Dr Rer Nat Habil Sebastian Mutz

  • Senior Lecturer in Paleoclimate Modelling (School of Geographical & Earth Sciences)

Biography

Short Introduction

I investigate climate change and Earth system dynamics. I focus primarily on the interactions between climate and landscapes in mountains and coastal regions. I employ process-based models, empirical-statistical models, and techniques from AI. I am an advocate of „open science“ and multilateral collaboration, and an active member of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). I serve as a topical editor for the journals Earth System Dynamics and Geoscience Communication. Recent outreach efforts include the development of open and accessible educational materials about climate science and Earthquakes.

Education and Career

  • 2023 — now
    Senior Lecturer / Associate Professor at the University of Glasgow, UK
  • 2016 — 2023
    Lecturer / Assistant Professor at the University of Tübingen, Germany
    Habilitation (Dr. habil.) attesting research and teaching excellence
    Evaluation: C. Zarfl, S. Hergarten, professorial committee
  • 2012 — 2016
    Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Tübingen, Germany
  • 2008 — 2012
    Doctoral Researcher at the University of Würzburg, Germany
    Doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) in Physical Geography and Climatology
    Supervision: H. Paeth, S. Winkler
  • 2004 — 2008
    Integrated masters student at the University of Leicester, UK
    Master (MGeol) in Geology with Palaeobiology
    Supervision: S. Davies, M. Purnell
  • 2004
    Graduated from the British International School Kyiv

Research interests

Earth’s terrestrial surface is a venue for the interactions between climate and the cryosphere, biosphere, geomorphological and geodynamic processes. The dynamics of this environment shape the boundary conditions for the life of many species, including humans. In my research, I focus on the interactions between climate and the other Earth system components. The core topics of this research can be organised into three well-connected categories: A) Palaeoclimates of the Cenozoic, B) Earth surface dynamics, and C) contemporary climate change impact assessments and predictions (Fig. R1).

Figure: Primary research topics comprise A) palaeoclimatology, B) Earth surface dynamics, and C) climate change impact assessment. A is needed to answer questions of research topic B, and both A and B contribute to C. These connections are based on the broad underlying hypotheses H1-H4.

These research topics are linked by several important, broad hypotheses, which can be summarised as follows:

  • Hypothesis 1: Climate change exerts significant and measurable control on Earth surface processes.
  • Hypothesis 2: Synoptic-scale climate variability can explain much of the variation in terrestrial hydrology and regional near-surface climate.
  • Hypothesis 3: Changes in surface topography result in significant and measurable impacts on regional and global climate.

The societal importance of studying the past climates and Earth surface changes is epitomised by the concept “The past is the key to the future”. This can be expressed more elegantly as a 4th hypothesis that underlines the socioeconomic relevance and motivations for conducting research in categories A and B:

  • Hypothesis 4: Earth has already experienced climates similar to potential future climates caused by anthropogenic factors.

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
Number of items: 34.

2023

Boateng, D., Mutz, S. G. , Ballian, A., Meijers, M. J. M., Methner, K., Botsyun, S., Mulch, A. and Ehlers, T. A. (2023) The effects of diachronous surface uplift of the European Alps on regional climate and the oxygen isotopic composition of precipitation. Earth System Dynamics, 14(6), pp. 1183-1210. (doi: 10.5194/esd-14-1183-2023)

Boateng, D. and Mutz, S. G. (2023) pyESDv1.0.1: an open-source Python framework for empirical-statistical downscaling of climate information. Geoscientific Model Development, 16(22), pp. 6479-6514. (doi: 10.5194/gmd-16-6479-2023)

Boateng, D., Mutz, S. G. and Ehlers, T. A. (2023) The Influence of North Atlantic Oscillation on Oxygen and Hydrogen Stable Isotopes in Precipitation of the Late Cenozoic: Implications on Paleoenvironment Reconstructions. EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 24-28 Apr 2023. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu23-1752)

