Homepage of the International Space Science Institute (ISSI) located in Bern, Switzerland
ISSI is a scientifically independent and neutral Space- and Earth Science institute that advances science by facilitating open multi-disciplinary discourse in a stimulating environment, reaching out towards new scientific horizons.
ISSI’s Game Changers online seminar series was launched during the first Covid-19-related lockdown in summer 2020 to help keep the community together. Up until this 100th webinar, the series has covered a wide range of topics, from climate change on Earth to life in the universe and the Big Bang. Following an ISSI workshop on “The Geoscience of Exoplanets: Going Beyond Habitability” earlier this April, the speaker will discuss how the geosciences and the physics of the solid planet in particular, can support the search for life on exoplanets. The non-linear theory of plate-tectonics will be used to discuss the bi-stability of tectonics, climate, and the bio-productivity of Earth-like worlds. A central element to the discussion will be the role of water cycling between interior and surface reservoirs. Positive and negative feedback mechanisms will be explored along with the non-linear dependence of key rock properties on water concentration and temperature. It will be argued that the Earth, with its balanced distribution of land and ocean surface areas and its life-friendly conditions, might be rather rare. Other Earth-like worlds would more likely be “dune planets” covered mostly by land and whose biomass is water-supply limited. A less likely planet, but still more likely than Earth, would be mostly covered by ocean water and life would be nutrition-supply limited. Light curves of candidate exoplanets such as those tested for Earth with NASA’s EPOXI mission might help to statistically test the model. The title of this talk could then be reversed: How the study of exoplanets can contribute to solving conundrums for geoscientists.
Tilman Spohn is a researcher at the DLR Institute of Planetary Research in Berlin where he was Director from 2004 to 2017. From 2019 to 2022, he was the Executive Director of the International Space Science Institute (ISSI). He was Principal Investigator of the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package HP3 on NASA’s InSight Mars mission and the MUPUS thermal probe on ESA’s Rosetta mission. From 2004–2017, he helped develop the BELA Laser Altimeter as Co-PI on the BepiColombo mission, which is now on its way to Mercury. In his theoretical studies, he modeled the thermal and tectonic evolution of Earth, the terrestrial planets and of small bodies of the Solar System. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and a member of the Academia Europaea and of the Academy of Astronautics.
The International Space Science Institute and its Board of Trustees wish to congratulate Dr. Linda Tacconi, of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching (MPE), Germany, for being awarded the 2024 Caroline Herschel Medal by the Royal Astronomical Society. This award, which has been launched in 2021, celebrates outstanding women scientists in the UK and Germany. It commemorates the legacy of Caroline Herschel, a distinguished astronomer whose prominent work shaped the astronomical knowledge of the 19th century.
The RAS citation recognizes Dr. Linda Tacconi’s “unique contributions to international leadership in astronomy and service to the European astronomical community” and her scientific leadership of ”world-leading observational studies of the cosmic evolution of dense, star-forming molecular gas in galaxies”.
Dr. Tacconi is a member of the ISSI Board of Trustees, and we are honored and proud of our association with such a distinguished member of the astronomical community worldwide.
Our heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Linda Tacconi.
A regular clock correlating different solar activities provides, for the first time, a physical explanation for the observed cycle of solar activity.
BERN, SWITZERLAND, 18.04.2024 – The variable nature of the solar cycle is a perplexing issue in solar physics with wide-ranging implications for space weather on the Earth impacting societal activities. Utilizing the Hilbert transform of sunspot numbers, former ISSI Johannes Geiss fellow Sandra Chapman from the University of Warwick in the UK together with co-author Thierry Dudok de Wit from the International Space Science Institute Bern in Switzerland and the University of Orléans in France have devised a method to synchronize the fluctuating 11-year Schwabe cycle to a simple, uniform clock. This innovative approach allows for the correlation of extreme space weather events, as indicated by the aa index (i.e., the longest continuous record of the magnetic field), with solar active region dynamics dating back to 1874.
Key findings reveal a pivotal transition point: when over 90% of solar active regions converge within approximately 15° of the solar equator, the occurrence of the most severe space weather events diminishes. This shift occurs from regions characterized by high gradients in solar differential rotation, capable of fueling coronal mass ejections, to areas where rotational dynamics remain relatively constant across latitudes.
Moreover, the study elucidates the onset of moderate space weather events, coinciding with 27-day solar rotation recurrences in the aa index. This correlation aligns with the relocation of solar active region centroids to within 15° of the solar equator, indicating stable and persistent source regions for high-speed solar streams.
