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Representation of atomic clusters formed by gold, arsenic and sulfur in arsenian pyrite (shown in the background as imaged using Scanning Electron Microscopy; not to scale).

A mineral pump for gold in the Earth’s crust

An international team of scientists with participation of mineralogist Dr. Maria Kokh from the University of Potsdam was able to elucidate the mystery …
Dr. Maximilian Korges and Prof. Dr. Max Wilke | Photo: Sandra Scholz

The Nursery of Mineral Resources – Geoscientists research ore genesis

They come in all kinds of colors and shapes – black, white, green, blue or shiny silver, as nondescript as rock or formed into impressive crystals. …
Dr. Savi collecting sand for geochemical analyses | Photo: Velio Coviello

Moving Rocks – How climate warming changes mountain regions

Since 2015, geologist Sara Savi has been researching the influence of climate on debris flows in the high mountains of Argentina. In her current …
Peter van der Beek during a sampling campaign in the Alps | Foto: T.F. Schildgen

Looking at smallest atoms to understand large-scale Mountain ranges – A welcome to Peter van der Beek at the Institute of Geosciences

Peter van der Beek has joined the academic leadership at the Institute of Geosciences at Potsdam University. The internationally well-known Earth …
Humboldt Fellow Gautier Nicoli (3.v.l.) does his research at the Skaergaard Intrusion, Greenland …

Seen from the root of mountains – Humboldt Fellow Gautier Nicoli links plate tectonics and the carbon cycle

As a petrologist, Gautier Nicoli deals with the occurrence, composition and formation of rocks. He collects samples of metamorphic rocks from all over …
The research team in Namibia | Photo: Olwen Evans

Where Kudu and Springbok Live – Researchers from Potsdam examine if good wildlife management can help the savanna

The savanna is in danger. The African grasslands - picturesque groups of trees on wide plains, large herds of wild animals passing by, vigilantly eyed …
Scientific satellites traverse the challenging region of near-earth space known as the Van Allen radiation belt. | Figure: Yuri Shprits; background: NASA

Giant particle accelerator in the sky – Electrons are locally heated to extremely high energies within the Van Allen Radiation Belts, new study finds

The Earth’s magnetic field is trapping high energy particles. When the first satellites were launched into space, scientists led by James Van Allen …
Point cloud image of the Golm Campus | Photo: Prof. Dr. Bodo Bookhagen

View from Above – Geoscientist Bodo Bookhagen relies on drones for geological remote sensing

One of the most popular gifts for Christmas: unmanned aerial vehicles, colloquially known as drones. They are widely used in the hobby sector today. …
The Olorgesailie Basin in the Kenya Rift Valley, part of the Eastern Branch of the East African Rift System. In the background the high topography of the Rift’s border faults. | Photo: Corinna Kalich, University of Potsdam

Calculated – Why a whole region is rotating in the middle of Africa

For the first time ever, the causes for the strange motion of a tectionic plate have been identified by using three dimensional computer models. The …
Sea smoke in Antarctica is illuminated by the setting sun. | Photo: Winkelmann/Reese

Into the Eternal Ice – Ricarda Winkelmann is a climate researcher and junior professor at the University of Potsdam and the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research

Very few people have been here at all, to one of the world’s most inhospitable regions, where the temperature is below the freezing point even in …