Professor Sierd Cloetingh is Royal Netherlands Academy Professor of Earth Sciences at Vrije University Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and the President of the International Litosphere Programme.
Sierd Cloetingh studied geology and geophysics at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, and continued with his PhD in geophysics in the Utrecht University, The Netherlands.
In 1988 he was appointed professor of Tectonics at the Vrije University, The Netherlands. Starting in the 1990’s Cloetingh developed collaborative research programmes with scientists from Eastern Europe, with a special interest in fostering young researchers. Out of the 50 students that completed their PhD under Cloetingh’s supervision 18 came from outside The Netherlands.
In 1994 he was elected member of Academia Europaea and became chair of its Earth and Marine and Earth and Cosmic Sciences sections. In 2008 he became Academia Europaea’s Vice-President. Cloetingh chairs the Scientific Committee of ESF TOPO-EUROPE, a European Large Scale Collaborative Research Programme (EUROCORES). From 1998 to 2000 he was president of the European Geophysical Society. He is member of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council (ERC), the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and foreign member in several academies, for example the Royal Norwegian Academy of Sciences, Norway, Heidelberg Academy, US, and the royal Danish Academy of Science, Denmark.
Cloetingh’s research has focused on tectonics, lithosphere dynamics, sedimentary basin evolution, intraplate deformation and sea level rise. He has an extensive publication record, including over 250 scientific papers in international peer-reviewed journals. Cloetingh is also the chief editor of the international journal “Global and Planetary Change”.
Interview
- What made you decide to get involved with the RESCUE foresight initiative?
I think the RESCUE initiative is very important. A major effort on the coupling of Deep Earth and Surface Processes is now Going on in Europe in the framework of the ESF EUROCORES programme TOPO-EUROPE parallel to ESF EUROCORES Programmes in biodiversity and climate research. It is now essential to build a strong interface with soci-economic aspects concerning the interaction of natural processes and man-induces change of System Earth.
- In your field, what are the most urgent issues at stake for our unstable Earth?
The coupling of different spatial and temporal scales is vital. We also observe that it is crucial to quantify uncertainties in the feedbacks of different processes. This is particularly important in the assessment of hazards connected to different sources of Earth energy and the use of natural resources. We need to provide policy makers and the public with the best estimates for uncertainties and risks.
What are your ambitions for how RESCUE could help address these challenges - how could it help in the short and long term?
RESCUE certainly has the potential to speed up the process and to overcome barriers between different (sub)disciplines. It should disseminate experience from best practices to assist in this endeavour.
- You have a long experience of creating research networks across borders. How do you see the recent evolution of European transdisciplinary research networks in the field of global change research?
So far it appears that the Global Change community has been largely clustered around research programmes on Climate Change. It is very important to expand this scope into the full spectrum of Global Changes. Also the connection with industry should be strenghtened. In this context Global Change research should also include the study of the consequences of different scenarios on energy and resources in a world facing an energy transition and finites resources.
- How do you see your role as Vice-Chair of the Working Group "Collaboration between the natural, social and human sciences" and what do you expect of working with your Working Group?
I hope I can facilitate this process. Collaboration is key to realize the ambitions of RESCUE. I was very impressed by the motivation of people from completely different backgrounds to contribute to RESCUE. I already learned a lot from ceing in this Working Group. It broadened my horizon.