These findings provide a compelling physical explanation for the observed two-component cycle of activity in the aa index, shedding light on the intricate relationship between solar dynamics and space weather phenomena. Such insights hold promise for enhancing our ability to predict and mitigate the societal impacts of extreme space weather events.
The International Space Science Institute (ISSI) is an Institute of Advanced Studies, where scientists from all over the world meet in a neutral, welcoming, and multi-disciplinary setting to discuss relevant and compelling topics related to four Disciplines: Astrophysics, Heliophysics, Planetary Science and Earth Science. ISSI’s mission is to advance science by facilitating scientific community interactions, meetings and discussions aimed at a deeper understanding of results from different space missions, ground-based observations, and theory. This is achieved through a broad portfolio of scientific opportunities that include: International Teams, Workshops, Working Groups, Forums, or visits of individual Visiting Scientists. For additional information related to ISSI and to the opportunities it offers, see: www.issibern.ch.
The James Webb Space Telescope is revolutionising most areas of astrophysics. One of the most exciting and puzzling findings has been the discovery of a large population of massive black holes within the first billion years after the Big Bang. Their properties, and in particular their large masses, are difficult to reconcile with the standard black hole formation scenarios, and have required the development of new models, which are being tested against the additional constraints that are being provided by JWST.
JWST has also revealed that the interplay between these early black holes with their host galaxies was probably quite different than what observed at later cosmic epochs, with important implications for the early formation of galaxies and their stellar populations. JWST is also finding an intriguing, large population of dual black holes, which might be in the process of merging, indicating that this might be an additional route for their early growth and also an early source of gravitational waves. The webinar gives an overview of these various findings, highlighting the impressive progress made so far and also the exciting new questions that have been opened, as well as the prospects of tackling them in the coming years.
Roberto Maiolino is Professor of Experimental Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge, Honorary Professor at University College London and Fellow of the Royal Society. From 2016 to 2021 he was Director of the Kavli Institute for Cosmology, Cambridge.He investigates the formation, evolution and transformation of galaxies and black holes across the cosmic epochs, primarily by using data collected through some of the largest telescopes. He has been playing a leading role in various large international projects, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, the next generation spectrograph for the Very Large Telescope (MOONS), and the high resolution spectrograph for the Extremely Large Telescope (ANDES).
The discussion moderators of the first ISSI Breakthrough Workshop co-organized by Jane Rigby (4th person from left).
Odyssey through space and time
Already at the age of 5, Jane Rigby—now Senior NASA JWST Project Scientist and one of the conveners of the first ISSI Breakthrough Workshop—got hooked by a TV show about the cosmos. Growing up in a small town, she says, makes people go search for things to do. For Jane, this was the public library of her town. In this library, she found books that fulfilled her curiosity about what’s beyond her little town, and also beyond our planet. Four decades later, Jane is presenting the first JWST images to the President of the United States, Joe Biden, at the White House.
Trials and Triumphs
Given her early fascination with space, her career path seemed quite like a straight line, but there were definitely moments that changed its direction. Overseeing submission proposals for using the world’s sharpest lenses on the universe, she acknowledges the importance to withstand academic rejection. Space scientists putting their greatest ideas out there to be evaluated is making people vulnerable to some degree. Every year there are great ideas submitted worth to fill nine years of telescope usage, Jane says. That many ideas—no matter how great they are—simply cannot be accommodated. So, great ideas must be rejected frequently.
Pioneering Diversity and Inclusion
Having attended many meetings as the only woman in the room, Jane has seen significant development towards a more gender-diverse and welcoming work environment. She says that a major factor that has changed, and contributed to continue this change, is that more scientists today are challenging bullying in the work place and advocating for change more readily. The readiness to speak up not only counteracts widespread harassment directly, but also helps to prevent it as the problem gets more widely acknowledged and understood.
A Collaborative Endeavour
Jane appreciates the ISSI workshop not only because they assembled a diverse group of researchers in the welcoming environment at ISSI, but also because it allows her and her peers to take a step back and contemplate what has been learned. The JWST telescope is about 100 times more sensitive than the best performing telescopes before, which critically also leads to much, much faster observations: „What used to take a year before, can now be done in one hour, creating new possibilities. And these new possibilities are approached with so much joy.“ Jane says enthusiastically and further elaborates that it feels like watching a firework show, where fascinating discoveries are made in all parts of the field at the moment.
At ISSI, Jane says, they brought a broad team of experts together to take a step back and have a coordinated look at all these fireworks and and find the biggest, overarching themes. She further elaborates: „The excitement of the workshop participants is palpable, and we can’t help to discuss about what’s next.“
By having a more complete view on the recent insights, it becomes clear that there are some key advances in our understanding of the first Billion years in the Universe. Surprisingly, thousands of galaxies seemed to have formed already that early on. They formed fast, converted gas into stars very efficiently, and a significant amount of these early galaxies host massive black holes. „We see a fast, organised growth of galaxies that are brighter and have appeared earlier than what we have thought“, Jane says with similarly bright eyes underscoring her excitement.
