Observatories

All share the advantages of high rates of change, variable interaction of key processes in different geodynamic settings, and the potential of quantitative observation of climate-driven as well as deep processes shaping Earth’s surface over a wide spectrum of time and length scales. They ultimately aim at improving our understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution of hazards and to identify and optimize an appropriate and effective monitoring technology. While all will provide a comprehensive view on coupling of deep Earth and surface /–climate processes, emphasis will vary according to the properties of the systems chosen, ranging from ‘PlateBoundary Observatories’ (Chilean subduction zone and the Anatolian microplate with its diverse plate boundaries), to ‘Global Change Observatories’ (Central Asia/Tien Shan and Southern Africa/South Atlantic) and embracing a range of different time scales 

Geomagnetic Observatories
Operation of geomagnetic observatories in Niemegk and Wingst and cooperation with institutes worldwide as a contribution to the global network of continuous magnetic recordings.

Global Change Observatories
Global change takes place in a broad multitude of processes and a large spectrum of scales in time and space. Key regions allow for the analysis of the typical processes taking place.

Plate Boundary Observatories
Plate boundary observatories in situ give insight into various tectonic processes like subduction, collision and other key features of plate dynamics.

Gravity Field
As part of an agreement signed on August 1998 between the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa and the GFZ, the South African Geodynamic Observatory Sutherland, is operated by GFZ (SAGOS) at the site of the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) close to Sutherland, about 350 km north-east of Cape Town.