News from the Institute

Two sediment cores attached to a folding rule. Some darker layers stand out. Below the sediment cores is a white board labeled "Bottom" (left) and "Top" (right) as well as "M51/3 SL123", "Archive", "#580" and "Sec. 4"

Why Did the Deep-Sea Ecosystem in the Eastern Mediterranean Collapse 10,000 Years Ago?

During a dramatic climate change around 10,000 years ago, most bottom-dwelling organisms in the eastern Mediterranean Sea died. Using climate…

Hand-written notes

What Principle Determines Climate Statistics?

Weather appears chaotic and random, which leads researchers to describe the climate using statistical quantities such as variances or spectra. While…

A hand holds a wooden thermometer with a red mercury column, displaying temperatures in degrees Celsius and Fahrenheit. The red column indicates approximately 40 °C (100 °F). In the blurred background, a building is visible under a blue sky, suggesting a hot outdoor temperature.

Climate Models With High Resolution in the Ocean Can Better Represent European Heat Waves

The North Atlantic significantly influences the weather in Europe. For instance, a cold spell in the subpolar North Atlantic can lead to a heat wave…

Aerial view of a massive glacier in a snow-covered mountain landscape. The glacier flows through the mountains and shows characteristic features such as meltwater streams and crevasses. The surrounding mountains are partially rocky and snow-covered, while the sun casts long shadows and highlights the texture of the ice.

Stability of the Greenland Ice Sheet: When the Ice Loss Becomes Irreversible

In a pre-industrial climate, the Greenland Ice Sheet can take on four different steady states, as demonstrated by simulations using a fully-coupled…

High waves at sea, a ladder leading into the water is flooded.

Fewer Storms, More Extremes

Storms over the northeast Atlantic and the German Bight regularly cause major damage, placing a strain on people and the environment. At the same…

Photo of massive icebergs in Antarctica in front of a clear blue sky.

Study Reveals Previously Unknown Teleconnection Between Northern Hemisphere Ice Sheets and West Antarctica

Changes in the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets can propagate through the climate system and affect even the remote region of Antarctica. Idealized…

Image of a hurricane, visible through white cloud vortices, from above.

How Ocean Eddies Influence the Intensity of Tropical Cyclones

Depending on whether they carry warm or cold water, ocean eddies can intensify or weaken tropical cyclones. A study conducted at the Max Planck…

Turquoise surf breaks against a stone seawall with drainage outlets; water washes the walkway, buildings to the left, open sea to the right, and a coastal town on the horizon under a pink‑blue sky.

How Will Sea Level Rise Affect the Global Economy?

Global sea level rise will have severe consequences for coastal regions and beyond. However, it has not been adequately represented in integrated…

Team Malizia's sailboat yacht "Seaexplorer" at sea.

Sailboat Measurements Improve Estimates of Ocean CO2 Uptake

During training cruises and regattas, sailors collect valuable data for climate research at sea. A recent study showed that this data can help…

Map of North America and the North Atlantic: land in grayscale, ocean color‑coded blue–red showing flow structures and eddies along the Gulf Stream; a prominent purple eddy sits east of the U.S. East Coast.

Tropical Cyclones and the Carbon Cycle: New Insights from A Model Simulation

For the first time, scientists have resolved extremely intense tropical cyclones and their effect on the ocean carbon cycle in a global Earth system…

Detailed visualization of numerous oceanic eddies in the North Atlantic; interwoven red and blue structures highlight turbulent flow patterns

New ICON Configuration Provides Realistic View of Small-Scale Ocean Eddies

For the first time, scientists were able to study the behavior of eddies measuring just a few kilometers in size in a realistic simulation of the…

Map of the North Atlantic. Continents are black, and the ocean is colored with a blue-to-yellow color code.

How to Make Model Experiments on the Atlantic Overturning Circulation More Realistic

Melting ice in the Arctic is causing an increasing amount of freshwater to enter the North Atlantic, which is expected to result in a weakening of…

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