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PD Dr. Alexander Grayver

AddressPohligstr. 3, 50969 Köln
Room3.204
Phone+49 (0)221 470-3679
Fax+49 (0)221 470-5161
MailagrayverSpamProtectionuni-koeln.de

 

I am a Heisenberg Fellow and Senior Lecturer (Privatdozent) in Geophysics at the Institute of Geophysics and Meteorology, University of Cologne. Previously, I worked as Researcher and Lecturer at the Institute of Geophysics, ETH Zurich and GFZ Potsdam - Helmholtz Research Centre for Geosciences.

About

My primary interest is in advancing our understanding of the physical properties and processes within the Earth’s crust-mantle system across multiple scales. I aim to apply this knowledge to address questions and challenges in

  • subsurface CO2 storage,

  • geothermal and mineral exploration,

  • geophysical imaging of volcanic systems,

  • characterization of subglacial environments,

  • mantle hydration and melting,

  • modelling of space weather hazards.

To achieve these goals, I develop advanced 3-D geophysical imaging and data assimilation techniques for electromagnetic (EM) and potential field methods.

I work across disciplines, and try to stay informed about advancements in all branches of solid Earth geophysics. I am keen about newest developments in numerical methods for large-scale physical simulations, solution of inverse problems, and machine learning methods. My broad expertise and developed methods not only advance our understanding of the Earth system but also offers insights into the interiors of other planets and moons.

I am committed to Open Science principles in my research. My research outputs and models are mostly available as supplementary materials in published papers or accessible via my GitHub profile.

Research Topics and Methods

  • Field Measurements using electromagnetic methods, including Magnetotellurics (MT), Controlled-Source Electromagnetics (CSEM), and Geomagnetic Depth Sounding (GDS).

  • Inverse Problems and Data Assimilation: Development of theory, methodologies, and software tools for geophysical imaging.

  • Large-scale geophysical simulations using finite-element method for solution of Partial Differential Equations (PDE).

  • Geomagnetic Field Modeling: Integration of ground and satellite-based observations to refine models of the Earth's magnetic field.

  • Remote Sensing methods for planetary interior studies.

Selected projects:

Scientific Publications and Output:

Teaching:

University of Cologne:

  • „Inverse Modelling“, Lectures and Python Jupyter-enabled practical sessions, SS 2024
  • „Einführung in die Geophysik“, SS 2023, Geomagnetism block
  • „Geomagnetism and Space Weather“ with Python Jupyter-enabled exercises run within the ESA Virtual Research Environment, WS 23/24, WS 24/25

ETH Zurich (2014-2022):

  • „Mathematical Methods in Geophysics“ for Master students in Earth and Environmental Sciences.
  • „Deep Electromagnetic Sounding of Earth and Planetary Interiors“ for Master students specializing in solid Earth’s physics.

Other activities:

  • Contributions to the open-source software deal.II
  • Validation Committee for the 14th International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF)
  • Associate Editor “Earth, Planets and Space”
  • Developing cheap RaspberryPi-based magnetometer suitable for teaching geophysics at Schools.