The Earth system knows no scientific disciplinary boundaries and the distribution of physical properties and the governing processes live in a continuum. Access to probing this continuum at different depth levels of the lithosphere is however limited and the different probing methods resolve variable scales. That’s why we need models! Though the majority of physical laws apply across all scales, the problem lies not only in the description of these processes, but also in the incompleteness of observations to describe inherent heterogeneities in the Earth system. 

Our vision is to connect subsurface heterogeneities observed at different scales through integrated process modelling concepts linking the geological time scale with the human time scale. We therefore integrate various multidisciplinary data from geological and geophysical methods with process simulations that take physical principles into account. Only by integrating observational data into process models we can obtain digital twins of the subsurface capable of testing “what if?” questions. 

We also use data science methods to quantify model uncertainties. As we aim to resolve the main characteristics of the sedimentary cover, the crust and the upper mantle jointly composing the outer parts of solid Earth, basic research on geodynamics and surface processes can be combined with aspects of applied research, such as geothermal energy generation, the underground storage of fluids, heat or energy, as well as the interaction between climate change and the water cycle. We derive digital twins of different scales and purposes to address basic geodynamic questions on the one hand, but also support the safe and sustainable use of the underground.