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Scientific satellites traverse the challenging region of near-earth space known as the Van Allen radiation belt. | Figure: Yuri Shprits; background: NASA

Giant particle accelerator in the sky – Electrons are locally heated to extremely high energies within the Van Allen Radiation Belts, new study finds

The Earth’s magnetic field is trapping high energy particles. When the first satellites were launched into space, scientists led by James Van Allen... more
Point cloud image of the Golm Campus | Photo: Prof. Dr. Bodo Bookhagen

View from Above – Geoscientist Bodo Bookhagen relies on drones for geological remote sensing

One of the most popular gifts for Christmas: unmanned aerial vehicles, colloquially known as drones. They are widely used in the hobby sector today.... more
The Olorgesailie Basin in the Kenya Rift Valley, part of the Eastern Branch of the East African Rift System. In the background the high topography of the Rift’s border faults. | Photo: Corinna Kalich, University of Potsdam

Calculated – Why a whole region is rotating in the middle of Africa

For the first time ever, the causes for the strange motion of a tectionic plate have been identified by using three dimensional computer models. The... more
Sea smoke in Antarctica is illuminated by the setting sun. | Photo: Winkelmann/Reese

Into the Eternal Ice – Ricarda Winkelmann is a climate researcher and junior professor at the University of Potsdam and the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research

Very few people have been here at all, to one of the world’s most inhospitable regions, where the temperature is below the freezing point even in... more
Eva Eibl documents the status of a station after recording overnight and before it is moved to a new location. The steam of the hot water in the pool is visible in the background. | Photo: Daniel Vollmer

Fire and Ice – why Eva Eibl does research in Iceland in the mid of winter

Iceland is worth a trip or two. Well known for its awesome landscape, its famous horses and its un-pronounceable volcanoes Iceland is flooded by... more
Paleoclimatologist Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr | Photo: Antje Horn-Conrad

Popcorn and Snail Shells – Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr Measures Climate “Pulse” with Microfossils and Statistics

Some look like popcorn, others like flattened snail shells - protozoa floating in the ocean or colonizing its ground. The microorganisms known as... more
Ausbruch des Holuhraun, 2014. | Foto: Eva Eibl.

Iceland’s Boiling Ground – how to predict volcanic eruptions earlier

In August 2014, all of a sudden the earth in Iceland shook more often and more intensely than usual. The Icelandic Meteorological Office, which... more
Spuren der Verwüstung durch vulkanische Asche. | Foto: Prof. Dr. Oliver Korup.

Powdered with Ash or Covered in Ice - Volcanic Eruptions and Meltwater Lakes

Ash and ice are phenomena that the researchers around Prof. Dr. Oliver Korup and his Natural Hazards working group are equally fascinated by.... more
Sonneneruption. | Foto: Solar Dynamics Observatory, NASA.

Storm in Space - How Data Assimilation Can Contribute to Forecasting Space Weather

They help us communicate over long distances, navigate unknown terrain, and predict the weather. Hundreds of satellites orbit the Earth servicing... more
Datenassimilation findet in vielen Gebieten Anwendung – mit am längsten eingesetzt wird sie in der Meteorologie. Grafik: Andreas Töpfer.

The Best of Both Worlds - The Connection between the Weather, Amoebae, and the Human Gaze

Data is all the rage. Satellite images make the entire world available - in detail and around the clock. Humans, too, are being captured down to the... more