University of Bremen project receives the North German Science Award 2020

New Delhi: A project of the University of Bremen receives the North German Science Prize 2020. The prize was digitally awarded today (November 25, 2020) by the science ministers of the states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.The northern German states have been awarding the North German Science Prize for outstanding research collaborations every year since 2012 and every two years since 2018. This year the focus was on the natural sciences.
The decision was made in favor of the cooperation “Geodesy and Climate Research – Interaction between the Carbon and Water Cycle” of the University of Bremen in cooperation with the University of Hanover and the DLR Institute for Satellite Geodesy and Inertial Sensors (Hanover and Bremen).
In the award-winning project, climate predictions can be improved with the help of satellite data and model studies on CH4 emissions and CO2 uptake.Bremen’s Senator for Science and Ports, Dr. Claudia Schilling: “I am very pleased that a project under the leadership of the University of Bremen has been awarded the North German Science Prize. I congratulate Prof. Dr. Claus Lämmerzahl and his team in Bremen as well as his cooperation partners at the University of Hanover and the DLR Institute for satellite geodesy and inertial sensors. The topic of ‘Geodesy and Climate Research – Interaction between the Carbon and Water Cycle’ is of enormous social relevance. The award shows once again how important cooperation is for scientific progress. “The “DASHH – Data Science in Hamburg, Helmholtz Graduate School for the Structure of Matter” of the University of Hamburg was also established in cooperation with universities and institutions in Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, such as DESY and the Helmholtz centers in Geesthacht and Braunschweig, excellent.
In this competition year, Schleswig-Holstein is chairing the North German Science Conference and thus organizing the science award. The two collaborations were proposed by a scientific selection committee. The science award is endowed with prize money of 125,000 euros each, in the coming year – as far as the pandemic allows it – the awarding of the award is to be made up on a small scale.
Description of the award-winning project at the University of Bremen:Geodesy and climate research – interaction between carbon and water cyclesThe current climate change is making itself felt through global warming of the lower atmosphere. A large part of this warming is due to the human-induced increase in greenhouse gases CO2 and CH4 in the atmosphere. The warming has effects on the global circulation pattern, the water cycle and the natural exchange processes of CO2 and CH4 with the biosphere. For climate predictions and measures to limit warming, it is important to understand the possible change in exchange processes. This project aims to use satellite data (GRACE / GRACE Follow-On, Sentinel5p, GOSAT, OCO2) and models to investigate how a) CH4 emissions in wetlands and b) CO2 uptake by plants depend on the water levels.Both the CH4 emissions from wetlands and the CO2 uptake by plants make large contributions to atmospheric concentrations, so that even small changes would have strong effects on atmospheric concentrations. For this reason, the proposed investigations have the potential to make very important contributions that should be taken into account in climate predictions.