Eizenhöfer, P. R. , McQuarrie, N., Ghoshal, S., Mutz, S. G. and Ehlers, T. A. (2023) Drivers of Topography in Fold-thrust Belts: A Perspective from Central Nepal. EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 24-28 Apr 2023. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu23-13359)

Mutz, S. G. and Boateng, D. (2023) pyESD: An Open-source Python Framework for Empirical-statistical Downscaling of Climate Information. EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 24-28 Apr 2023. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu23-7470)

Sedhu-Madhavan, A., Mutz, S. G. , Boateng, D. and Ehlers, T. A. (2023) A model-based exploration of mid-Holocene anti-phase climate variations in the Central Andes. EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 24-28 Apr 2023. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu23-2372)

Sacek, V., Mutz, S. G. , Bicudo, T. C., de Almeida, R. P. and Ehlers, T. A. (2023) The Amazon paleoenvironment resulted from geodynamic, climate, and sea-level interactions. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 605, 118033. (doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118033)

2022

Ring, S. J., Mutz, S. G. and Ehlers, T. A. (2022) Cenozoic proxy constraints on Earth system sensitivity to greenhouse gases. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 37(12), e2021PA004. (doi: 10.1029/2021PA004364)

Sharma, H., Mutz, S. G. and Ehlers, T. A. (2022) The effects of late Cenozoic climate change on the global distribution of frost cracking. Earth Surface Dynamics, 10(5), pp. 997-1015. (doi: 10.5194/esurf-10-997-2022)

Botsyun, S. et al. (2022) Middle Miocene climate and stable oxygen isotopes in Europe based on numerical modeling. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 37(10), e2022PA004442. (doi: 10.1029/2022PA004442)

Botsyun, S., Mutz, S. G. , Ehlers, T. A. , Koptev, A., Wang, X., Schmidt, B., Appel, E. and Scherer, D. E. (2022) Influence of large‐scale atmospheric dynamics on precipitation seasonality of the Tibetan Plateau and Central Asia in cold and warm climates during the Late Cenozoic. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 127(12), e2021JD035. (doi: 10.1029/2021JD035810)

Boateng, D., Mutz, S. G. and Ehlers, T. A. (2022) How Would the Eastward Propagation of Surface Uplift in the Alps Affect Regional Climate and Isotopic Composition of Precipitation? EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu22-843)

Mutz, S. G. , Boateng, D. and Mohadjer, S. (2022) INTEGRATE: A Higher-education Teaching Package for Climate Science. EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu22-864)

Mutz, S. G. and Ehlers, T. A. (2022) How the Co-evolution of Major Mountain Ranges Affects Global Climate. EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu22-862)

Sacek, V., Mutz, S. , Ehlers, T. , Bicudo, T. and Almeida, R. (2022) Andean Geodynamics and the Evolution of the Amazonian Ecosystem. EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu22-1783)

Mutz, S. G. and Aschauer, J. (2022) Empirical glacier mass-balance models for South America. Journal of Glaciology, 68(271), pp. 912-926. (doi: 10.1017/jog.2022.6)

Beer, A. R., Krumrein, N., Mutz, S. G. , Rink, G. M. and Ehlers, T. A. (2022) Spatial Rockfall Susceptibility Prediction from Rockwall Surface Classification. EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu22-1866)

2021

Krsnik, E., Methner, K., Campani, M., Botsyun, S., Mutz, S. G. , Ehlers, T. A. , Kempf, O., Fiebig, J., Schlunegger, F. and Mulch, A. (2021) Miocene high elevation and high relief in the Central Alps. Solid Earth, 12(11), pp. 2615-2631. (doi: 10.5194/se-2021-59)

Wang, X., Schmidt, B., Otto, M., Ehlers, T. A. , Mutz, S. G. , Botsyun, S. and Scherer, D. (2021) Sensitivity of water balance in the Qaidam Basin to the mid‐Pliocene climate. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 126(16), e2020JD033965. (doi: 10.1029/2020jd033965)

