High and Low
Field work in the Himalayas with students of the Earth sciences
Image Credit: Christian Reinhardt
The Earth sciences are devoted to the study of Earth system processes. How these processes influence each other, what influence they have on climate and the environment, and what role in these processes is played by humans are all topics that are being investigated at Freie Universität in Berlin-Lankwitz.
News from Nov 12, 2014
The Department of Earth Sciences includes three academic institutions: the Institute of Geological Sciences, the Institute of Geographical Sciences, and the Institute of Meteorology.
Using interdisciplinary research approaches, current data are recorded and analyzed, primarily with scientific methods, but also social science methods, for making predictions about the environment – and also for weather forecasts. Since 1954 the Institute of Meteorology has been naming high and low pressure areas that affect the weather in Europe – the results can be heard almost daily in the news.
The subjects studied and taught range from geochemistry, geophysics, geodynamics, and paleontology to the planetary sciences, human geography, and geoinformatics. They also include the dynamics of the atmosphere and space sciences.
The Department of Earth Sciences cooperates with numerous institutions in Europe, South America, Central and East Asia, and North Africa. Its research groups collaborate closely with non-university institutions in the region. These include Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), the German National Weather Service (Deutsche Wetterdienst, DWD), and the German Aerospace Center (DLR).
In addition to the Department of Earth Sciences Freie Universität is home to eleven other departments and four central institutes:
Academic Departments
- Department of Biology, Chemistry, and Pharmacy
- Department of Earth Sciences
- Department of Education and Psychology
- Department of History and Cultural Studies
- Department of Law
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
- Department of Philosophy and Humanities
- Department of Physics
- Department of Political and Social Sciences
- Department of Veterinary Medicine
- School of Business and Economics
- Medical School - Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin