Physical climate research
The Atmospheric Remote Sensing and Climate System Research Group (ARSCliSys) explores modern satellite-based methods for remote sensing of the atmosphere and the climate system as well as new ground-based methods with very high resolution and uses them for climate research.
The Regional Climate Research Group investigates the processes that determine regional climate change, especially the occurrence of extreme events such as heavy precipitation or droughts.
Geosciences and climate
The Cascade research group contributes to a better understanding of the geomorphological process relationships, but also of the corresponding human-environment interactions, in mountainous areas, in order to enable an adequate handling of the corresponding opportunities and risks.
In order to deepen our knowledge of the characteristics of the climates of cold regions (high mountains and poles), the research group Climate Change in Mountain Regions (CC-MoRe ) combines in-situ measurements with modern modeling approaches with the aim to contribute to an improved understanding of the global.
Steffen Birk's research group investigates the recharge of groundwater resources by infiltration of infiltrating precipitation (or snowmelt), which is controlled by processes at or near the land surface and thus closely related to specific weather events and climate.
Climate and environmental economics
The Economics of Climate and Environmental Change Research Group (EconClim) focuses on the socio-economic aspects of climate and environmental change, in particular how people as individuals and society as a whole contribute to and are affected by global climate and environmental change.
Michael Finus conducts research on externalities (spillovers) where coordination and cooperation would lead to global welfare gains, but which typically suffer from "free riding."
Innovation and sustainability research
The Sustainable Energy and Mobility Transition research group investigates possible self-driven and policy-driven behavioral changes as well as public acceptance of relevant policies or low-carbon technologies and innovations in the context of energy and mobility.
Sustainable Energy and Mobility Transition
The relevant causes, dynamics and consequences of the increasing use of biomass and bio-based innovations are the focus of the research group Bioeconomy - Bio-based Economy.
Bioeconomy - Bio-based Economy
The Sustainability on the corporate and product level research group researches and supports sustainable development by integrating sustainability into corporate activities, products and services and demonstrates the consequences of such integration.
Social science environmental research
The research group focusing on Social Complexity and System Transformation uses complex scientific theory and novel research methods to analyze social dynamic processes and interventions that can trigger rapid social change.
Social Complexity and System Transformation
The research group urban HEAP (Health and Everyday Activities take Place) focuses on the interactions between social everyday life, socio-spatial and ecological environment with a focus on inter- and transdisciplinary critical urban research along the themes of health, movement, nutrition and digitalization. There is a close cooperation with the RCE-Graz Styria - Center for Sustainable Social Transformation.
The environmental sociologists of our research group focus on environmental behaviours and attitudes and wxamine the effects of global and national forces on individual environmental and climate-related behaviors using survey data. They also support the development and implementation of surveys.
Climate and Environmental Ethics
The Climate and Environmental Ethics research group relates to different levels of justice (with a focus on intergenerational justice), responsibility for risk, legitimacy of expectations, or evaluation of new technologies.
Climate Law and Environmental Law
ClimLaw: Graz is a research center with the task to critically observe and analyse current developments in climate law, policy and diplomacy, from an Austrian, European and Global perspective.
Environmental Biology
The Evolutionary Biology and Molecular Ecology Group focuses on the evolution, function, and threats to diversity of animal organisms, combining reconstructions of the effects of past environmental change with studies of recent populations and species.
Evolutionary Biology and Molecular Ecology Group
The Institute of Zoology at Karl-Franzens-University Graz coordinates the Austria-wide project "Establishment of university DNA barcoding pipelines for ABOL - the Austrian Biodiversity Initiative Austrian Barcode of Life.
Characterization & Inventory of Austrian Biodiversity
The Functional Diversity & Ecology group studies diversity and processes in communities and their exchange with the environment, focusing on cryptogamic communities growing on soil, rock and epiphytically on the bark and even on the leaves of trees.
Functional Diversity & Ecology
The Bee Biology and Behavior Working Group focuses on the physiology and immunity of insects and the effects of environmental changes and stressors on their health and behavior.
Environmental Chemistry
The Flow Chemistry and Continuous Process Control Working Group is concerned with flow chemistry/microreaction engineering, which encompasses a wide range of synthetic transformations and experimental techniques and has the potential to contribute significantly to efficiency improvements in the chemical industry.
Flow Chemistry and Continuous Process Control Group
Research in the Barta Group focuses on sustainability and green chemistry with a particular emphasis on renewable feedstock conversion and catalysis with earth-abundant metals.
Transdisciplinarity - from knowledge to action
In order to move from knowledge to action, close cooperation between science and the various social actors from companies, associations, politics, administration and civil society is needed. To this end, Climate Change Graz relies on workshops, focus groups, living labs and other participatory and transdisciplinary formats in which robust and application-oriented solutions are co-developed. For the implementation of transdisciplinary research, the position of a Transacademic Interface Manager was created in 2021. In addition, the RCE Graz-Styria - Center for Sustainable Social Transformation also focuses on projects with social actors.
