The Earth System is perpetually changing due to processes within and interactions amongst the solid Earth and the atmosphere and hydrosphere. These processes also determine the distribution of natural hazards and resources at and below the Earth’s surface.
In Department 4, we assemble competences pertinent to the dynamics of geosystems in the deep Earth and at its surface, to the utilization of the underground and the management of georisks. This involves a combination of geological, geophysical and geochemical methods, as well as laboratory experiments and numerical process simulations to study how the Earth deforms, how the Earth surface changes in response to the movement of lithospheric plates and to variations in climate, how geological basins form and what they contain, and how geothermal resources can be sustainably used.