Geosciences Instrumentation and Data Systems

The existential modelling crisis – and how to overcome it

Lucia Layritz September 5, 2025

Photo depicting wildflowers and resprouting shrubs after a desert wildfire, taken by the author, Lucia Layritz

Recently, we had a big name in fire ecology visiting our institute. He had come, among other things, to look for records of a certain fire-adapted shrub in my university’s herbarium. While myself and a colleague helped him go through the stacks of pressed and archived specimens, I asked him why there were so little contributions to the herbarium in recent years. His response was: “People sto ...[Read More]

Here is how HydroFATE, a new high-resolution model, is predicting contaminant hotspots in global waterways

Asmae Ourkiya September 24, 2024

Figure from journal: estimated risk quotient for sulfamethoxazole (SMX) using HydroFATE in parts of Southeast Asia, with a focus on India and Pakistan. The risk quotient was calculated using Scenario 2 (see paper for details). The black dots represent the location of wastewater treatment plants in the database HydroWASTE. For visual clarity, only rivers exceeding a long-term average flow of 0.1 m3 s−1 are shown on the map. Credit: Macedo et al, 2024.

Ever wonder what happens to the chemicals and medications we use once they go down the drain? The fourth Sunday of September each year marks the World Rivers Day, and this post is dedicated to our global rivers and what humankind can do to preserve our waters. This is because pharmaceuticals and household products, even after being flushed or washed away, don’t just disappear. Many of these substa ...[Read More]

Tropical rainforest, the lungs of our planet, might be releasing more than just CO2!

Asmae Ourkiya July 19, 2024

Yasuni National Park is located in the Ecuadorian Amazon. It is considered one of the most biologically diverse spots on Earth. Yet, recent oil extractive activities, inside the reserve, are threatening this magnificent undisturbed rain forest.

When I was thirteen years old, my family and I almost lost our lives due to a carbon monoxide (CO) leak. I never stopped thinking about that incident even though it happened over twenty years ago. Not only because it was a premature realisation of my own mortality, but also because of how sneaky it was: We did not smell it, see it, hear it, or feel it. It was a subtle and slow killer that could ha ...[Read More]

Why single solution strategies cannot solve the plastic pollution problem

Gillian D'Souza June 2, 2023

Credit: David Jones (from imaggeo.egu.eu)

It appears that plastics have well and truly invaded even our most inaccessible environments: the deepest point in the ocean (the Mariana trench) and the highest mountain peak in the world (Mt. Everest) both contain pieces of plastic from human activities miles away. With plastic waste flowing into aquatic ecosystems expected to nearly triple by 2040, it is safe to say that nature is in “emergency ...[Read More]