Another New Era of Discovery
As technology evolves, so does our understanding of the cosmos. From Galileo and the discovery of the Jovian planetary system—a little „solar system“ within a solar system—Jane says it is how space science uses to evolve. However, back in Galileo’s days, and even a few years back, it was unlike harder to get access to the latest data. Today, JWST data is openly available, latest one year after they have been recorded. This caused quite a surprise when Jane one day came back to the house after mowing the lawn and looked at her phone just to find the data she just collected being already used and shared by space enthusiasts online.
Sharing the Wonder of Space
Jane is all in when it comes to sharing her knowledge about our universe, such as directly with the president of the United States or in plenary lectures with American Astronomical Society. Here in Bern, Jane takes on the role as moderator of the panel discussion at the ‚ISSI Cosmic Beginnings’ event. She takes this opportunity to share the excitement of the space science community with the public and promote the humanity of the recent discoveries: „The JWST telescope is a true human endeavour, crossing geographic and other boundaries, and something inherently good.“
Executive Director Dr. Antonella Nota welcoming the participants of the first ISSI breakthrough workshop “Chronology of the Very Early Universe According to JWST: The First Billion Years”.
Together with Professor Christina Williams from the National Optical Infrared Astronomy Research Lab and Professor Kristen McQuinn from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, astrophysicist Professor Daniel Stark of the University of Arizona led the first discussions amongst the almost fifty experts probing the mysteries of the early universe, fuelled by the excitement surrounding new observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Sitting in the comfortable couch in ISSI’s lunch room, Stark emphasises the importance of leveraging ISSI’s unique work environment to foster collaboration and bridge diverse perspectives.
Stark usually focusses on the first galaxies of the universe that were brought to light with the reionization after the early „dark ages“. Because the novel JWST observations produce a wealth of new insights on these topics too, new questions have arisen. Today, he therefore tried to shine light on those key aspects of the early universe for which the interdisciplinary participants can reach consensus in their understanding, and those for which they cannot.
While sharing experiences and pizza slices during lunch break, Dr. Susan Kassin of the Space Telescope Science Institute, along with Dr. Melanie Habouzit of the Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy and Kirk Barrow of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, point out the crucial interplay between modelling and observation in unraveling cosmic enigmas. To not inhibit out-of-the-box discoveries, Kassin reminds us that modelling should usually follow observations: „Making observations solely based on the current understanding inhibits unexpected insights“ and, as history tells us, this would slow down scientific advances immensely.
The three colleagues appreciate the welcoming environment here at ISSI and think that a workshop such as this one is key to bring the specialised knowledge and understanding on a more complete and broad level. This seems to be of particular importance, given the current inflow of new observations and understanding on the early universe. By meeting with other experts from different disciplines here at ISSI, they also think that this broader understanding will eventually trickle down to the entire community when the participants go home and disseminate their broader knowledge within their scientific circles.
Habouzit, Barrow, and Kassin think that the field moves in tune with the new (space science) instruments and their observations. Most JWST data becomes open-access quite quickly after it has been made, which opens the question whether research and researchers have become overly competitive and focus on quick academic success rather than elaborate, long-term research. While they agree that there is some unhealthy competition here and there, they also point out that thanks to the sheer amount of new and complex data distributed all over the sky, the collaborative rather than competitive approach is still possible and apparently more common.
One table further, postdoctoral scholars Dr. Seiji Fujimoto of the University of Texas at Austin and Dr. Rohan Naidu of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are lauding ISSI’s inclusive atmosphere: „This workshop facilitates dialogue among researchers of varying experience levels.“ALMA and Hubble used to provide them with sharp insights. Since recently, JWST observations are filling the plates of Naidu and Fujimoto. While Rohan stayed in the USA during his past career, Seiji has already worked in Japan, Europe, and now the USA. Well travelled or not, they agree that the ISSI setting allows them to learn from, and discuss with other international experts, also the ones that are more senior, in a unique way.
As discussions unfold, participants reflect on the transformative potential of collaborative research environments in shaping the future of astrophysics. Dr. Susan Kassin’s unconventional journey from aspiring artist to pioneering astrophysicist served as a testament to the power of curiosity and interdisciplinary exchange in driving scientific discovery.
With a commitment to nurturing a culture of collaboration and curiosity, the first ISSI Breakthrough Workshop promises to illuminate the cosmic dawn and inspire future generations of cosmic explorers.
