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ePaper created 2014-12-22, 09:34:33 | version 1.34.00
22 examine the physical, chemical, biological and geological processes in oceans as well as the interactions between these processes and the ocean floor and the atmosphere. It will focus on the role of the ocean in climate change, human impact on marine ecosystems, the possible use of the oceans’ biological, mineral and energy resources, and the potential risks of geodynamic processes in the oceans and deep seas. Atmosphere and Climate The goal of this programme is to better understand the function of the atmosphere within the climate system. To this end scientists are carrying out extensive measure- ments of atmospheric parameters, performing laboratory tests and creating numerical models of processes that play an important role in the atmosphere. Focuses include high-resolution satellite measurements of tropospheric trace gases as well as studies of the role of the middle PROGRAMMES IN THE CURRENT FUNDING PERIOD 2014–2018 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Helmholtz Centre Potsdam – GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz-Center for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) NEW SPECIES IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN Over the last few years, amphipods from the North Atlantic have been reproducing in the Arctic Ocean. Researchers at the long-term HAUSGARTEN observatory in the Fram Strait have found evidence of this species’ migration. Ten years ago, it was above all cold-loving amphipods from the Arctic that were caught in their sediment traps. Then, in 2005, AWI researchers discovered the first specimens of the Atlantic species Themisto compressa. The ani- mals had reached the Fram Strait from the Atlantic waters in the south, which were warming, and proved to be highly ad- aptable. SERIES OF FORESHOCKS CONTROLS COURSE OF EARTHQUAKE A protracted series of foreshocks played a major role in steering the development of the rupture process during the major earthquake that struck Iquique in northern Chile in April 2014. The series of foreshocks occurred over a nine-month period and culminated in a magnitude 6.7 event two weeks before the magnitude 8.1 main quake. An international research team led by GFZ scientists determined that the Iquique earth- quake occurred in the area of the last seismic gap before the Chilean coast. In several clusters, the foreshocks first broke the edge of the central section that then was ruptured by the main quake. A sample from the specimen container: a female Atlantic amphipod with bulging brood pouch. Image: A. Kraft/AWI The Iquique earth- quake broke a central piece of the seismic gap that had existed for over 130 years. Green symbols show the stations of the Integrated Plate Boundary Observatory Chile; green arrows indicate measured surface displacement. Image: B. Schurr/GFZ CONVERSION OF HARMFUL NITROUS OXIDE UNDERESTIMATED As a greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide (N2O) contrib- utes to climate change and damages the ozone layer. The greenhouse effect of an N2O molecule in the atmosphere is about 300 times greater than that of a carbon dioxide molecule. The use of mineral fertilizers is increasing the amount of nitrous oxide in the soil. KIT scientists have now determined that if harmful N2O is reduced to harmless molecular nitrogen (N2), only about one- fifth of the nitrous oxide produced is released into the atmosphere. This robot, operated by KIT researchers, automatically measures nitrous oxide emissions from the soil. Image: E. Díaz-Pines