University of Tuebingen - TERRA Cluster of Excellence Department of Geosciences

Vital resources such as drinking water and the air we breathe are created by interactions between the Earth’s geo- and biosphere. Understanding these interactions in detail is therefore essential for the well-being of humankind. The current human impact on ecosystems is unprecedented, but the underlying laws of nature always apply. The TERRA Cluster of Excellence will investigate how geo-biosphere interactions both respond to and influence environmental change. TERRA tests the hypothesis of whether the geosphere’s diversity stabilizes the biosphere and, vice versa, whether the biosphere’s diversity stabilizes the geosphere – and asks: if this is the case, how?

TERRA stands in the established  Tübingen  tradition of joint research in the geosciences and life sciences, and includes researchers from the University of  Hohenheim  and the  Senckenberg  Society for Nature Research in  Frankfurt . TERRA pursues an integrative approach, combining fieldwork, experiments, and data studies analyzing different periods of the Earth's history.