The Department Hydrogeology provides insights into the subsurface at the Long Night of Science 2025 at UFZ Leipzig

Christian, Jette, Vinícius and Alexander with their models.
The Long Night of the Sciences took place in Leipzig on 20 June 2025. On this day, universities and research institutions open their doors from 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm to introduce visitors to the world of research. It is held every two years since 2008 and the UFZ has always been involved right from the start.
This year, the Department Hydrogeology also provided insights into the subsurface and groundwater for visitors of all ages and levels of knowledge. Christian Schmidt, Vinícius Falchi Bernando, Jette Wüst and Alexander Hubig introduced visitors to our work.
This year, we brought along a real and a digital groundwater model. In the real model, visitors were able to use food colouring to experience how pollutants spread in groundwater. The digital model demonstrated, for example, how drinking water extraction from groundwater is affected by excessive nitrate concentrations. NitrateLurch

The Long Night of Science was a diverse and inspiring evening for us. We met a curious and mixed audience - from interested children to experts in the field of groundwater. In numerous conversations, we were able to present our research, answer questions and discuss various aspects of the topic together. We found the variety of perspectives and topics of conversation that developed from these discussions really enriching. After this evening and the positive response, we are already looking forward to 2027, when the next Long Night of Science will take place in Leipzig.