Research Themes

Permafrost Energy Balance
Sensitivity of the permafrost system's water and energy balance under changing climate: a multiscale perspective.

Geomicrobiology in Permafrost Environments
The widely distributed wet lowlands of the periglacial regions are natural sources of the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide.

Erosion of Permafrost Coast
The Arctic coastlines currently undergo dramatic erosion, releasing carbon and fresh water to the atmosphere and ocean.

Permafrost Archives, Paleoclimate and Landscape Dynamics
The reconstruction of past permafrost dynamics helps to decipher the fate of the vast periglacial regions in the course of future global warming.

Limnogeology & Sedimentary Palaeoclimate Records
Terrestrial deposits and long sediment cores from periglacial lakes and polar oceans trace ancient climate and environmental history at high temporal resolution.

Ecosystem Change & Palaeoclimate
Messages from organic compounds and microfossil remains (e.g. pollen, algae, insects) in lake muds and permafrost soils: Quantitative insights into palaeotemperatures, precipitation change, and vegetation dynamics.

Stable Isotope Geochemistry
Exploring the secrets of isotope signals in polar ice and aquatic shell remains as indicators of palaeo environmental change.

Siberian Ice-Core Records
A 2500-year ice-core record of climate change in Severnaya Zemlya (Northern Siberia).