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OPINION
Dear reader,
Solar Geoengineering is a collection of (still theoretical) methods to cool the earth by reflecting a small fraction of the incoming sunlight. Recently, our colleagues from UU’s Copernicus Institute campaigned for a de facto ban on research into this topic, on the grounds that Solar Geoengineering causes environmental risks, cannot be governed inclusively and would distract from emission reduction.
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ERC Advanced Grant for Henk Dijkstra
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Professor of Dynamical Oceanography Henk Dijkstra of Utrecht University has been awarded a 2.5 million euros grant from the European Research Council. During the next five years, he will study the probability of a weakening of the Gulf Stream, and the possible consequences.
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Up to 30 thousand kilos of litter washed up on Dutch beaches
Utrecht researchers have fully mapped out how much litter is washed up from the sea onto Dutch beaches, under which conditions it washes ashore and from where it originates. These insights make it possible to predict where and when litter will wash ashore, so that it can be cleaned up more effectively.
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Oceanographers win €25.000 Blue-Cloud Hackathon prize
A new tool to share data about plastic pollution in the ocean has won this year’s edition of the Blue-Cloud Hackathon. An international team of oceanographers, led by Utrecht University researcher Delphine Lobelle, developed the idea, called Sea Clearly.
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Polar ice contaminated with nanoplastics
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Decades-old ice in Northern and Southern Pole regions contain significant amounts of nanoscale plastic particles. Studying ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica, scientists have identified several types of nanoplastic particles, including particles that originate from tyres.
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On 1 July 2021, our colleague Leo Maas officially retired. Although Leo will continue to come to the IMAU, this landmark offers a great opportunity to look back at his impressive academic career.
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Mysterious ‘blue blob’ in the North Atlantic slows down melting of Iceland’s glaciers
After a decades-long period of steady melting, the mass loss of Iceland’s glaciers has been slowing down since 2011. A new study shows that this slowdown is most likely caused by the development of the ‘Blue Blob’, a cooler spot in the North Atlantic Ocean to the south of Greenland.
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Artificial intelligence helps scientists to better predict the evolution of glaciers under climate change
For the first time, a research team has used deep learning to simulate the future evolution of glaciers at a regional scale. Glaciers do not evolve in a constant manner through time. The ability to capture these so-called nonlinear effects is one of the main advantages of deep learning.
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IMAU team challenged by the Eleven City Tour
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On 13 March, an IMAU team of five cyclists gathered at the ice skating hall in Leeuwarden, to start the 200-kilometer-long challenge of the the famous ice-skating tour ‘Elfstedentocht’ (Eleven City Tour).
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IMAU scientists in the media
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News of mysterious glacier saving "blue blob" and polluted polar ice was picked up worldwide.
Check the overview of media appearances from our scientists. Most articles are in Dutch, but quite a few are in English.
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Let’s talk about solutions to mitigate climate change!
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We are very interested in the careers of our former (PhD) students and Postdocs. In this edition Célia Sapart tells us about the choices she has made.
"I am really thrilled to be able to combine my passions for science and communication and to work at the interface of the scientific, political and industrial sectors."
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