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Monday, 22 May 2023, during Biodiversity Day, TU Delft is launching a collaboration with Waarneming.nl to make the TU Delft Campus more green and vibrant. René Hoonhout and Tim Tabak from EcoCampus gave tours to students and staff to discover and capture plants, animals and organisms on campus.

Four Utrecht researchers, each with slightly different areas of expertise and at different stages in their careers. But with one urgent shared concern: climate is changing, ice sheets are melting and sea levels are rising. This concern is crystal clear. But the complex research behind it is far from simple for most people.

VU Amsterdam climate scientist Sem Vijverberg developed new methods to make long-term weather predictions with the help of data-driven techniques. Suchlike predictions can be extremely useful to the agricultural industry. For example, a grower could choose to purchase more drought-resistant plants when a long dry summer is forecast.

A major challenge in the energy transition is the efficient and flexible storage and transportation of renewable energy. Batteries will play an important role in this. However, much research and innovation are still required. In order to encourage this, on Thursday 11 May 2023 TU Delft will be launching e4BatteryDelft: a brand-new platform that will focus on electrochemical storage of renewable energy - with respect for the world around us, in a way that is affordable and also totally European.

Solar energy is the cheapest and most accessible form of energy. Now, it will be more efficient than ever. Scientists from a Chinese solar technology company have developed a new type of solar cell that could be a game-changer in the world's transition towards renewable energy. Advanced modelling, performed by researchers at TU Delft, played a pivotal role deep understanding and engineering of the innovation.

Higher levels of nitrogen in the environment (coming from fertilisers and livestock, for example) not only affect plants but also soil invertebrates and insects. The diversity of roundworms declines in areas with high input of nitrogen, and numbers of some arthropods drop. However, other species of arthropods benefit from the extra nitrogen.

At Utrecht University, interdisciplinary research into a sustainable future comes together in Pathways to Sustainability. To do justice to the natural sciences in this strategic theme, Professor René van Roij  together with several colleagues from the Faculties of Science and Geosciences initiated the community Science for Sustainability  a year ago.

Can a rapid warming of Earth trigger tipping points in our climate? For decades scientists have debated if today's warming can strongly amplify itself by triggering a catastrophic release of greenhouse gases. New research, published in Science Advances , now presents evidence that such tipping points did occur in Earth's history.

Specialized microorganisms that are found in only one type of environment turn out to occur there in relatively low but stable numbers. Microorganisms that live in many different types of environments, on the other hand, are able to rapidly increase in numbers when conditions are favourable. Researchers from Utrecht University and the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena conclude this based on a new method to distinguish generalist and specialist microbes, which they applied to a large, global dataset.

The IPCC released the final part of its Sixth Assessment Report on March 20, urging that only swift and drastic action against climate change can avert irreversible damage to the world. A new study published in Nature Climate Change has found that limiting climate change is also more beneficial for the economy.

After the North Sea Flood of 1953, it took nearly 45 years to finalise the Delta Works. If we want to protect The Netherlands against sea-level rise, we should take measures in time. But how much time do we have left? An international team of researchers from Utrecht University, Deltares, and NIOZ, among others, devised a new method to calculate when we can expect a certain increase in flood probability in a specific area.

Can a scientist, a farmer and a nature organisation ensure that nature can better withstand periods of extreme drought or massive flooding? Can a 'regular civilian' help to counteract drought and improve biodiversity in our country in the near future by sowing certain species of grass and herbs? If it were up to Dr. Edwin Pos , yes.

Geologists from Utrecht, London and Granada have found the first direct proof of the largest known mega-flood that ever occurred on earth. This mega-flood ended what is known as the ' Messinian Salinity Crisis' , a period around six million years ago when the water level in the Mediterranean Sea sank by around 1.5 km, causing an extreme environmental crisis in the region.

Under the coordination of Utrecht University, seventeen organizations will be working together over the next four years to improve detection and measurement of all major greenhouse gases in eight European countries. The new insights are vital to improve strategies for greenhouse gas mitigation, and improve the countries' emission reports requested annually by the United Nations.

Jelle Houben defended his PhD thesis at the department of Applied Physics on March 9th. For several years now, energy storage in salt batteries has been advertised as an environmentally friendly concept that can help accelerate the heat transition. However, product development has only truly hit its stride since recently, says Jelle Houben, PhD candidate at TU/e.

A scorching hot city: not pleasant at all, but an experience we've encountered for several summers. As the planet continues to warm up and climate zones shift further, tropical temperatures, heat waves and drought will put their mark on daily life in the Netherlands on a more regular basis. How can the built environment, where effects of heat are often amplified, be adapted? In field lab the Heat Square on TU Delft Campus, four researchers are working together to find solutions.

Most local authorities are not considering the needs of vulnerable people sufficiently when planning for climate change, according to a study of more than 300 European cities. A recent study led by the University of Twente has found that only 167 out of 327 European cities had full urban adaptation plans by the end of 2020 - with most found in the UK, followed by Poland, France, and Germany.

A research blog post on perceived sustainability by Tim Döring, an Assistant Professor at Marketing and Supply Chain Management Department. Sustainable choices are often more complex than we think - even when they seem crystal clear, our intuitions about sustainability can be wrong. Take something as simple as buying a cucumber - in or without plastic wrap.

The fate of coastal ecosystems depends on their ability to keep pace with sea-level rise-yet projections of accretion, the process by which marshes build up vertically, have widely ignored effects of animal ecosystem engineers.

An improved global understanding of river temperature could provide an important barometer for climate change and other human activities. River temperature is the fundamental water quality measure that regulates physical, chemical and biological processes in flowing waters and, in turn, impacts ecosystems, human health, and industrial, domestic and recreational uses by people.