Across disciplinary boundaries, we develop options for action to deal with the challenges of our time.
Interdisciplinary research for urgent future questions
In researching the complex system Earth and its interactions with humans, we rely on a holistic approach that combines various disciplines. We want not only to understand how changes occur, but also to find solutions on how to actively confront them and adapt to new circumstances.
As a geoscientific network, the Geoverbund ABC/J covers the entire spectrum of earth system sciences in the research region Aachen-Bonn-Cologne-Jülich. By bundling our forces, our expertise and our infrastructures, we enable interdisciplinary and open-topic research. In doing so, solutions for urgent questions of the future are at the center of our commitment in order to positively shape the world of tomorrow.
In order to find answers to these future questions, the ABC/J geo network focuses on the following strategic research topics with regard to system understanding and application relevance:
Evolution of the Earth and Life
This theme brings together research on the evolution of the Earth and life as a function of geological processes.
The object of research are processes of very different temporal and spatial scales. They include both very slowly occurring events (e.g. tectonics) and rarely occurring events (e.g. superplumes).
The study of the geological past can provide clues as to how geobiosystems respond to crises, e.g. climate change. The documentation, analysis and modelling of environmental conditions in the past and their projection into the present form the scientific basis for answering questions about the future.
Dynamics and processes of the Earth system in global change
The Earth has been in a constant process of change since its formation. In recent centuries, the nature and speed of this change in essential parts of the Earth system have accelerated under the influence of humans to such an extent that direct global and regional impacts of these changes and the resulting threats to the human habitat are already being felt within the lifespan of a generation.
Within the framework of this topic, a transdisciplinary understanding of the environmental system will be developed in order to be able to derive options for future action based on this.
Sustainable use and conservation of geo-resources / Exploration and sustainable use of geo-resources
Geo-resources (raw materials, water, soil, etc.) form the natural basis of life for human societies and their economies. The use, protection and management of these resources are priority tasks for today's societies.
The aim of the joint research in the Geoverbund ABC/J is to develop sustainable concepts for a socially and economically compatible use of geo-resources. This includes the analysis of interactions between processes and properties of terrestrial systems, utilisation interests in the context of raw material extraction, groundwater and soil utilisation and the associated changes, especially in the hydrosphere and biosphere.
Geohazards, vulnerability and resilience
Risks have become a central issue in modern societies. From a risk perspective, the consequences of earth system processes (e.g. earthquakes), resource scarcity and degradation (water, soil) as well as climate change harbour a conflict potential that must be taken into account.
The aim of the collaborative research in the Geoverbund ABC/J is to develop concepts for risk minimisation through risk management with the involvement of all stakeholders from politics, business, science and civil society.
Methods and instrumental platforms
Geoverbund ABC/J is committed to expanding existing platforms and developing new ones. This will facilitate access to research infrastructures and promote their shared use. In order to do justice to the importance of methodological competences for geoscientific research in the ABC/J geovolume, the previous research strategic guiding themes are supplemented by the cross-cutting theme of methods & instrumental platforms.
The respective profile of the institutes in the Geoverbund ABC/J determines the priority with which they participate in the work on the key topics. The Geoverbund ABC/J enables a close interlocking of site-specific competences and the joint use of the unique infrastructure.
