The Team

Aaron Bufe
Group leader

In my research, I combine aspects of sedimentology, geomorphology and geochemistry to develop quantitative constraints on physical and chemical mass fluxes across Earth’s surface. My work has three ultimate aims: (1) To quantify and predict how landscapes respond to changes in climate and tectonics, (2) to understand how surface processes regulate the carbon cycle and Earth’s climate, and (3) to use stratigraphy and landscapes as quantitative archives for the past. To address these aims, I use an interdisciplinary array of tools from geochemistry to analogue experiments and geochronology.

After a postdoc at the German Research Center of Geosciences, I joined the LMU in April of 2023. For more details, download my short CV or my full CV.

Albert Cabré
Postdoctoral Scholar

I am a geologist with a special interest in geomorphic processes that shape arid landscapes from decades to millions of years. To study these processes, I combine remote sensing with detailed field mapping and quaternary geochronology. With a PhD from UCN in Chile, I bring extensive experience in work on the Andes and particularly on the Atacama Desert. Currently, I am funded by the DAAD to analyze debris flows on alluvial fans of the Atacama Desert with the aim to understand the magnitude of the processes that shape these landforms. In this project, I combine fieldwork in Chile with laboratory analyses at LMU and at the University of Salzburg – in collaboration with Prof. Andreas Lang. Find more details on my website and on google scholar.

Ao Liu
PhD student (visiting)

In my project, I use modern weathering fluxes from sulfide- and organic-rich sedimentary rocks in southwest China to assess the potential importance of oxidative weathering reactions during the early Permian Artinskian warming event (AWE). This warming has been primarily linked to atmospheric CO₂ accumulation caused by increased volcanic degassing and reduced silicate weathering efficiency. Alternatively, oxidation of exposed organic- and pyrite-rich shales may have acted as a CO₂ source and contributed to warming. I quantify weathering fluxes from rivers draining these rocks to estimate the relative role of pyrite oxidation and silicate weathering.

Funded by the China Scholarship Council (CSC), I am visiting from the China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) where I work with Prof. Jianghai Yang. I plan to stay at LMU until mid-2026.

Kaja Schultz
Master Student

My project focusses on the link between erosion and weathering in the German low-relief mountain ranges including the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) and Bavarian Forest (Bayerischer Wald). I combine lithologic, topographic, and climatic data with constraints on erosion rate and weathering fluxes in these regions. To estimate weathering fluxes, I compile existing water chemistry and runoff data, and will complement these data with new measurements. Overall, I hope to gain better insight into interactions between chemical weathering and earths carbon cycle.

Alumni

Alexander Gessner
Master Student

Thesis: Quantifying timescales of organic matter build-up in landslide deposits: Insights from the Southern Alps of New Zealand (2024)

Monika Pfau
Master Student
Now at Gruppe F

Thesis: Mobilisierung von organischem Kohlenstoff durch die Jahrhundertflut 2021 im Ahrtal (2024)

Theresa Binder
Master Student

Thesis: Entwicklung und Zusammenhang von Abflussreaktion und Wasserchemie entlang einer Moränen-Chronosequenz im Gletschervorfeld des Steingletschers, CH (2019)