In the Organic Surface Geochemistry Lab (OSGLab) of the Geomorphology section, the smallest of molecules and isotopes open a door to the past. In the OSGLab we conduct research on regional differences of the causes and effects of past climate change and variations in biochemical cycles. In some projects, we can determine the "traces" of climate change down to a decade, in other projects biogeochemical processes are traced over millions of years.
In the laboratory, changes in the carbon …

In the laboratories for stable isotopes in sediments and water, the isotope ratios of the light elements nitrogen (N), carbon (C) and oxygen (O) in continental geoarchives such as lake sediments and speleothems as well as oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H) in precipitation and surface water are determined. This allows us to decipher changing environmental conditions and climate fluctuations in continental climate archives. For a better understanding of the archives, we use monitoring systems that …