Mohadjer, S., Mutz, S. G. , Kemp, M., Gill, S. J., Ischuk, A. and Ehlers, T. A. (2021) Using paired teaching for earthquake education in schools. Geoscience Communication, 4(2), pp. 281-295. (doi: 10.5194/gc-2020-43)

Mutz, S. , Scherrer, S., Muceniece, I. and Ehlers, T. A. (2021) Twenty-first century regional temperature response in Chile based on empirical-statistical downscaling. Climate Dynamics, 56(9-10), pp. 2881-2894. (doi: 10.1007/s00382-020-05620-9)

Toy, V. et al. (2021) A Blended Learning Approach to Structural Field Mapping: Combining Local Geology, Virtual Geology, and Web-based Tools. EGU General Assembly 2021, Online, 19-30 Apr 2021. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu21-3581)

2020

Mohadjer, S., Mutz, S. , Kemp, M., Gill, S., Ischuk, A. and Ehlers, T. A. (2020) Paired Teaching Approach to Earthquake Education: A Cross-country Comparison Between Dushanbe, Tajikistan and London, United Kingdom. EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 04-08 May 2020. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-11230)

Mutz, S. G. and Ehlers, T. A. (2020) On the Synergistic Climatic Effects of Covarying Major Mountain Range Topographies. EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 04-08 May 2020. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-9518)

Schmidt, B., Wang, X., Mutz, S. , Botsyun, S., Ehlers, T. A. and Scherer, D. (2020) Changes in Water Balance of the Qaidam Basin from Pliocene to Present Day. EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 04-08 May 2020. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20666)

Botsyun, S., Ehlers, T. A. , Mutz, S.G. , Methner, K., Krsnik, E. and Mulch, A. (2020) Opportunities and challenges for paleoaltimetry in “small” orogens: insights from the European alps. Geophysical Research Letters, 47(4), e2019GL086. (doi: 10.1029/2019GL086046)

2019

Mutz, S. G. and Ehlers, T. A. (2019) Detection and explanation of spatiotemporal patterns in Late Cenozoic palaeoclimate change relevant to Earth surface processes. Earth Surface Dynamics, 7(3), pp. 663-679. (doi: 10.5194/esurf-7-663-2019)

Paeth, H., Steger, C., Li, J., Pollinger, F., Mutz, S. G. and Ehlers, T. A. (2019) Comparison of climate change from Cenozoic surface uplift and glacial-interglacial episodes in the Himalaya-Tibet region: Insights from a regional climate model and proxy data. Global and Planetary Change, 177, pp. 10-26. (doi: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2019.03.005)

2018

Mutz, S. G. , Ehlers, T. A. , Werner, M., Lohmann, G., Stepanek, C. and Li, J. (2018) Estimates of late Cenozoic climate change relevant to Earth surface processes in tectonically active orogens. Earth Surface Dynamics, 6(2), pp. 271-301. (doi: 10.5194/esurf-6-271-2018)

2017

Mohadjer, S., Ehlers, T. A. , Bendick, R. and Mutz, S. G. (2017) Review of GPS and Quaternary fault slip rates in the Himalaya-Tibet orogen. Earth-Science Reviews, 174, pp. 39-52. (doi: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.09.005)

Li, J., Ehlers, T. A. , Werner, M., Mutz, S. G. , Steger, C. and Paeth, H. (2017) Late quaternary climate, precipitation δ18O, and Indian monsoon variations over the Tibetan Plateau. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 457, pp. 412-422. (doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2016.09.031)

2016

Li, J., Ehlers, T. A. , Mutz, S. G. , Steger, C., Paeth, H., Werner, M., Poulsen, C. J. and Feng, R. (2016) Modern precipitation δ18O and trajectory analysis over the Himalaya-Tibet Orogen from ECHAM5-wiso simulations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 121(18), 10,432-10,452. (doi: 10.1002/2016jd024818)

Mutz, S. G. , Ehlers, T. A. , Li, J., Steger, C., Paeth, H., Werner, M. and Poulsen, C. J. (2016) Precipitation δ18O over the Himalaya-Tibet orogen from ECHAM5-wiso simulations: Statistical analysis of temperature, topography and precipitation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 121(16), pp. 9278-9300. (doi: 10.1002/2016jd024856)

