Climate Research

A look into the past also helps LIB researchers to better understand the present: In the Eocene, it was exceptionally warm on Earth because the greenhouse effect had a very strong impact on the climate at that time. The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) was unusually high at that time. Rocks and minerals that could bind the gas were rare and could not prevent the heating up. Moreover, the continents were distributed quite differently around the globe, so warm ocean currents reached high latitudes. Geologists today are drilling deep in the ocean for sediments that can tell us more about the past. In an interview, LIB geologist Ulrich Kotthoff told us in more detail what they hope to find there.