Posted on December 2, 2022 (Updated on July 9, 2025)
New Rhine
Natural EnvironmentsWhat the Karlsruhe engineer Johann Gottfried Tulla began in 1817 was completed this year: The river loops of the Upper Rhine have been pierced, the Rhine straightened and shortened. With the correction, the bed of the river was also deepened. The Rhine is now navigable as far as Basel. For decades, construction workers had been
Posted on December 2, 2022 (Updated on July 9, 2025)
New record holder: The oldest rock on earth
Natural EnvironmentsIt is a sensation for science: In northern Canada, geologists have stumbled upon the oldest rocks ever discovered. They belong to the Nuvvuagittuq greenstone belt on Hudson Bay and are over four billion years old. An international team of researchers has now dated the rocks in northern Canada to 4.28 billion years. This would make
Posted on December 2, 2022 (Updated on July 9, 2025)
New heat record
Natural EnvironmentsThe Lut Desert in Iran is the hottest place in the world. This is the result of satellite data that measure the temperature on the earth’s surface over a wide area. In 2005, it was over 70 degrees Celsius in Lut in the Iranian highlands. This replaced Al Aziziyah in Libya as the record holder.
Posted on December 2, 2022 (Updated on July 9, 2025)
Monster wave meets “Queen Elizabeth 2
Natural EnvironmentsA huge wall of water races towards the “Queen Elizabeth 2” on the night of 11 September. The monster wave, which approaches the cruise ship over the Newfoundland Bank and finally rolls over it, is over thirty metres high. Miraculously, the passengers and crew survive the natural disaster almost unharmed. The ship, however, is badly
Posted on December 2, 2022 (Updated on July 9, 2025)
Mega lake for the city of millions
Natural EnvironmentsSingapore is not poor in water. On the contrary: it is surrounded by sea. But what the city of 5 million needs is not salty seawater. Drinkable fresh water is in demand. That is why the city-state built a huge dam for its water supply: “Marina Barrage”! Until now, Singapore bought almost all its drinking
Posted on December 2, 2022 (Updated on July 9, 2025)
Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
Natural EnvironmentsA fortnight ago, the oil rig “Deepwater Horizon” exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Since then, millions of litres of crude oil have been leaking into the sea every day. The viscous soup now threatens the coasts in the southeast of the USA in particular. The damage to the environment can hardly be estimated. On