AWI Potsdam coordinates new project

Twelve Helmholtz Centers are participating in projects aimed at using artificial intelligence to make radiological diagnoses more reliable, improve understanding of the global carbon cycle, elevate climate models to a new level, and accelerate the development of a new generation of photovoltaic modules.

Foundation models are AI applications that, built upon a very broad knowledge base, are capable of solving a range of complex problems. They are significantly more powerful and flexible than traditional AI models, making them suitable for scientific applications. Through targeted training with extensive datasets and the use of generative AI, they can understand complex relationships based on learned patterns, generate new connections, and make predictions. This enables, for example, the stronger integration of global climate data or significant improvements in medical diagnoses. “We are convinced that with foundation models, we can push the boundaries of science. Helmholtz not only brings outstanding talents and comprehensive datasets from various research areas but also brings together a unique computer infrastructure,” says Otmar Wiestler, President of the Helmholtz Association.

The goal of the three-year Helmholtz Foundation Model Initiative (HFMI) is to develop fully functional models. Four pilot projects have been selected for this purpose, involving scientists from twelve Helmholtz Centers. Over a period of three years, the projects will receive funding totaling 11 million euros. An additional 12 million euros will be invested in expanding necessary infrastructure. A Synergy Unit will also research interdisciplinary questions, promote knowledge exchange between projects, and undertake overarching activities. The funded projects aim to not only provide clear value for science but also make their final results available to society as open source—this includes the code, training data, and trained models.

Prof. Dr Guido Große from the Potsdam Research Unit of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), is leading the following pilot project: 
3D-ABC: Calculation and visualization of the global carbon budget of vegetation and soils
To mitigate the effects of global climate change, we need comprehensive knowledge about the global carbon budget, which comprises CO2 sources and sinks such as wetlands, forests, or permafrost soils. Until now, researchers have struggled to quantify how changes in land areas, vegetation, or soils affect the carbon cycle due to heterogeneous and scattered data. The foundation model 3D-ABC will target the integration and modeling of data from various sources such as satellites, drones, or local CO2 monitoring stations. This allows key parameters of the global carbon cycle of vegetation and soils to be captured, quantified, and characterized with high spatial resolution.
Participating Helmholtz Centers: Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Helmholtz Center Potsdam – GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences, Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research, and German Aerospace Center.

Prof. Dr Thomas Jung from the AWI in Bremerhaven is involved in the pilot project: 
HClimRep: Capturing interactions between the atmosphere, ocean, and sea ice in a novel climate model
What if we could make predictions about future climate even more accurately, quickly, and efficiently? Could we better combat the causes of climate change and mitigate its consequences as a result? Could we make the impacts of global warming impressively visible to everyone? The HClimRep project aims to answer exactly these questions. By building one of the first AI foundation models for climate research, which combines data from the atmosphere, ocean, and sea ice, researchers are developing one of the most precise weather and climate models in the world. This deep-learning model, with billions of parameters, will be capable of conducting complex "what-if" experiments and other modeling tasks related to the ocean and atmosphere, thanks to extensive training on Europe's first exascale computer.
Participating Helmholtz Centers: Forschungszentrum Jülich, Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Karlsruher Institute for Technology, and Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon.

You can find mor information on all pilot projects in this Helmholtz press release and exciting background information on Foundation Models here.