Department 4: Chemistry and Material Cycles

Director of Department: Prof. Dr. Jörg Erzinger

Understanding the transport of material and energy within the Earth System is of fundamental importance for mankind. It is these processes which, on the one hand, control the volcanic eruptions and earthquakes that suddenly and destructively impinge upon society, but on the other provide us with the sustainable production of electricity and heat from geothermal sources and fossil energy resources within sedimentary basins. The main scientific goals of Department 4 are to investigate and understand the cycling of mass and energy by studying chemical, physical and biological processes within the geosphere and at its interfaces to the hydrosphere and atmosphere. Our research integrates analytical and experimental methods with field studies and numerical models to understand natural resources and climate better and to help evaluate geological risk.
 

The research of Department 4 is organised in four sections:
 

• Section 4.1: Reservoir Technologies
• Section 4.2: Inorganic and Isotope Geochemistry
• Section 4.3: Organic Geochemistry
• Section 4.4: Basin Analysis
• Section 4.5: Geomicrobiology