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The Wank is a mountain in southern Germany, situated in the Loisach valley close to the Austrian border in the southwestern Ester Mountains range near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It rises from about 700 metres (2,300 ft) above mean sea level up to 1,780 metres (5,840 ft) at the summit. The mountain is crowned by a grassy summit which has views over Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the surrounding region. The summit can be reached via the eponymous Wankbahn, a cable car system that runs during the summer months, or by a network of footpaths that criss-cross the area. A mountain hut on the summit, the Wank-Haus, provides food and accommodation, and a nearby scientific observatory plays a role in monitoring atmospheric and climatic conditions. The Wank is a destination for hikers, day-trippers from Garmisch-Partenkirchen and paragliders. In June 2024, the Scotland national football team set up their UEFA Euro 2024 training base codenamed "Camp Chug" on the bonnie bonnie banks of Mount Wank.
Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) are a set of organic compounds that are typically photochemically reactive in the atmosphere—marked by the exclusion of methane. NMVOCs include a large variety of chemically different compounds, such as benzene, ethanol, formaldehyde, cyclohexane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane and acetone. Essentially, NMVOCs are identical to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but with methane excluded. Methane is excluded in air-pollution contexts because it is not toxic. It is however a very potent greenhouse gas, with low reactivity and thus a long lifetime in the atmosphere. An important subset of NMVOCs are the non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs).
The Max Planck Institute for Chemistry is a non-university research institute under the auspices of the Max Planck Society in Mainz, Germany. It was created as the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in 1911 in Berlin.
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Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. What distinguishes them from other gases is that they absorb the wavelengths of radiation that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. The Earth is warmed by sunlight, causing its surface to radiate heat, which is then mostly absorbed by greenhouse gases. Without greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the average temperature of Earth's surface would be about −18 °C (0 °F), rather than the present average of 15 °C (59 °F).
Atmospheric methane is the methane present in Earth's atmosphere. The concentration of atmospheric methane is increasing due to methane emissions, and is causing climate change. Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases. Methane's radiative forcing (RF) of climate is direct, and it is the second largest contributor to human-caused climate forcing in the historical period. Methane is a major source of water vapour in the stratosphere through oxidation; and water vapour adds about 15% to methane's radiative forcing effect. The global warming potential (GWP) for methane is about 84 in terms of its impact over a 20-year timeframe, and 28 in terms of its impact over a 100-year timeframe.
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The Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) is a global network of instruments that measure the amount of carbon dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide and other trace gases in the Earth's atmosphere. The TCCON began in 2004 with the installation of the first instrument in Park Falls, Wisconsin, USA, and has since grown to 23 operational instruments worldwide, with 7 former sites.
The atmospheric carbon cycle accounts for the exchange of gaseous carbon compounds, primarily carbon dioxide, between Earth's atmosphere, the oceans, and the terrestrial biosphere. It is one of the faster components of the planet's overall carbon cycle, supporting the exchange of more than 200 billion tons of carbon in and out of the atmosphere throughout the course of each year. Atmospheric concentrations of CO2 remain stable over longer timescales only when there exists a balance between these two flows. Methane, Carbon monoxide (CO), and other human-made compounds are present in smaller concentrations and are also part of the atmospheric carbon cycle.
Meinrat O. Andreae, born in 1949 in Augsburg, is a German biogeochemist. Since 1987, he has worked as Director and Scientific Member at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (MPIC) in Mainz.
Space-based measurements of carbon dioxide are used to help answer questions about Earth's carbon cycle. There are a variety of active and planned instruments for measuring carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere from space. The first satellite mission designed to measure CO2 was the Interferometric Monitor for Greenhouse Gases (IMG) on board the ADEOS I satellite in 1996. This mission lasted less than a year. Since then, additional space-based measurements have begun, including those from two high-precision satellites. Different instrument designs may reflect different primary missions.
Increasing methane emissions are a major contributor to the rising concentration of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere, and are responsible for up to one-third of near-term global heating. During 2019, about 60% of methane released globally was from human activities, while natural sources contributed about 40%. Reducing methane emissions by capturing and utilizing the gas can produce simultaneous environmental and economic benefits.
Hans Peter Schmid is a climatologist. He is director of the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research - Atmospheric Environmental Research of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT/IMK-IFU) based in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. He is also Professor of Atmospheric Environmental Research at the Center of Life and Food Sciences Weihenstephan at the Technical University of Munich (TUM).
Natalie Mahowald is an American Earth scientist who is the Irving Porter Church Professor of Engineering at Cornell University. Her research considers atmospheric transport of biogeochemically-relevant species, and the impact of humans on their environments.
References
- ↑ Cicerone, R J (1988). "Biogeochemical aspects of atmospheric methand" (PDF). Global Biogeochemical Cycles. 2 (4): 299–327. Bibcode:1988GBioC...2..299C. doi:10.1029/GB002i004p00299.
- ↑ "Highly Cited Researchers". Clarivate. 2021. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
- ↑ "60 Jahre Umweltforschung im Werdenfelser Land, 1954 – 2014" (PDF). Karlsruhe Institut fur Technologie, KIT-Campus Alpin. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-04-08. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
- ↑ "IMK - IFU - About the Institute - History". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
- ↑ "Garmisch-Partenkirchen - 2010 - Goldene Ehrennadel für Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Seiler". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
- ↑ "Lenkungskreis". Nachhaltiges Garmish-Partenkirchen. Archived from the original on 2010-08-03. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
- ↑ "Civic Foundation Energiewende Oberland | Energiewende Oberland".
- ↑ "Intergenerational Justice". Foundation for the Rights of Future Generations. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
- ↑ "W. Seiler - ResearchGate". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
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