Welcome to Helmholtz Centre PotsdamGFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences

The GFZ is the national research centre for Earth Sciences in Germany. We investigate “System Earth“ at locations all over the world with all the geological, physical, chemical and biological processes which occur at its surface and in its interior.

The goal of our interdisciplinary research is to understand these processes on all scales of time and space, whether they occur at the level of atoms and molecules or galaxies, and independently of whether they take place faster than the blink of an eye in nanoseconds or if they happen infinitely slowly over billions of years. We not only investigate the processes within the planet itself, but also study the multitude of interactions between solid earth, the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the inhabited world. We also analyse how man, living at the Earth's surface, affects our planet. In sum, our research deals with the entire "Earth System" including the influence of mankind.

News:
Expert workshop on research data infrastructures
The cost of obtaining data in a variety of scientific disciplines ranges in the order of several billion euros in Germany alone. On 17 April 75 scientists of various disciplines and research institutions will be discussing how to capture, store and prepare the diversity of these data systematically for further use in the workshop "Elements of a comprehensive research data infrastructure: One for all?" at the GFZ.

Prof. Dr. Dirk Wagner is the head of section 4.5 Geomicrobiology

Professor Dr. Dirk Wagner has been appointed to a joint professorship of geobiology and geomicrobiology at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences by the University of Potsdam and the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences. As the new head of section 4.5 Geomicrobiology at the GFZ, Prof. Wagner's work will concentrate on studies of microbial life in deep sediments (Deep Biosphere) and its role in the global carbon cycle. ...more

09.05.2012 | Tons of equipment for nanograms of science

Ultra-precise measuring instrument moves from Potsdam to Dresden

On Wednesday, 9th May 2012, a special truck with air suspension will load a 1 ton heavy secondary ion mass spectrometer (SIMS) of the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences which will then transport it to the Helmholtz Centre Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). This event marks the beginning of a close cooperation between the two Helmholtz sister institutions in Potsdam and Dresden, which will also in future include other Helmholtz research centres and universities. ...more