Einstein Research Units
„Perspectives of a quantum digital transformation: Near-term quantum computational devices and quantum processors“ (Quantum Devices)
„Climate and Water under Change“ (CliWaC)
„Coping with Affective Polarization“ (CAP)
“With CliWaC, we have created a competence network on the topic of water”
Prof. Dr. Tobias Krüger
Image Credit: Julia Baier
Tobias Krüger is a Professor of Hydrology and Society at the Institute of Geography at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. There, he heads the Integrative Research Institute for Human-Environment Systems (IRI THESys). In the Einstein Research Unit “Climate and Water under Change” (CliWaC), his team brings together research results in models and prepares these for various target groups. Einstein Research Units (ERUs) are understood as interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaborative efforts on strategically important research questions within the Berlin University Alliance. They are funded for at least three years with up to EUR 2 million per year.
What are you researching in CliWaC?
We are investigating the effects of climate change on the prevailing water situation in Berlin and Brandenburg. We are conducting three case studies to this end. In the first study, we are looking at the following bodies of water: “Groß Glienicker See” and the “Sacrower See”. Both are part of a coupled hydro-geological system of glacial lakes that were formed after the melting of the Weichselian-Baltic Sea ice sheet. In the second case study, we are examining the river Spree and its catchment area. For decades, the underlying water situation there was shaped by the large, open-cast lignite mining areas in Lusatia, from which groundwater was pumped out and discharged into the Spree. This will continue to change with the phasing-out of coal and, with it, the water balance of the Spree as far as Berlin and beyond. And in the third case study, we are investigating the effects of extreme rainfall in urban areas. We are also developing prospective solutions for dealing with such heavy rainfall events.
What have been your most important findings to date?
In Berlin and Brandenburg, both heavy rainfall events and droughts will increase – including in the form of so-called “flash droughts”. They appear in a flash when it has barely rained for a prolonged period of time and is very hot. In order to overcome such challenges, we looked at ideas stemming from the “sponge city” concepts within the framework of CliWac that have been under discussion for some time, and which have already been implemented in some cases. Just as a sponge absorbs water, Berlin and Brandenburg could better store heavy rainfall for periods of drought. This can be achieved, for example, by greening roofs and building facades, or by granting rivers more space. They then flow more slowly and can spread out when flooding occurs. Some of the water seeps away, and new groundwater is created. The construction of rainwater retention basins can also contribute to this end. However, potential flood risks from near-surface groundwater must also be taken into account. This requires close-knit cooperation between those stakeholders involved in the planning process, such as water suppliers, water consumers (such as industry), and the authorities. Berlin and Brandenburg must also work more closely together. This is because Berlin depends on the water resources that are formed in Brandenburg, or even Saxony.
What difficulties do you envisage there?
Our ethnographic and political science research has shown that collaboration in water management is affected by fundamental social conflicts – such as the urban/rural divide. When citizens of Brandenburg look at Berlin, some ask themselves: those Berlin dwellers are better off than us anyway, why should we give them our water too?
Can such questions be answered scientifically?
The natural and social sciences can provide helpful information here. But it takes more than facts to develop measures and gain acceptance in society. It requires empathy. We scientists have to listen to what people in society are worried about, and subsequently address their concerns in our questions and proposed solutions. And we need to explain scientific findings better. This includes providing coordinated answers across the boundaries between disciplines. This is what we do at CliWac as part of the project AnthropoScenes. Researchers present their findings in the Humboldt Lab, for example, on stages in Berlin or elsewhere in Brandenburg and discuss these with citizens. I myself went on river walks along the Panke and Spree with Pauline Münch from “AnthropoScenes” and citizens, as well as with the journalist, literary critic and honorary professor of modern German literature at Humboldt University, Lothar Müller.,and another time with the ensemble of the “RambaZamba Theater” in preparation for their play “the world flames like a discokugel” by Jacob Höhne.
How did the Berlin University Alliance support CliWaC?