2015

Mutz, S. , Paeth, H. and Winkler, S. (2015) Modelling of future mass balance changes of Norwegian glaciers by application of a dynamical–statistical model. Climate Dynamics, 46, pp. 1581-1597. (doi: 10.1007/s00382-015-2663-5)

This list was generated on Thu Apr 25 18:46:47 2024 BST.
Jump to: Articles | Conference or Workshop Item
Number of items: 34.

Articles

Boateng, D., Mutz, S. G. , Ballian, A., Meijers, M. J. M., Methner, K., Botsyun, S., Mulch, A. and Ehlers, T. A. (2023) The effects of diachronous surface uplift of the European Alps on regional climate and the oxygen isotopic composition of precipitation. Earth System Dynamics, 14(6), pp. 1183-1210. (doi: 10.5194/esd-14-1183-2023)

Boateng, D. and Mutz, S. G. (2023) pyESDv1.0.1: an open-source Python framework for empirical-statistical downscaling of climate information. Geoscientific Model Development, 16(22), pp. 6479-6514. (doi: 10.5194/gmd-16-6479-2023)

Sacek, V., Mutz, S. G. , Bicudo, T. C., de Almeida, R. P. and Ehlers, T. A. (2023) The Amazon paleoenvironment resulted from geodynamic, climate, and sea-level interactions. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 605, 118033. (doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118033)

Ring, S. J., Mutz, S. G. and Ehlers, T. A. (2022) Cenozoic proxy constraints on Earth system sensitivity to greenhouse gases. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 37(12), e2021PA004. (doi: 10.1029/2021PA004364)

Sharma, H., Mutz, S. G. and Ehlers, T. A. (2022) The effects of late Cenozoic climate change on the global distribution of frost cracking. Earth Surface Dynamics, 10(5), pp. 997-1015. (doi: 10.5194/esurf-10-997-2022)

Botsyun, S. et al. (2022) Middle Miocene climate and stable oxygen isotopes in Europe based on numerical modeling. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 37(10), e2022PA004442. (doi: 10.1029/2022PA004442)

Botsyun, S., Mutz, S. G. , Ehlers, T. A. , Koptev, A., Wang, X., Schmidt, B., Appel, E. and Scherer, D. E. (2022) Influence of large‐scale atmospheric dynamics on precipitation seasonality of the Tibetan Plateau and Central Asia in cold and warm climates during the Late Cenozoic. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 127(12), e2021JD035. (doi: 10.1029/2021JD035810)

Mutz, S. G. and Aschauer, J. (2022) Empirical glacier mass-balance models for South America. Journal of Glaciology, 68(271), pp. 912-926. (doi: 10.1017/jog.2022.6)

Krsnik, E., Methner, K., Campani, M., Botsyun, S., Mutz, S. G. , Ehlers, T. A. , Kempf, O., Fiebig, J., Schlunegger, F. and Mulch, A. (2021) Miocene high elevation and high relief in the Central Alps. Solid Earth, 12(11), pp. 2615-2631. (doi: 10.5194/se-2021-59)

Wang, X., Schmidt, B., Otto, M., Ehlers, T. A. , Mutz, S. G. , Botsyun, S. and Scherer, D. (2021) Sensitivity of water balance in the Qaidam Basin to the mid‐Pliocene climate. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 126(16), e2020JD033965. (doi: 10.1029/2020jd033965)

Mohadjer, S., Mutz, S. G. , Kemp, M., Gill, S. J., Ischuk, A. and Ehlers, T. A. (2021) Using paired teaching for earthquake education in schools. Geoscience Communication, 4(2), pp. 281-295. (doi: 10.5194/gc-2020-43)

Mutz, S. , Scherrer, S., Muceniece, I. and Ehlers, T. A. (2021) Twenty-first century regional temperature response in Chile based on empirical-statistical downscaling. Climate Dynamics, 56(9-10), pp. 2881-2894. (doi: 10.1007/s00382-020-05620-9)

