Earth & Climate

Aerosols cool the atmosphere less than expected

Ships emit exhaust gases that contribute to aerosol formation. (Image: Torresigner / iStock) Tiny particles in the air, so-called aerosols, are created, for example,...

Featured picture: Thinned snail shells

When the pH of the seawater drops, it also affects the shell development of pteropods, as this image shows. The left shell comes...

Did the giant robber hunt like a stork?

Depiction of a Spinosaurus while wading in the water with its snout rummaging for prey. (Image: Robert Nicholls) How did the whimsical Spinosaurus live...

Solar energy: building facades offer great potential

So far, roofs have mainly been used for photovoltaics, not facades. (Image: Behnisch et al./IÖR) Not only roofs offer space for photovoltaic systems: house facades...

Heat waves in lakes are increasing

Mountain lake in New Zealand. (Image: simonbradfield / iStock) Climate change is not only causing water temperatures to rise on land, but also in...

Reconstructed cloacal opening of a dinosaur

This is what the Psittacosaurus sewer could have looked like. (Image: Bob Nicholls / Paleocreations.com 2020) Except for mammals, most vertebrates have a cesspool...

The soil as a living space in the spotlight

Springtails (Collembola) are important soil dwellers and can provide useful information about soil quality and protection needs. (Image: Photo: Andy Murray) Worms, springtails and...

On the trail of the enigmatic “direwolf”

Artist's impression of a Canis dirus (right) in conflict with a gray wolf. (Image: Art by Mauricio Anton) Especially big and terrifying: The Canis...

Mega Shark gave birth to giant babies

Analysis of growth lines in megalodon vertebrae shows that young animals were larger than the average human at birth. (Caption: DePaul University /...

Featured picture: Algae overgrow corals

Even the first look at this underwater photo reveals that something is wrong here: These coral reefs in the clear waters of the Caribbean...

Featured picture: “Smellicopter” – a smelling drone

At first glance, the flying robot looks like an ordinary drone in this shot. But the curved, copper-colored antenna on the missile's platform...

Formerly mammals with astonishingly precise bite

Jaw and bite of Priacodon fruitaensis. (Photo: Thomas Martin, Kai RK Jäger / University of Bonn) The teeth and jaws of early mammals reveal...

Looking for ice tools

Researchers from the University of Innsbruck are looking for geological traces of former climatic changes in the alpine cave "Eisriesenwelt". Source: University of Innsbruck

Carbon dioxide: fertilization effect disappears

Carbon dioxide increases global plant growth less and less. (Image: RomoloTavani / iStock) The notorious greenhouse gas also has a beneficial effect on the...

Ice-free Alps shortly before Ötzi’s time

Under the summit of the Weißseespitze. (Image: ÖAW / Daniel Hinterramskogler) The glaciers on the peaks of the Alps form a climate archive: Since...

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