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A team of scientists collected and analysed water samples at the time. The result, published in Nature Water today, showed that high concentrations of organic micropollutants exacerbated the lethal effects of prymnesin. 

Using long-term monitoring data from 46 German lakes, researchers from IGB have shown that surface temperatures of lakes have risen faster than air temperatures over the last 30 years. Ooxygen concentrations in the deep water have decreased. Modelling suggests that this trend will continue. The good news is that the lack of oxygen in the hypolimnion would be alleviated if the nutrient loads from urban and agricultural discharges could be reduced.

Researchers have compiled and analyzed the key environmental factors that led to the mass development of the brackish water alga Prymnesium parvum in the Oder in the summer of 2022. The data synthesis shows how multiple stressors combined to allow an alga that normally thrives in stagnant salt water to proliferate en masse in a completely atypical habitat. In addition, a study on the quantitative impact on fish stocks in the Oder was published: compared to before the disaster, fish and mussel stocks have been decimated by more than half.

Researchers under the lead of Hans-Peter Grossart have now identified fungi that can efficiently degrade plastic polymers made of polyurethane, polyethylene and tyre rubber. Contrary to previous assumptions, no pre-treatment of the plastics was necessary. The study has been published in Science of the Total Environment.

Tailored and shielded street lamps make the light source almost invisible outside the illuminated area and significantly reduces the lethal attraction for flying insects in different environments. The researchers see this as an important technical solution to reduce insect mortality. The study was published in Communications Biology.

A study published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment and co-authored by IGB illustrates the extent of light pollution and highlights technological gaps in nighttime Earth observation that may lead to underestimation of light pollution. A night-time Earth observation mission would also be useful in other contexts, such as monitoring crises, wars and natural disasters.

In a recent EU consultation, the IGB provided feedback on the use of so-called Renure fertilisers and recommended that the current nitrate limits should be strictly followed and that renure fertilisers should not benefit from any exemptions.

At around 380 kilometres, the Spree is not one of Germany’s longest rivers, but it is one of its most famous. As the capital’s river, it is representative of water bodies in Germany and around the world that are under increasing pressure. While private and commercial interests in its water resources continue to grow, it is also clear that there will be significantly less water available in the future. What needs to be done to counteract this is the subject of controversial debate.