Work to adapt to climate change is becoming increasingly important across the globe. Ensuring that these efforts are effective and have no unintended negative consequences is a vital part of this process. Researchers from the University of Twente in the Netherlands have joined forces with colleagues from France, Kenya, India, South Africa, the US and the University of Bonn to propose a framework that they call “Navigating the Adaptation-Maladaptation Continuum” (NAM). This tool will aid decision-making on climate adaptation measures and help promote a more equitable and more sustainable future. Their findings have now been published in the journal “Nature Climate Change.”
In the recently published Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), the University of Bonn has ranked as one of Germany’s top four universities and in the top ten EU-wide, taking 67th place in the list of the world’s leading universities. Bonn thus moved up nine slots since last year on the worldwide ranking list.
A novel catalysis scheme enables chemical reactions that were previously virtually impossible. The method developed at the University of Bonn is also environmentally friendly and does not require rare and precious metals. The researchers recorded the exact course of the catalysis in a kind of high-speed film. They did this using special lasers that can make processes visible that last only fractions of a billionth of a second. The results allow them to further optimize the catalyst. They have been published in the international edition of the renowned journal “Angewandte Chemie.”
While some parts of the world suffer extreme heat and persistent drought, others are being flooded. Overall, continental water volumes vary so much over time that global sea levels fluctuate significantly too. By combining the hydrological model WaterGAP with GRACE satellite data, a team of geodesists at the University of Bonn have come up with a new set of data that shows how the total distribution of water over the Earth’s land surfaces has changed over the past 20 years more accurately than ever before. Their findings are now being published in the “Journal of Geodesy.”
At this year's International Mathematics Competition for University Students (IMC) in Blagoevgrad (Bulgaria), the team of the University of Bonn achieved 4th place. Lennart Christian Grabbel even achieved an outstanding second place in the individual ranking among almost 400 participants with a score of 80 out of 100 possible points and received a so-called "Grand Grand First Prize" the highest possible award.
Euclid, ESA’s newest space telescope with strong German participation, has delivered its first test images a few weeks after the rocket launch. They already show excellent image quality. Scientists from the Argelander Institute for Astronomy are involved in the mission.