Key profile area "Intelligent Methods for Earth System Sciences"

Within the University of Cologne there is the structure of the key profile areas (KPA); these are thematically defined research areas of high scientific and/or societal relevance. Since 2022, there is the key profile area "Intelligent Methods for Earth System Sciences".

What do we do?

Within the scope of the KPA's "Intelligent Methods for Earth System Sciences", we aim at a close connection between Earth System Sciences, related natural sciences (physics, chemistry, biology) as well as computer science and mathematics. Such an interdisciplinary approach makes it possible to achieve applications in, for example, astronomy, environmental sciences, and the energy industry.

Together with strong regional partners, i.e. the University of Bonn as well as the Research Center Jülich, the University of Cologne (UzK) has already established the Center for Earth System Observation and Computational analysis (CESOC), which links the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) with research in this interdisciplinary field. In addition, the further development of strong infrastructures, such as the worldwide unique platform for geochronology at the UzK, is planned. It is also planned to further strengthen the competence centers within the ABC/J Geoverbund, such as the Isotope GeoScience Centre (IGSC4i) and the Cloud and Precipitation Exploration Laboratory (CPEX-LAB).

The UoC's KPA funding is intended to expand interdisciplinary collaboration in research, develop innovative teaching concepts, support approaches to sustainability, and enable outreach activities.

Why this topic now?

We now know that humanity urgently needs to mitigate climate change, which requires profound lifestyle changes, whether in transforming energy systems or avoiding biodiversity loss.

At the same time, a new generation of tools is available: novel approaches to observing the Earth system, high-resolution experimental data and simulations, and intelligent computational methods such as machine learning, efficient algorithms, or exascale computing. These offer unprecedented potential to better understand past, present, and especially future climate and the evolution of the complex coupled Earth system.

The knowledge can then be used to make recommendations for policy and the energy industry, among others.

What actions?

In research we want to initiate new interdisciplinary projects and establish corresponding professorships. Mathematics and computer science are to develop as interdisciplinary research for earth sciences, with artificial intelligence, efficient algorithms, and visual analysis playing a role.

A combination of new analytical, experimental and simulative approaches should improve our understanding. New measurement techniques and new methods will also be used to model and reconstruct the paleoclimate so that the geological archive can be better interpreted.

Also a cooperation of energy industry and meteorology (see also ewi) shall be extended with seminar series, joint research work.

For teaching, among other things, the new Master's program Computational Sciences will be promoted, special seminars and workshops will be offered to promote cooperation with computer science and mathematics and. Interdisciplinary doctoral theses can also be supervised. Even for the bachelor's degree program, entry-level computer science will be a teaching component.

In addition, we will collaborate with graduate schools (GSGS) to add a strong computational education component to their offerings.

In the outreach, we will bring KPA topics to a broad public and also seek cooperation with schools.

Who?

The initial participating institutes/institutions belong to the University of Cologne, the Department of Earth Sciences and the Department of Mathematics / Computer Science. The exact and extended list of participating persons and institutes can be found here.

The Center for Data and Simulation Science (CDS) and the Computing Center (RRZK) provide capacities for data analysis and simulations.

Data acquisition takes place at various locations, e.g. in the Arctic within the AC3 project, in the Atacama Desert within the CRC1211 project, at the Cologne weather station on the university sports grounds, in Jülich with the measuring instruments from the JOYCE-CF project and in the laboratories of Geology & Mineraology and Geography, e.g. with the Cologne AMS.

With the strong regional partners, i.e. the University of Bonn as well as the Research Center Jülich, the University of Cologne (UzK) has already established the Center for Earth System Observation and Computational analysis (CESOC), which links the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) with research. In addition, there are other infrastructures, such as the worldwide unique platform for geochronology at the UoC (e.g. with the CologneAMS), as well as the competence centers within the Geoverbundes ABC/J, such as the Isotope GeoScience Centre (IGSC4i) and the Cloud and Precipitation Exploration Laboratory (CPEX-LAB).

The ideas of the KPA already play a central role in ongoing projects (Collaborative projects).