Botsyun, S., Ehlers, T. A. , Mutz, S.G. , Methner, K., Krsnik, E. and Mulch, A. (2020) Opportunities and challenges for paleoaltimetry in “small” orogens: insights from the European alps. Geophysical Research Letters, 47(4), e2019GL086. (doi: 10.1029/2019GL086046)

Mutz, S. G. and Ehlers, T. A. (2019) Detection and explanation of spatiotemporal patterns in Late Cenozoic palaeoclimate change relevant to Earth surface processes. Earth Surface Dynamics, 7(3), pp. 663-679. (doi: 10.5194/esurf-7-663-2019)

Paeth, H., Steger, C., Li, J., Pollinger, F., Mutz, S. G. and Ehlers, T. A. (2019) Comparison of climate change from Cenozoic surface uplift and glacial-interglacial episodes in the Himalaya-Tibet region: Insights from a regional climate model and proxy data. Global and Planetary Change, 177, pp. 10-26. (doi: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2019.03.005)

Mutz, S. G. , Ehlers, T. A. , Werner, M., Lohmann, G., Stepanek, C. and Li, J. (2018) Estimates of late Cenozoic climate change relevant to Earth surface processes in tectonically active orogens. Earth Surface Dynamics, 6(2), pp. 271-301. (doi: 10.5194/esurf-6-271-2018)

Mohadjer, S., Ehlers, T. A. , Bendick, R. and Mutz, S. G. (2017) Review of GPS and Quaternary fault slip rates in the Himalaya-Tibet orogen. Earth-Science Reviews, 174, pp. 39-52. (doi: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.09.005)

Li, J., Ehlers, T. A. , Werner, M., Mutz, S. G. , Steger, C. and Paeth, H. (2017) Late quaternary climate, precipitation δ18O, and Indian monsoon variations over the Tibetan Plateau. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 457, pp. 412-422. (doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2016.09.031)

Li, J., Ehlers, T. A. , Mutz, S. G. , Steger, C., Paeth, H., Werner, M., Poulsen, C. J. and Feng, R. (2016) Modern precipitation δ18O and trajectory analysis over the Himalaya-Tibet Orogen from ECHAM5-wiso simulations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 121(18), 10,432-10,452. (doi: 10.1002/2016jd024818)

Mutz, S. G. , Ehlers, T. A. , Li, J., Steger, C., Paeth, H., Werner, M. and Poulsen, C. J. (2016) Precipitation δ18O over the Himalaya-Tibet orogen from ECHAM5-wiso simulations: Statistical analysis of temperature, topography and precipitation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 121(16), pp. 9278-9300. (doi: 10.1002/2016jd024856)

Mutz, S. , Paeth, H. and Winkler, S. (2015) Modelling of future mass balance changes of Norwegian glaciers by application of a dynamical–statistical model. Climate Dynamics, 46, pp. 1581-1597. (doi: 10.1007/s00382-015-2663-5)

Conference or Workshop Item

Boateng, D., Mutz, S. G. and Ehlers, T. A. (2023) The Influence of North Atlantic Oscillation on Oxygen and Hydrogen Stable Isotopes in Precipitation of the Late Cenozoic: Implications on Paleoenvironment Reconstructions. EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 24-28 Apr 2023. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu23-1752)

Eizenhöfer, P. R. , McQuarrie, N., Ghoshal, S., Mutz, S. G. and Ehlers, T. A. (2023) Drivers of Topography in Fold-thrust Belts: A Perspective from Central Nepal. EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 24-28 Apr 2023. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu23-13359)

Mutz, S. G. and Boateng, D. (2023) pyESD: An Open-source Python Framework for Empirical-statistical Downscaling of Climate Information. EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 24-28 Apr 2023. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu23-7470)

