News

Acid rain seems to be a thing of the past, yet sulphate continues to rise in many inland waters worldwide. A new study provides an overview of the sources of sulphate and its effects on freshwater ecosystems. 

Giulia Friedland and Michael Hupfer have investigated whether and to what extent mining products from the Lusatian mining are deposited in the sediments of the River Spree: their signature in the river bed reaches 90 kilometres.

As a measure against the COVID-19 pandemic, public life was severely restricted for the first time in March 2020. But, did this also alter light pollution – the brightening of the night sky caused by too much artificial light?

What effect does street lighting have on insects and what could an environment-friendly lighting design look like? This is what researchers are investigating together with citizen scientists in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Hesse and Brandenburg.

Light pollution can suppress the production of melatonin in fish, even at very low light intensities, a finding established by Franziska Kupprat, Franz Hölker and Werner Kloas from IGB.

The ACTION Accelerator team – led by IGB’s Kat Austen – works with on-the-ground citizen science projects that address pollution. Eleven citizen science projects joined us at IGB for a workshop.

A new guideline describes how local authorities can succeed in minimising light pollution by making their street and building lighting more efficient. 

Justyna Wolinska and her Team have found that pollution by fungicides can have unforeseen but far-reaching consequences for the functioning of aquatic systems – like indirectly on the development of algal blooms.