Bruno Merz, Head of the GFZ-section Hydrology and professor at the University of Potsdam, and Friedhelm von Blanckenburg, Head of the GFZ-section Earth Surface Geochemistry and professor at the Freie Universität Berlin, received their AGU Fellow 2018 certificates and their medals yesterday during a ceremony at this year's AGU Autumn Meeting in Washington, D.C.. The AGU Fellow Class 2018 includes 62 award winners who are honored for their outstanding scientific achievements, visions and commitment.

Bruno Merz receives the award especially for his work on hydrological extremes. Under his leadership, the GFZ-section Hydrology has developed models that help to better understand extreme events and to improve risk assessment. Friedhelm von Blanckenburg focuses on the environmental information gained by analyzing isotopes in rocks and other materials. (ks)