We are very happy to announce that the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1211 "Earth - Evolution at the Dry Limit" is entering its second phase and is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) until 2024. While the Chilean part of the Atacama Desert was the focus of the first funding phase, the researchers will also conduct research in the Namib in Namibia in the coming period. "We are very pleased to be funded for another four years," says spokesperson Professor Dr. Tibor Dunai. "This gives us the opportunity to deepen our existing knowledge, to pursue further research questions and to foster new cooperations. The CRC 1211 is a joint project of the Universities of Cologne (Host University) and Bonn and the RWTH Aachen University.

Ready for the next phase: An international team of more than 80 scientists from different disciplines works together in our CRC 1211.
Photo: Benedikt Ritter

An international team of more than 80 scientists from different disciplines works together in the Collaborative Research Centre. "Combining the results from the research areas has great potential to significantly advance our understanding of our planet," adds Dunai. "With our research area, we occupy a scientific niche that offers an enormously relevant and exciting field for explaining the fundamental processes of our planet, not least in times of global climate change.” For example, biologists are investigating the kinship relationships of plant populations that grow in landscapes with practically no rain. Geologists take and analyze drill cores to reconstruct the desert climate of the last 2 million years. Meteorologists use weather stations and satellites to research the relationships between land, sea and atmosphere. Geomorphological projects determine the influence of the extremely dry conditions in the desert on the formation of landscapes.

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