The impact of human activity on nature is global and immense. Researchers are currently debating whether humanity is already in the Anthropocene, a new geological age. The causes of this great acceleration are complex and affect all spheres of the earth system.

The NFDI4Earth consortium brings together leading national institutions in the Earth system sciences and comprises more than 50 organisations. These work together in international and interdisciplinary networks to understand the functioning and interactions in the Earth system and to tackle the challenges of global change. RUB joined the consortium in 2023. Earth system scientists work together in international and interdisciplinary networks to understand the workings and interactions within the Earth system and to tackle the challenges of global change. The NFDI4Earth consortium therefore strives for fair, coherent and open access to all relevant Earth system data, innovative research data management and data science methods.

Prof. Dr Andreas Rienow and Dr Valerie Graw, researchers from the Institute of Geography at Ruhr-Universität who specialise in the analysis of geodata, are involved.