Stay tuned for more insights and revelations from what feels like the forefront of astrophysical insights here at ISSI.
Digital twin technologies – already established in engineering – are becoming increasingly interesting for applications in Earth sciences. Digital twins offer effective tools for dealing with the dramatic impacts of climate change and extremes on our society. They allow exploring the vast amounts of data produced by numerical models and Earth observations to identify causes and effects of environmental change on water, food, energy and health management, and for finding pathways for a more sustainable future. The enormous computing and data handling challenges for Earth-system twins can only be overcome by substantial investments in super-computing and machine learning. These are addressed by the European Commission flagship activity Destination Earth (DestinE). DestinE was launched in 2021 with a projected lifetime of 7-10 years and is implemented by the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). The project is entering its 2nd phase in mid 2024 and is already delivering first examples of digital-twin technology to selected users.
Peter Bauer received his PhD in meteorology from the university of Hamburg, Germany, in 1992. He joined the German Space Agency (DLR) in 1989, but was also awarded guest scientist positions at the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the USA, and the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace (IPSL) in France. He joined the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) in 2000, where he headed the units for satellite data assimilation and model development before becoming the deputy director of research. He implemented the Scalability Programme preparing the forecasting system for emerging super-computing technologies. He coordinated the European flagship proposal ExtremeEarth leading to his appointment as the ECMWF director for Destination Earth. During his career, Peter Bauer was a member of numerous strategic advisory committees for national meteorological services, WMO and space agencies. He retired from ECMWF in mid 2023.
The great auroral display seen in Augsburg on 6 March 1582, reproduced in Usoskin et al. (2023) with permission from Zentralbibliothek Zürich, Department of Prints and Drawings/Photo Archive (shelfmark: ZB Graphische Sammlung (GSB), PAS II 19/4).
Earliest Records of Solar Events
The Sun often produces eruptive events on different energetic and temporal scales. It might, however, also produce events, so-called extreme solar events, whose energy could be orders of magnitude greater than anything we have observed during recent decades. But what is an extreme solar event? How strong can they be and how often do they occur?
To find answers to these and other questions, the ISSI team around Fusa Miyake from Nagoya University in Japan and Ilya Usoskin from Oulu University in Finland went back, far back in time.
Using a combined approach with so far unused measured and archival data, the team studies extreme space weather events that would have catastrophic impact not only on our astronauts and their equipment, but also on our power and communications infrastructure here on the ground.
The examined historical records date back over three millennia! One significant finding is the earliest documented reports of candidate aurorae known today, with a Babylonian astronomer reporting a “red glow” in 567 BCE and possible auroral sightings in Assyrian cuneiform tablets from 679–655 BCE. Additionally, the Bamboo Annals, an ancient Chinese text, describe a celestial event involving a “five-coloured light” in the last year of King Zhāo of the Zhōu Dynasty.
These reports have been correlated with modern records and analysed to determine their likelihood as auroral events, providing insight into ancient space weather occurrences. This research not only extends our space weather chronology but also suggests the existence of a solar minimum around 810–720 BCE, termed the “Neo-Assyrian Grand Minimum“, challenging previous understandings of solar activity during that period.
Read more about this fascinating undertaking in: Usoskin, I., Miyake, F., Baroni, M. et al. Extreme Solar Events: Setting up a Paradigm. Space Sci Rev 219, 73 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-023-01018-1
Prof. Weiqing Han (University of Colorado at Boulder, USA) was selected as the Johannes Geiss Fellow in 2020. Background graphic from https://s-ink.org/sea-surface-temperature-2023-july.
Insights from Professor Weiqing Han’s Research
The Earth’s atmosphere and ocean are in the focus of Professor Weiqing Han, who is affiliated with the University of Colorado and a former ‘Johannes Geiss Fellow’ at ISSI Bern. Her focus is predominantly on the dynamics of our evolving climate across intra-seasonal to decadal time frames. Important facets of her work encompass ocean dynamics, regional sea-level fluctuations, climate variability, and the intricate interplay between the atmosphere and the ocean. Below, Professor Han provides a synopsis of her latest publications arising from her time as an ISSI fellow.