AnthropoScenes has been funded by the BUA since June 2021. That was a stroke of luck for CliWaC. Thanks to the integration of AnthropoScenes, scientific communication has enjoyed a high priority within CliWaC from the very start. And this has also furthered the establishment of an unusually strong role for the social sciences in large-scale research projects.
Can you explain this in more detail?
During large, interdisciplinary research projects, the social sciences are often left with the task of finding out whether scientific solutions are accepted by the population. In CliWaC, on the other hand, colleagues from the social sciences conduct ethnographic, sociological, or political science studies to identify the fears and concerns of the population from the very outset, which are then incorporated into scientific research and solutions.
Could you provide an example?
Ethnographic field research in Berlin and Brandenburg has shown that the population is very interested in the consequences of climate change and approaches to overcoming them. Simultaneously, many respondents did not feel well informed by the scientific community. That is why we launched the CliWaC Explorer. This is a website where we will pool our social and natural science research findings and present them in a comprehensible way. In doing so, we are creating a reliable information alternative to the pseudo-scientific information often found on offer on social media, which I would characterize as “fake science”. This is the only way that solutions can be discussed in society in an informed manner.
Projects such as the CliWaC Explorer require close collaboration between different scientific disciplines, as well as between scientists and partners from civic society. How did you manage that?
We have created customized exchange formats depending on the topic and information needs of project participants. For example, there were workshops to which all CliWaC participants were invited, and where they were able to feed questions into the research process. But we also held workshops for specific groups. Research colleagues discussed risk perceptions pertaining to climate change and water with local residents, nature conservation organizations, farmers, water companies and administrations, and evaluated proposed solutions that were already on the table, and which could be implemented quickly. Such formats create a shared awareness of the underlying issue, which opens up opportunities for better, more comprehensive solutions.
And what’s next for CliWaC?
With CliWaC, we have created a research network on the topic of water. This has enabled us to network scientists and experts who now want to initiate further research projects together. This includes our involvement in the planned Einstein Center for Climate Change. The CliWac Explorer will serve as an important connection to keep this network together. And that is why we are already looking for suitable funding to continue (and further develop) the Explorer.
Rendering visible what would otherwise remain invisible
Dr. Anna-Lisa Dieter
Image Credit: Fabian Frinzel
Water is the element of life. It has countless forms and functions: be it as ocean and cloud, raging river and tiny droplet, as catalyst and carrier substance. The research dedicated to the topic of water is just as diverse as the element itself. This diversity of research will be on display in a new exhibition at the Humboldt Laboratory from next fall. The exhibition team at Humboldt-Universität is working closely with researchers from the BUA network. Anna-Lisa Dieter is the exhibition’s curator, and she explains in an interview what exciting and surprising exhibits are planned, how she makes the science behind these visible, as well as why puddles are exciting bodies of water.
Ms. Dieter, a new exhibition dedicated to the element of water is slowly taking shape behind the scenes at the Humboldt Lab. What specific topics are involved and why is water – of all things – the focus?
In Berlin and Brandenburg in particular, water is a highly controversial issue. This is an area that is rich in water, and yet poor in water. Water occupies many researchers at the Berlin University Alliance and, at the same time, water is a topic that is relevant to everyone. How will we secure the water supply in tomorrow’s world? This is a big question that touches on many other aspects, such as climate change. Real life and research become intertwined here. Starting from Berlin, we will broaden our view and look out into the wider world. We want to make the great diversity of research visible: researchers in Berlin are looking at local bodies of water – such as the Müggelsee, the Spree and the Panke – as well as rivers in Latin America and Asia. They are dealing with water infrastructures and phenomena as diverse as puddles, clouds, whirlpools, and glaciers.
Is there research on puddles?
There are actually various “puddle researchers” in Berlin. The impetus for this research stems from art. The artist Mirja Busch has long been concerned with the puddle, which has often been both overlooked or underestimated. She has analyzed and archived puddles. In doing so, she has served as a source of inspiration for two Berlin scientists: Ignacio Farías from the Humboldt University in Berlin is currently working with Busch on a cultural history of the puddle. And hydrologist Thomas Nehls from the Technical University of Berlin has developed a method for the 3D measurement of puddles in a seminar with the artist. What is particularly interesting about puddles is that they are the smallest standing bodies of water in the city. They form an ecosystem of their own, in which the influence of humans can be seen.
