From the laudation:

“Through geochemical investigations of corals and ferromanganese crusts, Dr. Eisenhauer has made pioneering contributions to the reconstruction of paleoclimates and past climate change. (...) His studies of corals to determine past sea-level fluctuations have provided important new insights into the global water budget of the oceans and ice sheets during the most recent glacial and interglacial periods. (...)

By awarding this prize, the German Mineralogical Society honors Anton Eisenhauer as an outstanding geochemist who has established an important new field of geochemical research in Germany.”