This interdisciplinary research focus theme investigates geological archives with the aim to reconstruct major events in Earth History and changes in paleoclimate, paleoceanography and continental environments on global and regional scales.

Sedimentological, paleontological, stratigraphic and geochemical analyses of sedimentary successions are used to reconstruct climate and sea-level fluctuations and biological events such as extinctions and radiations. Models for fossil and recent environmental changes are established, especially concerning greenhouse and icehouse phases of Earth History.

Large international research programs with cooperations in large groups of globally distributed scientists are fostered like the UNESCO International Geoscience Program (IGCP), the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) an the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and are partly funded by the Austrian Academy of Sciences, International Programs.

Current Projects:

Austrian Academy of Sciences, International Programs, UNESCO/IUGS IGCP 661 – Fossil Blue Holes, the karst critical zone, and Greenhouse Palaeoclimate
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UNESCO/IUGS IGCP 710 - Western Tethys meets Eastern Tethys – geodynamical, palaeoceanographical and palaeobiogeographical events.  

Austrian Academy of Sciences, International Programs, UNESCO/IUGS IGCP 732 - LANGUAGE of the Anthropocene. Lessons in anthropogenic impact: a knowledge network of geological signals to unite and assess global evidence of the Anthropocene. Present and future Geology – the global scale evidence of the Anthropocene. 
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