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Institute of Geosciences

Welcome to the website of the Institute of Geosciences!

The Institute of Geosciences at Bonn University combines the sections of Geology, Geochemistry/Petrology, Geophysics and Meteorology. Within these sections, the disciplines of environmental geology, hydrogeology, sedimentology, geochemistry, mineralogy, petrology, structural geology, geophysics, geodynamics, climate dynamics, theoretical meteorology and radar polarimetry are covered.

Combined with 2 Bachelor and 4 Master programmes in 2 teaching units, the Institute of Earth Sciences offers a broad spectrum of theoretical and practical disciplines for orientation in university research and teaching.

See for yourself on the following pages!

Study

Our Institute

Sections

Museums

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Teaching & Learning

In this section we present the studies in our degree programmes and the teaching.

You would like to study in the geosciences?
Here you will find all the information you need to apply:

Study & Teaching

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Sections

In this section you will get an overview of the sections at the Institute.

Sections

News and Events

Below you will find a compilation of news and events at the Institute of Geosciences including the current research colloquium.

News

Updates from across the Institute of Geosciences

Institute participation at DIE EXZELLENZUNIVERSITÄT BONN LÄDT on the topic Storms, Heat, Floods – Extreme Weather

On November 19, Prof. Dr. Andreas Hense, PD Dr. Petra Friedrichs, and Junior Professor Dr. Leonie Esters represented our institute at the event “The Excellence University Bonn Invites You: Storms, Heat, Floods – Extreme Weather” and presented their research to a broad audience.

Inaugural lecture on deep earthquakes as a mystery from the depths by Prof. Marcel

At the Dies Academicus of the 2025/26 winter semester, Prof. Marcel Thielmann presented the current theories and hypotheses on deep earthquakes in his lecture and explained how modern computer simulations can help to understand the physical processes responsible for these phenomena.

Climate monitoring by the University of Bonn at the Bundeskunsthalle

The working group Climate Monitoring led by junior professor Leonie Esters from the Department of Meteorology at the Institute of Geosciences at the University of Bonn is contributing to the exhibition ‘Expedition Weltmeere’ at the Bundeskunsthalle Bonn.

Field days in the module ‘Geophysical Data Evaluation and Field Exercise’, WS 25/26

In beautiful November weather, the Environmental Geophysics Working Group successfully held this year's field days for the bachelor's module ‘Geophysical Data Analysis and Field Exercise’. As part of the event, prospective geophysicists from the University of Bonn gained their first practical experience with the various geophysical measurement methods used for non-invasive exploration of the subsurface.

Licensing workshop Hamburg

In November 2025, KlimaOER organised a workshop on licensing OER materials in Hamburg. Presentations on topics such as ‘(Copyright) Legal Foundations of Open Educational Resources’, ‘Licensing in Practice in the OER Context’ and ‘Licence Management and Compliance’ gave workshop participants a deeper insight into the topic of licensing.

Celebrating Excellence: Yohanes Ginting Honored with DAAD Prize at the 2025 International Days

Yohanes Ginting, a PhD student at our institute received the prestigious DAAD Prize during the International Days of the University of Bonn. The DAAD Prize is an award presented by the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) in recognition of Yohanes outstanding academic achievements and social and community engagement.

Visit to the Geophysics Department on Science Day at Beethoven Gymnasium Bonn

As part of Science Day, pupils from Beethoven Gymnasium Bonn visited the Geophysics Department of the Institute of Geosciences today, accompanied by their physics teacher, to gain exciting insights into the world of Earth system physics.

OERcamp 2025 Hannover

At the beginning of October, some of our team took part in OERcamp 2025 in Hannover. The aim of the camp is to facilitate exchange between participants. We gained many new insights through exciting workshops and lectures. Ellen Arimond gave a workshop on OEP on our behalf, and we also began the first test phase of our best practice example there.

All news

News-overview of the Institute

Research colloquium

Events of the research colloquium in the summer semester 2023:

Lecture series “Aspects of the Climate Crisis”

The next round of the lecture series "Aspects of the Climate Crisis", formerly "Aspects of Global Warming", will begin on October 24.

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The lecture will take place from October 24 on Tuesdays from 18:15 to 19:45 in Lecture Hall 1 of the Lecture Hall Center on the Poppelsdorf campus.

Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/@aspektedererderwarmung6199

The program: https://www.uni-bonn.de/de/neues/176-2023

In the public lecture series "Aspects of the Climate Crisis" at the University of Bonn, organized together with "End Fossil: Occupy! Bonn", a wide range of topics will once again be discussed: from the European Green Deal, microplastics and groundwater depletion to colonialism and the right of resistance. As in previous years, the event is also intended to provide a platform for committed, constructive and appreciative discussion.

Weitere Veranstaltungen folgen demnächst.

31. Januar 2021

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Startpunkt der Rallye rund um den Hofgarten

Garderobenhalle/ Arkadenhof Hauptgebäude
Am Hof 1
53113 Bonn

Kurze Beschreibung von der Veranstaltung... Möchtest Du einmal eines Deiner Traumstudienfächer antesten? Willst Du wissen, wie die Uni-Institute von innen aussehen? Magst Du mit echten Studis und Dozentinnen und Dozenten sprechen? Dann bist du bei den Wissenschaftsrallyes der Universität Bonn richtig!

CHE Ranking Geosciences Bonn 2021

At the University of Bonn, the subjects mathematics, geography, geosciences and chemistry have been rated particularly positively.

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Sections

Studies in 2 teaching units

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Professorships filled