Press Releases

More frequent strong storms are destroying ever larger areas of the Amazon rainforest. Storm damage was mapped between 1985 and 2020. The total area of affected forests roughly quadrupled in the period studied. more

More frequent strong storms are destroying ever larger areas of the Amazon rainforest. Storm damage was mapped between 1985 and 2020. The total area of affected forests roughly quadrupled in the period studied. more

A recent study by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry and the University of Leipzig suggests that increasing droughts in the tropics and changing carbon cycle responses due to climate change are not primarily responsible for the strong tropical response to rising temperatures. Instead, a few particularly strong El Niño events could be the cause. more

Rescue from the UV catastrophe more

EU funds the international research project AI4PEX to further improve Earth system models and thus scientific predictions of climate change. Participating scientists from 9 countries met at the end of May 2024 to launch the project at the MPI for Biogeochemistry in Jena, which is leading the project. more

Nitrogen fertilizers and nitrogen oxides from fossil fuels pollute the air and drinking water, lead to the over-fertilization of water bodies and terrestrial ecosystems, reduce biodiversity and damage the ozone layer. On balance, however, they have a cooling effect on the climate. more

Tropical forests are continuously being fragmented and damaged by human influences. Using remote sensing data and cutting-edge data analysis methods, researchers can now show for the first time that the impact of this damage is greater than previously estimated. more