Program „Changing Earth – Sustaining our Future”

Vision

With the program “Changing Earth – Sustaining our Future" we will lay the path towards a future Earth that can sustain human society and the biosphere as a whole.

Mission

• Gain a holistic understanding of the changing Earth system, the dynamics, feedbacks and interactions of its compartments.

• Provide actionable knowledge that can be used for a transformation towards a sustainable management of planet Earth.

Grand Challenges

The Program will conduct solution-oriented, systemic research within the context of five overarching grand challenges:

• climate change with an emphasis on the drivers as well as the impacts it will have on natural and human systems, including regional manifestations and extreme events,

• risks for human habitats and activities arising from Solid Earth dynamics,

• threatened ecosystems, biodiversity and biogeochemical cycles as foundations of vital ecosystem services,

• dwindling natural resources as the limiting factor for societal development globally,

• the need to preserve or achieve a good quality of the human environment with an emphasis on air quality, reduced pollutants exposure and livable, sustainable cities.

The Program Objectives

The Program Objectives constitute the scientific mission of the program and serve both to integrate our scientific activities and as a measuring stick for their impact with regard to societal benefits.

In their entirety, these objectives set out to lay the path towards a future Earth that can sustain human society and the biosphere as a whole.

Half way of PoF IV, the Program Board revised and described the Program Objectives now in detail, accounting for first program experience and our changing world (to avoid confusion with the original PO numbering scheme, these revised objec?ves have an "R" before their number, thus are labelled POR).

Program Structure

Nine research Topics and their project-type Subtopics form the structural backbone of the Program. Topics are designed for high thematic coherence, communicable missions, multidisciplinarity and complementarity across centers.

Cross-Cutting Activities build the bridge to other Research Fields and promote thematic profiling and networking between Topics.

The research data management is consolidated in the DataHub which provides: overarching data portal, digitalization for scientific workflows including data flows, thematic viewers for different stake-holders, support of science-to-science networks.

Innopool projects serve to strengthen the cooperation between the centers by funding of new innovative ideas in 3-year projects .

SynCom is designed as an overarching synthesis and communication platform for the Earth and Environment Research Field where scientists study our planet comprehensively within nine Topics.

Seven large User FacilitiesInfrastructures are operated under the responsibility of AWI, GEOMAR and GFZ of: research stations, aircraft, research vessels, and a Modular Earth Science Infrastructure (MESI).

Topics | CCA | DataHub | Innopool | SynCom | User Facilities

General Assembly 2023 - in Karlsruhe (15.-16. May)

The research program "Changing Earth – Sustaining our Future" convened its annual General Assembly in Karlsruhe on May 15th and 16th, 2023. Over 300 participants discussed the progress of the collaborative research program, the further development of the Program Objectives, as well as new cross-cutting thematic and research activities. The successful event provided insights into the current program activities and also offered numerous participatory formats such as an ideas market, breakout groups, and dynamic poster sessions, making it an excellent opportunity for networking and actively shaping the shared program. One focus of this year's general assembly was a broad involvement of early career researchers. Additionally, individual members of the Strategic Advisory Board attended the second day of the event.