Archive

The Ruisdael Observatory – named after the 17th-century painter Jacob van Ruisdael – combines a nationwide dense network of measuring points with high-resolution simulations and the necessary computing power in order to map out changes in local weather, air quality and climate. The official opening of the observatory is on 27 September, with a meeting in the grounds of the KNMI measuring station at Cabauw (Cabauw Experimental Site for Atmospheric Research, CESAR). In April this new top-class research facility was awarded a certificate from NWO’s National Roadmap for Large-Scale Scientific infrastructure.

Our online course Observation Theory: Estimating the Unknown starts end of August. If you are interested to learn how to estimate parameters from observational data for real-world engineering applications and assess the quality of the results, this is the course for you.

GRS is back on Iceland for the yearly fieldwork! The equipment has already had a long journey as the devices were sent by boat. Students and staff travelled to Reykjalid as well to measure what is happening at the Krafla and Bjarnaflag areas in the middle north of Iceland. Via their blog you can read all about the activities and everything we do there, so keep posted!

Ice losses from Antarctica have increased global sea levels by 7.6 mm since 1992, with two fifths of this rise (3 mm) coming in the last five years alone.The findings are from a major climate assessment known as the Ice Sheet Mass Balance Inter-comparison Exercise (IMBIE), to which TU Delft also contributed, and are published today in Nature.

Geo-engineering. The idea is cropping up increasingly often in answer to the question: what can we change on Earth to curb global warming? First and foremost, we must do everything we can to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases around the world. The Paris climate agreement is an important step in the right direction, but more and more studies are showing that the promises made by the signatory countries will have insufficient effect. So we need to find a quicker way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but, unfortunately, the global community isn't prepared to do that just yet. At some point, we may need geo-engineering whether we like it or not. The sooner we carry out research into the practical aspects of geo-engineering, the possible pitfalls and the consequences, the better prepared we will be for the future.