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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft
The Institute of Environmental Physics (IUP) is participating in a new project to measure carbon. The project is investigating the impact of certain processes such as deforestation, reforestation, and the preservation of intact forests on the carbon cycle in the Central African Congo Basin.
“CO₂ emissions are fundamentally changing our planet and contributing to global warming,” says Professor Hartmut Bösch, environmental physicist at the University of Bremen. “In order to develop effective climate protection measures and accurately assess their success, we need more precise data on the carbon cycle and a better understanding of how different ecosystems on Earth respond to climate change.”
Tropical rainforests play a central role as carbon sinks. However, carbon flows into and out of these forests are still very uncertain, particularly due to deforestation and progressive global warming. Nowhere are these uncertainties greater than in the Central African Congo Basin, the second-largest tropical rainforest area in the world.
New Institute Seeks to Shed Light on Global Carbon Cycle
As part of the newly founded Virtual Institute for the Carbon Cycle (VICC), the philanthropic organization Schmidt Sciences is providing 45 million US dollars to close fundamental knowledge gaps in the global carbon cycle.
The funding program supports four international research teams. One of these teams, Congo-Flex, brings together world-leading experts in the fields of the carbon cycle, Earth observation, and Central African ecosystems. The aim is to fundamentally improve our understanding of the role of the Congo Basin in the global carbon cycle. For the first time, a comprehensive, data-driven estimate of the net carbon flux in the Congo Basin will be made directly on site.
The study will examine how various processes - such as deforestation, reforestation, and the preservation of intact forests - contribute to the region's total net carbon flux.
Researchers from the Institute of Environmental Physics (IUP) at the University of Bremen are playing a key role in setting up innovative measuring stations to record atmospheric CO₂ concentrations in the Central African Congo Basin. These measuring stations provide crucial data for regional estimates of carbon flows and serve to validate important satellite-based observations.
Prof. Dr. Hartmut Bösch
Faculty of Physics / Electrical Engineering
Institute of Environmental Physics
University of Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-62777
Email: hboesch@uni-bremen.de
https://Link to the Virtual Institute for the Carbon Cycle (VICC): https://www.schmidtsciences.org/vicc/
The photo shows a measuring tower in the Congo Basin that is used as part of the project
Source: Fiston Wasanga HQ/CongoFlux
Copyright: Fiston Wasanga HQ/CongoFlux
Criteria of this press release:
Journalists
Electrical engineering, Environment / ecology
transregional, national
Cooperation agreements, Research projects
English
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