The Past is the Key to the Future

In the organizer's words:

The fact that the climate is changing is not a modern phenomenon, but an integral part of the Earth system. However, the speed and intensity of change are unprecedented in the Earth's recent history. In order to understand the extent of the current changes, however, they must be placed in a temporal context. This raises the question of how to reconstruct the climate of the past centuries and thousands of years, as systematic human records only began in the 19th century.

This is the task of paleoclimatology. Researchers in this scientific discipline use various climate archives from which they can obtain climate data from past times. These archives include organic archives, such as tree rings and corals, as well as inorganic archives such as dripstones, sediment and ice cores.

The photo project "The Past is the Key to the Future" by Jan Richard Heinicke shows the work of paleoclimatologists throughout Europe and aims to create a deeper understanding of the abstract concept of "climate science".

The photographs are on display in the central hall of the depot and can be explored independently during the museum's opening hours.

TIP: YESTERDAY'S SNOW - WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM ICE CORES
Dr. Maria Hörhold, glaciologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in Bremerhaven, gives an insight into polar research and explains how ice cores can provide information about the climatic past as climate archives. Photographer Jan Richard Heinicke will then give a guided tour of the exhibition "The Past is the Key to the Future", in which he places the researchers' work in the current climate discourse.
Date: SO 09.06.2024 at 11:00 am

TIP: TRACES OF THE PAST: PALEOCLIMATOLOGY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE FUTURE
Together with marine scientist Dr. Tim Kalvelage and photographer Jan Richard Heinicke, we go in search of traces. Which climate archives provide a glimpse into the past and what can we learn from them about current and future climate developments? At the Sunday matinee with coffee and snacks, research and documentary photography meet in the exhibition "The Past is the Key to the Future".
Date: SO 16.06.2024 at 11:00 am

Please note: For events requiring admission, the exhibition can only be visited for a fee.
Due to construction work in the building, the exhibition cannot be visited on 17.04.