Emergence of the central Atlantic Niño
The Atlantic Niño, a climate phenomenon characterised by regional sea surface warming in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, has a significant impact on tropical climate, including the El Niño and Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which has large climatic impact worldwide. Our recent publication (Zhang et al. 2023) shows that the Atlantic Niño has undergone significant changes, with the emergence of two distinct types: the central and eastern Atlantic Niño. The eastern Atlantic Niño has been weakening since the 1970s, which allows the central Atlantic Niño to emerge and become more prominent since the early 2000s. In this study, we demonstrate that the central Atlantic Niño, with its unique spatial pattern, exerts a stronger influence on tropical climate compared to its eastern counterpart. This finding explains why we still see a strong remote impact on ENSO despite the weakening of both eastern and central Atlantic Niño combined. Differentiating between the two types of Atlantic Niño seems key for a comprehensive understanding of their climatic impacts on both local and remote regions, including their role in influencing ENSO.
Increase in MJO predictability under global warming
The Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) is an eastward-moving atmospheric disturbance that occurs in every 30-60 days in the tropics, with strong manifestations in clouds, rainfall, winds, and pressure. The MJO has significant impacts on global weather and climate and is a dominant source of their sub-seasonal predictability. Our recent study (Du et al. 2023) found that the MJO has become more predictable (i.e., increase in predictability) under the influence of anthropogenic warming in the past century, and this increase will continue during the twenty-first century based on the results from climate model projections. The increased predictability is due to the stronger MJO amplitude, more regular oscillation patterns and more organised eastward propagation under global warming.
Sea level variability along the U.S. East coast
Coastal flooding is one of the major threats to nearshore regions, and it has become more frequent along the U.S. east coast in recent decades. The year-to-year (i.e., inter-annual) sea level variations, superimposed on decadal fluctuations and climate change-induced global sea level rise, have significant impacts on the frequency and spatial variation of coastal flooding. The factors that can drive the year-to-year sea level variations are complex. Local forcings arise for example from atmospheric wind and sea level pressure in the nearshore regions. Other sea level signals are remotely forced and propagate to the U.S. east coast from the open ocean and from the subpolar north Atlantic down via the western boundary. In our recent study (Zhu et al 2023a), we found that during the satellite altimetry era from 1993-2019, local wind and sea level pressure play more important roles than other remote forcing in driving the year-to-year coastal sea level variations in the Mid-Atlantic Bight and Gulf of Maine, while both local and remote forcings are important in the South Atlantic Bight.
The role of local forcings, however, is non-stationary with time, with a significantly increased impact on coastal sea level in the Mid-Atlantic Bight and Gulf of Maine especially during boreal summer season in recent decades (1990-2020) compared to earlier decades (1959-1989) (Zhu et al. 2023b). The enhanced impact of local forcings in recent decades results mainly from the increased influence of atmospheric sea level pressure associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), a dominant inter-annual climate variability pattern that has large influence on the U.S. and European climate. A stronger NAO-associated low sea level pressure anomalies is centred around the Mid-Atlantic Bight region in recent decades, resulting in a larger impact on coastal sea level compared to earlier decades.
Zhu, Y., W. Han, M. Alexander, and S-K Shin, 2023a: Interannual Sea Level Variability Along the U.S. East Coast During Satellite Altimetry Era: Local versus Remote Forcing. Journal of Climate, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-23-0065.1
Zhu Y., W. Han, M. Alexander, 2023b: Nonstationary Roles of Regional Forcings in Driving Low-frequency Sea level Variability Along the U.S. East Coast since the 1950s. Geophysical Research Letters, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL104191
Zhang, L., C. Wang, W. Han, M.J. McPhaden, A. Hu, and W. Xing, 2023: Emergence of Central Atlantic Nino. Science Advances, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adi5507
Du, D., A. Subramanian, W. Han, W. Chapman, J. Weiss and E. Bradley, 2023: Increase in MJO predictability under global warming. Nature Climate Change, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01885-0
Group photo of the interdisciplinary conference participants including ISSI Director Maurizio Falanga. (Image source: World Trade Institute, WTI)
Pioneering an Interdisciplinary Approach to Space Commerce
The recent conference, “The Economics and Law of Space-Based Commerce,” convened here in Bern, Switzerland, brought together key stakeholders and researchers from diverse fields, including economics, law, politics, and space sciences. The event tackled pressing questions surrounding the governance framework for private actors in space commerce.
Participants delved into the applicability of current economic concepts to outer space activities and examined the complexities of international economic law in this emerging domain. From exploring the potential application of existing trade, investment, and tax laws to space-based commerce to identifying new areas for multidisciplinary research, the conference provided a platform for rich discussions and insights.
Jointly hosted by the World Trade Institute (WTI), the University of Bern, and ISSI, with support from the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law (SICL), COSPAR, and the University College Dublin (UCD), this event aimed to pave the way for future collaborations and advancements in understanding the economics and law of space commerce. Representatives from the Swiss Space Office (SSO) and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA) also contributed to the vibrant exchange of ideas.
