Work in the main area of research into the environment is driven by the concern about the quality of the air and soil. The major aim is to identify threats to the environment, to humans, animals and plants at an early stage, to avert them or to already avoid them at the preliminary stage.

The project on the chemistry and dynamics of the geobiosphere aims at creating the basis for the quantitative understanding of changes of state in sediments, soil/groundwater, vegetation and the atmosphere on different space and time scales. For this purpose, the distribution, conversion and effects of selected substances in the atmosphere, biosphere, soil and subsoil as well as the mass transport between these environmental compartments are investigated in interdisciplinary cooperation. These processes are particularly important for regions with high industrial activity, great density of traffic and simultaneous intensive agricultural use, as are to be found in Germany and Europe. The findings obtained serve environmental precautions and contribute towards developing methods for a resource-conserving use of soils, air and water.