We are concerned with understanding the climate system, its predictability and the natural and anthropogenic (human-induced) causes of climate change.

Our research areas are:
- Understanding the mechanisms that determine weather and climate and their changes,
- the predictability of the climate system on time scales from days to years,
- the response of the climate system to human-induced influences, and
- the further development of climate models.

The focus of our work is on the role of the polar regions in the climate system.
Our research in the field of climate prediction and analysis also makes an important contribution to producing reliable information for risk management, decision-makers and society.
We work together with students, PhD students and scientists from different nations and disciplines on current issues in climate research.

Our team is closely linked, also within the institute, with working groups from various disciplines of Earth system research.