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ACTION supports citizen science projects working on pollution of all kinds, such as water, air or light pollution. IGB will be coordinating the ACTION Accelerator programme. Apply till 31st October 2019!

Organisms can grow on microplastics and accumulate in the water. Researchers from IGB and IOW have shown that potentially toxin-fproducing microorganisms are also among the top colonisers.

In March 2019, IGB researchers and technicians sampled the Spree and its tributaries. They have been doing this once a year since 2015, from the source in Upper Lusatia to the estuary into the Havel. The background is the contamination with sulphate and iron from the brown coal mining regions of Lusatia.

Freshwaters play a central role when it comes to recreational activities. Markus Venohr and Christian Wolter are investigating how such activities affect the ecosystems of lakes and rivers in the new AQUATAG project.

On January 23rd the Berliner Nachtungen will enter the 10th round. This time Will Straw from McGill University Montreal will discuss media consumption at night with his audience. It starts at 8pm in the Center for Metropolitan Studies Berlin.

As energy supplier and stimulus of the internal clock, light is of fundamental importance to plants and animals. This also applies to fish and microscopic organisms in lakes. Like other species, they have adapted to the day-night rhythm during evolution. But what happens if a lake is illuminated by artificial lighting at night, or if not enough light penetrates into the water during the day? These questions are examined during this year's summer experiment at the Lake Lab.

Six tanks filled with water of River Spree and exposed to differently-colored artificial light: this is the core element of an art installation shown from July 5th to September 2nd 2018 in Berlin-Charlottenburg.