Land Surface Dynamics 

What is studied in the research focus area Land Surface Dynamics? 

The research focus on Land Surface Dynamics examines the characteristics of interactions between landforms, Earth surface processes, water systems, geological and biological cycles, landuse, and climate. We study and model past, recent, and future land surface dynamics in changing spatiotemporal patterns and Earth system responses to climatic and land cover/use change forcing. Examples of key research questions investigated across different spatial and temporal scales include how landscapes evolve over time under the changing climate; how water and sediment fluxes can be modelled in relation to management of water resources; or how climate change affects the main cycles of terrestrial ecosystems (i.e., carbon and water cycles, and energy balance). 

This interdisciplinary research focus comprises a variety of scientific methods and techniques such as multiscale field experiments and measurements, quantitative lab analysis, air-/space-borne remote sensing, and statistical as well as numerical modelling.

Under this focus, our research examines, inter alia, dynamics of landslides and mountain permafrost, remote sensing vegetation stress detection and reactions using radiative transfer models, land surface modelling including biogeochemical cycles, watershed modelling, sediment mobilisation, evolution of alpine ecosystem, and more. Other teams are investigating geomorphological and anthropogenic evidence from recent, historic and pre-historic floods to droughts for their quantitative reconstruction. The research focus Land Surface Dynamics contributes to the Transdisciplinary Research Areas Modelling (TRA1) and Sustainable Futures (TRA6), Center for Earth System Observation and Computational Analysis (CESOC), but also to the PhenoRob Cluster of Excellence of the University of Bonn.