Geosystem: The Changing Earth

Involved Helmholtz-centres: GFZ, UFZ, FZJ, AWI and DLR
Responsible: Prof. Dr. Onno Oncken (GFZ)

The fundamental challenges mankind faces in the 21th century are safeguardingsociety from natural desasters, sustaining economic growth without threatening the environment, supplying an ever growing world population with industrial raw materials, energy, and clean drinking water, meeting the challenges posed by global change, and developing efficient urban infrastructures for transport and shelter.

The top-level long-term goals of programme “Geosystems” are:
• observing and modelling key geo-processes with the highest possible resolution, and accuracy,
• recognition and assessment of the impact of these processes on the human habitat,
• development of solutions and strategies for disaster reduction and risk mitigation,
• design of concepts and technical protocols for exploring and utilising the subsurface.

A key component in addressing these goals is GFZ's Modular Earth Science Infrastructure (MESI), operated with close national as well as international ties and designed to contribute to the Helmholtz- mission of providing scientific infrastructure to the Earth science community. This infrastructure integrates near-Earth satellites, airborne systems, permanent geophysical and geodetic instrument networks and observatories, deep drilling technologies, mobile instrument arrays, as well as integrated analytical and experimental facilities.