Sedhu-Madhavan, A., Mutz, S. G. , Boateng, D. and Ehlers, T. A. (2023) A model-based exploration of mid-Holocene anti-phase climate variations in the Central Andes. EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 24-28 Apr 2023. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu23-2372)

Boateng, D., Mutz, S. G. and Ehlers, T. A. (2022) How Would the Eastward Propagation of Surface Uplift in the Alps Affect Regional Climate and Isotopic Composition of Precipitation? EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu22-843)

Mutz, S. G. , Boateng, D. and Mohadjer, S. (2022) INTEGRATE: A Higher-education Teaching Package for Climate Science. EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu22-864)

Mutz, S. G. and Ehlers, T. A. (2022) How the Co-evolution of Major Mountain Ranges Affects Global Climate. EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu22-862)

Sacek, V., Mutz, S. , Ehlers, T. , Bicudo, T. and Almeida, R. (2022) Andean Geodynamics and the Evolution of the Amazonian Ecosystem. EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu22-1783)

Beer, A. R., Krumrein, N., Mutz, S. G. , Rink, G. M. and Ehlers, T. A. (2022) Spatial Rockfall Susceptibility Prediction from Rockwall Surface Classification. EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu22-1866)

Toy, V. et al. (2021) A Blended Learning Approach to Structural Field Mapping: Combining Local Geology, Virtual Geology, and Web-based Tools. EGU General Assembly 2021, Online, 19-30 Apr 2021. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu21-3581)

Mohadjer, S., Mutz, S. , Kemp, M., Gill, S., Ischuk, A. and Ehlers, T. A. (2020) Paired Teaching Approach to Earthquake Education: A Cross-country Comparison Between Dushanbe, Tajikistan and London, United Kingdom. EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 04-08 May 2020. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-11230)

Mutz, S. G. and Ehlers, T. A. (2020) On the Synergistic Climatic Effects of Covarying Major Mountain Range Topographies. EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 04-08 May 2020. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-9518)

Schmidt, B., Wang, X., Mutz, S. , Botsyun, S., Ehlers, T. A. and Scherer, D. (2020) Changes in Water Balance of the Qaidam Basin from Pliocene to Present Day. EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 04-08 May 2020. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20666)

This list was generated on Thu Apr 25 18:46:47 2024 BST.

Grants

  • 2020 — 2024: €210,520, German Research Foundation (DFG).
    Topic: Reconstructing Eastward Propagation of Surface Uplift in the Alps: Integrating Stable Isotope Palaeoaltimetry and Palaeoclimate Modelling.
    Investigator(s): Mutz, Ehlers (separate project by Meijers, Methner, Mulch)
  • 2020 — 2021: €750, European Geosciences Union (EGU).
    Topic: INTEGRATE: open-access, open-source teaching package for climate and machine learning.
    Investigator(s): Mutz
  • 2017 — 2022: €188,212, German Research Foundation (DFG).
    Topic: Neogene paleoelevation and paleoclimate of the central Alps - Linking surface processes to lithospheric dynamics.
    Investigator(s): Ehlers, Mutz (separate project by Mulch, Methner)
  • 2017 — 2022: €122,625, Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF).
    Topic: Q-TIP: Tipping points of lake systems in the Central Asian arid zone.
    Investigator(s): Mutz, Appel, Ehlers
  • 2016 — 2017: €1,000, European Geoscience Union (EGU).
    Topic: Earthquake emergency education video lessons.
    Investigator(s): Mohadjer, Mutz

Supervision

Image: Ardhra Sedhu-madhavan (left; MSc student), Sebastian G. Mutz (middle) and Daniel Boateng (right; PhD student) at the EGU General Assembly 2023 in Vienna, Austria.

Enquiries about Supervision

Enquiries about supervision are always welcome, esp. if your research interests fall into one of the following categories:

  • Climate dynamics and climate change (past, present and future)
  • Climate change impacts (e.g., how climate change affects glaciers, erosion, extreme events or health)
  • Numerical modelling and model development
  • Data analysis, statistics, machine learning and AI

Browsing the list of ongoing and completed projects below may give you a better idea of the type of work I typically supervise. However, future projects can go beyond this scope.

