This image shows a satellite view of the Earth, depicting the continents and oceans. The continents are represented in various colors, while the oceans are depicted in dark blue tones. The polar regions are shown in white, indicating the ice cover. The image quality is high, showing detailed structures of the Earth's surface and the oceans.

NextGEMS: The Start of a New Era in Climate Research

Earth System Model Ocean Model Personnel

Nils Brüggemann Appointed Professor at ZMT Bremen

Nils Brüggemann is moving from the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology to the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research in Bremen to start a…

06/01/2026

Photograph of a coastline from above. The blue sea and a green forest form an impressive contrast.

Carbon Cycle Earth System Model Mid-Term Climate Predictions Publication

Surprised by Simplicity: Model Experiments Reveal Rule of Thumb for Carbon-Climate Dynamics

Studying climate change is a very complex challenge, but sometimes simplicity unexpectedly emerges. Researchers have used idealized experiments with…

15/12/2025

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.

Biogeochemistry Carbon Cycle Modeling Publication

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…

10/12/2025

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

Earth System Model Model Resolution Ocean Model Publication

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…

08/12/2025

Close-up on the book cover of "The air and its secrets" by Guy Brasseur

Air Chemistry Atmospheric Physics Publication Science Communication

The Air and Its Secrets—A History of Atmospheric Science

In his new book, Guy Brasseur, former director at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology and head of the “Environmental Modeling” research group,…

01/12/2025

Award Earth System Model High Performance Computing Press Release

ICON team receives international recognition for groundbreaking achievements in high-performance computing

A team led by the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology and the German Climate Computing Center has received the prestigious Gordon Bell Prize for…

21/11/2025

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PhD positions in Climate Research - Annual Call 2026 open 1 July to 15 September

The International Max Planck Research School on Earth System Modelling (IMPRS-ESM) is a structured, interdisciplinary and international program for graduate students who want to earn a PhD degree. The aim of our doctoral program is to advance our understanding of processes and dynamics in the Earth system as well as predictive capabilities.

Revisiting the Blue Marble: ICON simulating the coupled climate system at 1 km

The early 1970s is often associated with the birth of the modern environmental movement. In 1970 the first Earth day was celebrated, and Greenpeace was founded in 1971. In March 1972 the Club of Rome published its influential report entitled the “limits of growth”. The growing environmental consciousness was ...