Category: natural sciences (Page 1 of 2)

The Hidden World on Our Planet – Life within the oceanic crust

By Melina Krohn

Figure 1 – A fictional representation of the deep biosphere inside the oceanic crust.

When we go down below the surface of the Earth we go farther and farther away from everything we know and is familiar to us. This makes it hard to imagine how anything could survive there. And yet, microorganisms make this harsh, hostile environment their home. Supported by the circulating seawater and the surrounding rocks these organisms not only survive there but at some places they even thrive.
Continue reading

The Rise of Antarctic Ice

Let’s talk about deep time!

By Hanna Knahl

Figure 1 – This is an artistic way of showing Antarctica’s transition from a warm climate with forest to a colder climate with rising ice 34 million years ago. Source: Created with AI Image Generator

Let’s travel back in time again, dig deep into the sediments and see what face Antarctica wants to show us this time! Is it hot and colourful or cool and icy? Or is it both? My “time machine” will bring us back into a climate full of change and mysteries.

Continue reading

Rainforest in Antarctica?

Let’s talk about deep time!

by Hanna Knahl

Figure 1 – This is how Antarctica might have looked like 90 Million years ago. Source: Alfred-Wegener-Institut / James McKay

“Rainforest in Antarctica” sounds like an April fool? Or like a climate apocalypse scenario for the future? It actually was real. Let’s go deep back in time to the fascinating epoch of the dinosaurs!

Continue reading

Cloud fates and Cocktail parties

by Ronja Gronemeyer

Merge or die – The fate of clouds and (covid restricted) cocktail parties

How the fate of simulated rain cells improves understanding of tropical storms. Stay tuned, as we learn about rain tracking algorithms and analyze the merging or decaying of competing clouds. Finally, we will see why cold pools affect cloud clustering similarly, as covid restrictions affect a cocktail party…

Continue reading

Kiruna – All Fired up for an Icy Adventure

by Christoph Kulmann and Greta Sondej

Fig. 1: With a bit of luck, you can see northern lights (Aurora borealis) in the night sky during the training week. Copyright © WikiImages 2012 / Pixabay

Long anticipated and eagerly awaited, our student training week starts in snowy Lapland near Sweden’s northernmost city: Kiruna (from the North Sami “giron”, meaning “snow grouse”).

Bremen Airport is already getting us in the mood for the weather that awaits us in Lapland… 

Continue reading

REXUS/BEXUS – Experiments Soar Into Space!

An European Education Programme Empowers Students to Develop Their own Space Mission

by Greta Sondej and Christoph Kulmann

Fig. 1: Have you always wanted to send an experiment into space? In this case, the German-Swedish student programme REXUS/BEXUS is the right choice for you. Copyright © Arek Socha 2016 / Pixabay

In our last article, we told you about our FORAREX project, which we developed within the framework of the German-Swedish REXUS/BEXUS programme. 

But what exactly does this REXUS/BEXUS programme entail? And who can participate? 

Continue reading

FORAREX – Astronaut in Miniature Form

How a Single-Celled Organism Finds its Way From the Sea Into Outer Space

by Team FORAREX

Fig. 1: Maximum relaxation – lounging on the seabed and swaying to the rhythm of the waves. Copyright © StockSnap 2017 / Pixabay

Imagine you are living under the sea. You see the suns rays shining through the water. There is sand beneath you. The water flows around you to the rhythm of the wave – and you sway with it (see Fig. 1). Everything feels very pleasant. You are thinking how wonderful your home is. The waves, the light – everything is perfect.

But suddenly a dark shadow looms over you – and this shadow takes you out of this paradise and catapults you into space! Isn’t that a disturbing and rather improbable idea?

But that is in fact my story. 

Continue reading

Foraminifera – A Hard Shell With a Soft Core

by Christoph Kulmann and Greta Sondej

Fig.1: Left: Close-up of a foraminifera with pseudopodia; right: Four foraminifera in direct size comparison with a pinhead. Copyright © FORAREX 2018

Foraminifera (Latin for “hole bearers”, informally called “forams”) are single-celled organisms that usually have a multi-chambered shell, which can be built in various ways depending on the species. They are the stars of the FORAREX (FORAminifera Rocket EXperiment) project, in which we investigate their behaviour and shell growth under microgravitational conditions. 

Continue reading

« Older posts