Geobiology
Geological and biological processes are often interlinked and influence one another. These processes have sustainably formed the biodiversity and structure of our planet.
The field of geobiology studies the evolution of organisms as well as the present and past interplay between life (biosphere) and matter (geosphere).
Geological research renders a significant contribution to unearthing the secrets of life, its origin, its development and its function on our planet. We apply modern methods in paleontology, organic chemistry, microbiology, zoology, botany, biochemistry and molecular genetics in order to decipher geobiological questions.

“NEW PUBLICATIONS“ |
Arp, G., Dunkl, I., Jung, D., Karius, V., Lukács, R., Zeng, L., Reimer, A. & Head, J.W. III (2021): A volcanic ash layer in the Nördlinger Ries impact structure (Miocene, Germany): Indication of crater fill geometry and origins of long-term crater floor sagging. - Journal of Geophysical Research Planets, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JE006764 (open access) |
Mißbach H., Duda J.-P., van den Kerkhof A. M. Lüders V., Pack A., Reitner J., Thiel V. (2021) Ingredients for microbial life preserved in 3.5 billion-year-old fluid inclusions. Nature Communications 12, 1101 (2021). Open access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21323-z |
Wolkenstein, K., Arp, G. (2021): Taxon- and senescence-specific fluorescence of colored leaves from the Pliocene Willershausen Lagerstätte, Germany. PalZ (Paläontologische Zeitschrift), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-020-00538-3 |
Affenzeller, S., Wolkenstein, K., Frauendorf, H., Jackson, D. J. (2020): Challenging the concept that eumelanin is the polymorphic brown banded pigment in Cepaea nemoralis. Scientific Reports 10, article number: 2442. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-59185-y |
Dal Corso, J., Bernardi, M., Sun, Y., Song, H., Seyfullah, L. J., Preto, N., Gianolla, P., Ruffell, A., Kustatscher, E., Roghi, G., Merico, A., Hohn, S., Schmidt, A. R., Marzoli, A., Newton, R. J., Wignall, P. B. & Benton, M. J. 2020. Extinction and dawn of the modern world in the Carnian (Late Triassic). Science Advances 6, eaba0099. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/38/eaba0099 |
Fussmann D., von Hoyningen-Huene A. J. E., Reimer A., Schneider D., Babková H., Peticzka R., Maier A., Arp G., Daniel R. & Meister P. (2020): Authigenic formation of Ca-Mg carbonates in the shallow alkaline Lake Neusiedl, Austria. - Biogeosciences 17(7), 2085–2106. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2085-2020. |