The exhibition will focus on research. How do you succeed in getting the researchers on board?
We first had to find out who was actually doing research on water at Berlin’s universities. At the beginning of last year we, therefore, initiated a call in which we invited all researchers from the Berlin University Alliance to get involved. We were delighted that many scientists wanted to present their research to the general public and were also keen to use the exhibition format. There was plenty of enthusiastic feedback from a wide range of disciplines, as well as from researchers at all career levels.
In this exhibition project, you are working together with the Berlin University Alliance as curator of the Humboldt Lab. What does this collaborative effort look like in specific terms?
The Humboldt Lab team and the colleagues within “Fostering Knowledge Exchange” of the Berlin University Alliance have been working intensively together on the development of the water topic for over a year. While we at the Humboldt Lab are primarily concerned with analog content, the “Fostering Knowledge Exchange” team primarily develops digital applications. There will be several digital stations in the exhibition that will allow visitors to get to know the day-to-day work of researchers, for example. The BUA team is also designing two framing program lines, which were launched in October 2024 and will run until the summer of 2026. On the one hand, the TD-Lab – the laboratory for trans-disciplinary research – is developing the DIALOGE program, in which researchers and experts are networked. On the other hand, the Knowledge Exchange Office is organizing the PARCOURS, which brings science, art, and urban society into an exchange at Berlin’s cultural venues and along the waterways. In the exhibition, we have also planned a water workshop with civic science activities, in order that ideas and knowledge from different social contexts can flow in and enrich scientific thinking about the element of water.
What unusual and special exhibits and installations can visitors look forward to?
One special exhibit will be a three-dimensional model of urban water management. It renders visible what otherwise remains invisible: the groundwater and the sewer system. There will then be a water bar where visitors can filter and drink Spree water themselves. Furthermore, the rich acoustic research on water is made audible in the bar. In the article by cultural scientist, Walther Maradiegue, for example, we learn how the “El Niño phenomenon” – which has become more frequent due to climate change – affects traditional Andean music.
What do you find particularly exciting as the curator of an exhibition on the subject of water?
This is always the ambivalence of water. It is the element that gives life, but it can also destroy, and bring with it death. I was recently on an expedition to Samos and experienced the beauty of the sea and the beach. At the same time, traces of people who had fled across the sea were visible in the sand: life jackets left behind, rucksacks, tablets. We heard later that a boat carrying refugees had also sunk that day. This simultaneity of beauty and death, of lightness and danger – which is associated with water – touches me.
It will be a while before the exhibition opens. What will happen in the coming months?
We are currently working intensively on translating the scientific projects and themes into the exhibition space. We aim to complete the conceptual phase in the spring and then the trades will work intensively on implementing our plans and building the exhibition’s architecture. We will then celebrate the opening in fall 2025.
Anna-Lisa Dieter has a doctorate in literature. After working at the German Hygiene Museum in Dresden and at BIOTOPIA, the new natural history museum in Munich, she has been a curator at the Humboldt Lab since January 2024. Her work combines cultural and natural sciences.
The TD-Lab: Researching for water, together
Floating University Berlin
Image Credit: Jan-Christoph Hartung
The TD-Lab promotes transdisciplinary research in the Berlin University Alliance, research that involves society. To this end, the TD-Lab team develops training courses for scientists and supports them in establishing networks for collaborative research, as well as with civic society stakeholders – including on the topic of water.
WasserWissen | Dialoge is the TD-Lab event series for water experts from science and practice. The focus is on developing joint solutions for specific case studies that the participants bring with them from their professional projects and discuss. This dialog creates a collaborative network between research, business, politics and organized civic society. The aim is to promote water research and a process of knowledge exchange across disciplinary boundaries – and to strengthen Berlin as a location for both knowledge and innovation.
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