Visit of the ambassador of the Netherlands, H.E. Somsen, and Minister-President Woidke: GFZ

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The exchange on research topics of mutual interest included remote sensing with drones and fibre optic sensor technology, e.g. for dyke monitoring.

Group photo in the Historical Library: Six people standing in a room with historical books on tall shelves. — Gathering at the Telegrafenberg Historical Library for a first acquaintance and a lively exchange of ideas (from left): Prof. Martin Herold (Head of the GFZ Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics Section), Dr Dietmar Woidke (Minister-President of the State of Brandenburg), André Kloth (Managing Director of DiGOS), H.E. Hester Marie-Jeanne Somsen (Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Germany), Prof. Susanne Buiter (Scientific Director of the GFZ), Ellen Ipenburg Tomesen (Diplomatic Counsellor for Education and Science) *(Photo: Michael Bahlo)*

A man stands in front of a human-sized drone on the right-hand side and explains with gestures. Seven people stand to his left and watch. — Prof. Martin Herold demonstrates research with drones and the special capabilities of hyperspectral sensors for analysing landscape characteristics such as the condition of vegetation, soil and water bodies, or detecting minerals. *(Photo: Michael Bahlo)*

In a room with medium brown wooden walls, three people stand in front of a table with a measuring device. — André Kloth from the GFZ spin-off DiGOS (right) explains to I.E. Hester Somsen and Minister President Woidke the use of fibre optic sensor technology for monitoring critical infrastructure, among other things. *(Photo: Michael Bahlo, GFZ)*

Three people sit at a table in front of an experiment: in a flat glass aquarium, sand of different colours is piled up into a mountain. — I.E. Hester Somsen visits the GFZ School Laboratory. Its director, Manuela Lange, explains the hands-on experiment on volcanism. Martin Herold also watches with interest. *(Photo: Michael Bahlo, GFZ)*

Portrait of two people standing in front of a glass box filled with sand, which is illuminated from above. They make gestures with their hands, which triggers virtual rain. — The Dutch ambassador also takes part in the sandbox experiment: here, you can shape landscapes and water them virtually to observe the influence of water. *(Photo: Michael Bahlo, GFZ)*

In a large laboratory, a man stands next to a large red machine and explains how it works. Three women stand next to him and watch with interest. — Laboratory tour: Dr.-Ing. Guido Blöcher (working group leader in the GFZ Geoenergy Section) demonstrates the Triaxial High-Pressure Test System in the Rock Deformation Laboratory. Here, for example, the influence of high pressures on the flow properties of rock can be investigated – for example in the context of geothermal energy. *(Photo: Michael Bahlo, GFZ)*

Close-up of a woman looking inside a laboratory machine. — View inside the Triaxial High-Pressure Test System in the Rock Deformation Laboratory. *(Photo: Michael Bahlo, GFZ)*

On 23 July, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Her Excellency Hester Marie-Jeanne Somsen, and the Minister-President of Brandenburg, Dr Dietmar Woidke, visited the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences at the invitation of Scientific Director Prof. Susanne Buiter, who herself was born in the Netherlands. The visit was part of the Ambassador's inaugural visit to the Minister-President and also provided an opportunity to discuss important GFZ research topics that are of interest to both countries. One focus was on landscape monitoring with drones and fibre optic sensor technology for monitoring critical infrastructure such as bridges and dykes.

You can find impressions of the visit in the picture gallery above.

Background: Common interests of Brandenburg, the Netherlands and GFZ

Brandenburg and the Netherlands are close partners in business, science and culture. The Netherlands is the second most important export market for companies from Brandenburg after Poland. Numerous scientific institutions cooperate on topics such as climate protection and sustainable energy use. The historical connections are close with the city of Oranienburg and the Dutch Quarter in Potsdam.

The GFZ is the largest non-university research institution in the state of Brandenburg. It is currently actively cooperating with Dutch institutions in 22 EU projects under the Horizon Europe programme. The joint research interests focus on climate protection, emission reduction, sustainable energy use and ecosystem protection, and are delivering significant innovations in these areas. The projects are also directly relevant to important future issues in Brandenburg, such as the decarbonisation of the energy system, the protection of wetlands and forests, and the improvement of the data basis for environmental policy decisions.

Landscape monitoring with drones

Prof. Martin Herold, head of GFZ Section 1.4 “Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics”, presented the potential of remote sensing with drones. Before joining the GFZ in 2021 and also taking up a professorship at the University of Potsdam, Herold conducted research as a professor at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, where he remains affiliated as a “Special Professor” to this day. Herold presented a drone that can, for example, be equipped with hyperspectral sensors. They allow the precise analysis of the sunlight reflected from the Earth – from plants, soil, water, minerals. This makes it possible to draw conclusions about the nutritional status of plants, the nutrient and water content of soils, the pollution of water bodies, and even to monitor minerals and raw materials.

Infrastructure monitoring with fibre optic sensor technology

The topic of fibre optic sensor technology for infrastructure monitoring and disaster control was presented by André Kloth, Managing Director of the GFZ spin-off DiGOS. Another GFZ spin-off, FOMON, is also active in this field. The technology exploits the fact that optical signals travelling through glass fibres change when the fibres are subjected to mechanical stress such as pressure or tension. Possible areas of application for newly installed and existing fibre optic networks include the monitoring of critical infrastructure such as dykes and bridges, in mining and geological underground activities such as geothermal energy, but also monitoring in the context of natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides and rockfalls.

Laboratory tour by the ambassador

During an in-depth tour that included a laboratory visit, H.E. Ambassador Somsen also learned about research of coupled processes in the investigation of the subsurface for geothermal use and for the underground storage of CO₂ and hydrogen. Among other things, Dr.-Ing. Guido Blöcher, working group leader in the GFZ Geoenergy Section, explained the TrueTriax polyaxial high-pressure testing system in the rock deformation laboratory.

A visit to the GFZ school laboratory, headed by Manuela Lange, provided an opportunity to experience innovative experiments for students on different school levels and to discuss the networking of research and the education system and other activities in the field of outreach and knowledge transfer to society.