Günther-Bock Prize: German Geophysical Society honours Dr Wiebke Mörbe
At its 86th Annual Meeting in Münster, the German Geophysical Society (DGG) honoured Dr Wiebke Mörbe with the Günther-Bock Prize. The award recognises her 2024 publication on large-scale three-dimensional inversion of semi-airborne electromagnetic data, highlighting its relevance for graphite exploration in Germany and thus for securing critical raw materials in the context of the energy transition.
![[Translate to Englisch:] Preisübergabe.](/fileadmin/user_upload/OEffentlichkeitsarbeit/oeffentlichkeit/2026/DGG_Wiebke_Moerbe/IMG_0213_600.jpg)
News
Record drilling under Ross Ice Shelf: longest sediment core offers new clues to West Antarctic Ice Sheet future
![[Translate to Englisch:] Einige Teammitglieder des Projektes SWAIS2C mit einem Teil des Kerns.](/fileadmin/_processed_/3/e/csm_Einige_Teammitglieder_mit_einem_Teil_des_Kerns_Bildnachweis__Ana_Tovey-SWAIS2C_78d71408b9.jpg)
An international team of researchers has drilled the longest sediment core (228 m) to date under the Ross Ice Shelf in West Antarctica – some 700 kilometers away from the nearest research station. The samples obtained will provide insights into times when the West Antarctic Ice Sheet melted during the last 23 million years, covering periods when the Earth was warmer and richer in CO2 than it is today. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet contains enough ice to raise global sea levels by up to five meters. Several German institutes are involved in the SWAIS2C project, and a German scientist was present during the drilling in the field.
SeeKaquA performed major field campaign with drone-based geophysical measurement and hydrogeological sampling
The SeeKaquA project team has successfully completed its first milestone: a joint geophysical survey and hydrogeological sampling campaign in the Cuvelai–Etosha Basin (CEB) in the western Basin of the Kalahari in Namibia. Fieldwork took place in August/September 2025 to explore deep freshwater resources, investigate transition zones from fresh to saline water, and study perched aquifer systems at multiple demonstration sites around the town of Okongo.
Charged with Discovery: Heisenberg Research Group for Luminescence Dating and Data Science joins the LIAG Institute for Applied Geophysics
With the start of 2026, Dr Sebastian Kreutzer and his research group, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) in the Heisenberg Programme, will join the LIAG Institute for Applied Geophysics (LIAG). With its expertise in luminescence-based dating methods and geodata science, the group will strengthen geophysical research at the LIAG by advancing dating methods and data-driven approaches.
New paper on dating fault activity with OSL and ESR in the Alps
New publication on dating major earthquakes in the Alps: Using two independent dating methods, researchers from the LIAG Institute for Applied Geophysics (LIAG) and Friedrich Schiller University Jena show that major fault systems in the Eastern Alps were seismically active during the Pleistocene. The study was published open access in Tectonics and was featured as an Editor’s Highlight in AGU’s Eos magazine.
Field surveys for 3D seismic measurements in the GeoMetEr research project completed
The LIAG Institute for Applied Geophysics has completed extensive seismic fieldwork for the GeoMetEr research project in the municipality association of Harsefeld. Following 2D profiles acquired in spring and an area-wide 3D survey campaign in autumn, the datasets are now entering the processing and interpretation phase. In October, additional airborne geophysical measurements were carried out using a helicopter survey. GeoMetEr aims to further develop geophysical measurement and data processing methods so that geological structures in the subsurface can be imaged with higher resolution and greater reliability in the future.
Geothermal Booster: First nationwide standardised map shows the potential for Geothermal Energy use in Germany
A milestone on the path to a climate-neutral heat supply: For the first time, a nationwide standardised geothermal map shows where the use of shallow geothermal energy via ground source heat pumps is possible – and where it is not. The interactive map was developed within the research project WärmeGut, led by the LIAG in Hannover in cooperation with the University of Göttingen (UGOE) and geoENERGIE Konzept GmbH from Freiberg, in collaboration with all 16 geological survey services of Germany.
