Why did the Antarctic ice sheet grow many million years earlier than the Arctic ice?
Continental uplift, caused by drips at the underside of the Antarctic plate, elevated the landmass above a tipping point where ice could grow and remain.
Home
Taking the pulse of our Earth
to safeguard a habitable planet.
The GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences is Germany's national centre for solid Earth research.
News
![[Translate to English:] Karte](/fileadmin/_processed_/4/8/csm_20260625-0945b_Venezuela_Nachbeben_-c-EarthquakeExplorer-GFZ_07b8e4876d.webp)
Severe Earthquake in Venezuela | GFZ Information | Status Report
On June 24, 2026 two strong earthquakes of magnitude 7.3 and 7.4 occurred in the region around Maracay and near Caracas (Venezuela), with only 39 seconds between them.
Close collaboration on geothermal heating supply launched
Energie und Wasser Potsdam GmbH (EWP) and the GFZ have signed a project agreement for the geothermal development of further sites in Potsdam.
News from RIFS
RIFS Fellowship: Stephanie La Hoz Theuer explores the future of carbon pricing
When Stephanie La Hoz Theuer first came across carbon pricing (also known as CO₂ pricing) during an internship in 2005, she thought it was little more than “a niche topic”. But the deeper she delved into the subject, the more her interest grew – and that “niche topic” has since became the central…
Positions
GFZ welcomes Geophysicist Prof. Tassara – Research Funded by the Humboldt Foundation
The geophysicist is from the University of Concepción in Chile and will be conducting research in Sections 4.1 ‘Lithosphere Dynamics’ and 4.5 ‘Subsurface Process Modelling’.
Awards & Honours
Two world-leading seismologists and Alexander von Humboldt Prize winners for a research stay at GFZ
Prof Gregory C. Beroza and Prof. Yehuda Ben-Zion are hosted by Section 4.2 "Geomechanics and Scientific Drilling" and will be studying the processes that precede earthquakes.
![[Translate to English:] Mosaik aus Bildern](/fileadmin/_processed_/0/c/csm_Kachel-Sektionen-2025_bf298817f4.webp "[Translate to English:]")
Information & Services
![[Translate to English:] FERN.Lern Banner](/fileadmin/_processed_/a/7/csm_FERN.Lern_Newsletter-Banner_6ecf5800a0.webp)
![[Translate to English:] Citizen Science Schriftzug](/fileadmin/_processed_/2/8/csm_20230419-web_Citizen-Science_AdobeStock_162507726-c-_2f15d96d79.webp)