenstein Award winner Adrian Constantin is fascinated by the multifarious patterns of movement in the atmosphere and oceans of the Earth. Using the tools of his field of expertise, mathematician Constantin, who conducts research and teaches at the University of Vienna, wants to get to the bottom of these phenomena, which depend on innumerable factors. Continue reading “Understanding the Earth’s system of waves and currents”
The coronavirus sorely drives home to the world the missed opportunities for a socio-ecological turnaround. A Vienna-based research group led by Ingolfur Blühdorn is investigating why environmental protection would have required at least as much determined action as the fight against the pandemic and why sustainability is so elusive. Continue reading “No socio-ecological transformation in sight?”
An Austro-Russian team led by geologist Yuri Dublyansky has investigated cryogenic calcite crystals from caves in the Urals. While largely ignored in the past, these crystals provide valuable information about climate fluctuations in northern Eurasia in the course of the past 500,000 years. Continue reading “Frost-produced crystals as permafrost markers”
With the support of the Austrian Science Fund FWF, an interdisciplinary Vienna-based team is investigating the nature of carbonaceous particles that play a key role in the formation of ice clouds. These “ice nuclei” act as catalysts inducing the phase change from water to ice. Understanding the process leading to such ice clouds is an […] Continue reading “The formation of ice clouds”
Silviculturist Rupert Seidl talks about the positive effects of bark beetle and forest fires, at what point the forest ecosystem could collapse and why the climate problem needs to be solved mainly from the bottom up. Continue reading “Forest man – working hand in glove with practitioners”
The physicist Bernadette Rosati investigates how salt particles from the sea influence the weather and climate. The Schrödinger fellow has found the perfect conditions for her research at the University of Aarhus in Denmark. The chemistry is just right – not only at sea, but also within the team and across all the faculties. Continue reading “The atmospheric group”
Human ecologist Helmut Haberl about the connection between hunger riots and bio-energy, why environmental protection makes economic sense, and why there can be no carbon-neutral society without fundamental changes. Continue reading ““It’s not a question of giving up comfort, it’s about a better life!””
With the support of the Austrian Science Fund FWF, an international group of researchers is investigating to what extent the forest floor serves as a carbon sink and how bacteria and fungi interact in this context. The researchers have found deadwood to be populated by a great diversity of life. Continue reading “Bacteria, deadwood and climate change”
The use of biochar in agriculture improves soil fertility, especially in tropical regions, and mitigates greenhouse gas emissions. A project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF studied the positive impact of the “fertiliser of the future” on ecosystems and nutrient cycles. Continue reading “Biochar improves crop growth and climate”
Devils Hole in the USA is a very unique place. In this subaqueous cavern, conditions have remained stable for hundreds of thousands of years. In a project supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, researchers from Innsbruck investigate this valuable climatological archive and, in the process, try to get to the bottom of a mystery. Continue reading “A climatological treasure from Nevada”