Concept
|
On the 7th December 1972, the Geologist Harrison H. Schmitt took a picture that changed the way we perceive our world: as part of the 17th Apollo-Mission, the astronaut was the first person to take a shot of the “Blue Marble”, our blue planet in front of the blackness of deep space. This picture was not only meaningful for the up-and-coming Eco- and “One World”-Movement, but it also symbolized a new development among natural scientists.
Atmospheric Sciences, Geology, Biology, Oceanography – with increasing knowledge in each specific field it became more and more obvious just how closely the single parts of our earth’s system were related. Among scientists of different disciplines, this insight sparked new, holistic concepts and approaches on how the planet as a system is working. This in turn led to great scientific progresses, i.e. in the field of Climate-Research, and caused the borders between disciplines to blur and merge into a new discipline, today usually referred to as “Earth System Sciences”.
The Geocycles Research Centre is consequently tuning into the further development of this concept by incorporating the humanities into the Earth System Sciences. Thus, for the first time, the interplay between earth processes and human cultures will be assessed, alongside elementary questions regarding climate- and earth system research: How do cultures respond to environmental change? To what extent does the climate influence human evolution and development. And, vice versa, what impact does humanity have on the climate system?
Combining humanities with natural sciences facilitates a broad range of research topics. This concept is unique in Germany and clearly separates Geocycles from other research centres dealing with Earth System Sciences.
|
|