Enquiries about existing/planned projects are just as welcome as bringing your own research ideas to discuss.

Ongoing Projects

PhD projects
  • 2020 — now: Effects of palaeoclimate and diachronous uplift of the European Alps on the oxygen isotopic composition of rainwater (Daniel Boateng)
Master projects
  • 2023 — now: A model-based exploration of Mid-Holocene anti-phase climate variations in the Central Andes (Ardhra Sedhu-madhavan)

Completed Projects

Postdoc projects
  • 2017 — 2021: Tipping points of lake systems in the Central Asian arid zone
  • 2017 — 2021: Neogene paleoelevation and paleoclimate of the central Alps - Linking surface processes to lithospheric dynamics
Master projects
  • 2022: Downscaling of orographic precipitation in complex Norwegian terrain (Eskil Salis Gross)
  • 2021: A Probabilistic Assessment of Alps Palaeotopography Using Bayesian Integration of Palaeoclimate Data and Models 
  • 2021: Prediction of 21st century precipitation response to different emission scenarios in the Ammer catchment (Daniel Boateng)
  • 2021: Empirical-Statistical Downscaling of Precipitation in Chile by Application of Bayesian Classification and LASSO Regression
  • 2020: Investigating the climate of the last 10 Million years using a Bayesian classifier 
  • 2019: Large-Scale Atmospheric Control on South American Glacier Mass Balances 
  • 2019: Analysis of potential climate-driven remobilisation of seismically-induced landslide debris in Central Asia 
  • 2018: Statistical Downscaling of Monthly Temperature and Precipitation in Chile 
  • 2018: Effects of Past Global Climate Change on Frost Cracking 
  • 2018: Impact of Late Cenozoic climate change on Landscape Evolution at selected sites in South America
  • 2018: Comparison of climate model, reanalysis and weather station data in Chile 
  • 2018: Storminess and extreme precipitation events in South America throughout the Late Cenozoic
Bachelor Projects
  • 2023: Changes in vegetation with respect to changes in climate in South America
  • 2021: Addressing non-linear glacier response to climate change in empirical glacier models with Bayesian decision making
  • 2021: Quantifying the effects of El Niño - La Niña cycles on precipitation and temperatures in Chile

Teaching

Image: Three examples of teaching, including a video lecture on palaeoclimate (left), teaching geology and mapping techniques in Spain (middle) and producing an Earthquake education video series (right).

Supervision (2016-2023)

  • 3 BSc projects
  • 13 MSc projects
  • 1 doctoral thesis
  • 2 postdoctoral research projects
  • 5 research assistants

Courses (2016-2023)

  • Field mapping course (BSc level)
  • Climate Dynamics, Probability and Statistics (MSc level)
  • Physics of the Earth's Surface (MSc level)
  • Applied Tectonics and Surface Processes (MSc level)

Materials

  • INTEGRATE is an open-access, open-source teaching package covering physical climatology, empirical methods and a hands-on approach to collecting and analysing atmospheric data. Its development was supported by the EGU Higher Education Teaching Grant 2020. If you're a teacher interested in teaching the course or taking elements from it, you can get the code and materials here.
  • The ParsQuake team develops, implements, and distributes earthquake education packages all around Central Asia and beyond. In a recent effort, we produced a series of video lessons for Earthquake education in schools. These were tested in schools in Tajikistan and UK. Read about it here or simply watch the videos here.

Professional activities & recognition

Prizes, awards & distinctions

  • 2020: Higher Education Teaching Grant (European Geosciences Union)
  • 2016: Public Engagement Grant (shared with S. Mohadjer) (European Geosciences Union)

Editorial boards

  • 2023: Earth System Dynamics
  • 2022: Geoscience Communication

Professional & learned societies

  • 2020 - 2022: Member, German Climate Consortium (DKK)

Additional information

→ Website (mutz.science)
→ ORCID
→ Research Gate
→ Twitter Page
→ GitHub Page