Since the first applications in the geosciences (~ 1985) and the first successful dating of zircons (1993, 1995), LA-ICP-MS has become a standard method for the analysis of major and trace elements as well as numerous isotope systems (e.g., Li, B, Sr, Sm-Nd, Lu-Hf, U-Th-Pb) in minerals, glasses and other solids.

Speed, relatively low cost, versatility, high spatial resolution (10-50 µm) and sufficient to better precision often make LA-ICPMS superior to competing methods. The most successful application, U-Th-Pb zircon geochronology has led to an exponential increase in scientific publications in this field between 2000 and 2020.

This article aims to give an overview of the developments of the last 10 years in the field of U-Pb dating of carbonates, garnets, sulphates, as well as various oxide and other silicate minerals. The complexity of the analysis, problems, the possible potential of these methods and the precision, accuracy and significance of the dates/ages compared to those of zircons are discussed.

What are the methodological challenges of the near future? Will methodological developments in LA-ICP-MS analysis be driven by technical advancements in analytical equipment or active science teams?

In-situ Rb-Sr dating using laser ablation (LA) systems coupled to inductively coupled plasma (ICP) – reaction cell mass spectrometers (MS/MS) is an emerging geochronological tool. This analytical setup uses reaction gases to allow the reaction of targeted masses. ⁸⁷Rb and ⁸⁷Sr can for example be separated chemically to avoid the isobaric overlap during mass-spectrometric analysis. In-situ Rb-Sr LA-ICP-MS/MS dating has until now successfully been applied to date magmatic, metamorphic and tectonic events as well as ore formation processes. In addition, it has huge potential for sedimentology and stratigraphy.

Here, we present case studies of in-situ Rb-Sr LA-ICP-MS/MS dating of detrital minerals (mica and feldspar) and glauconite. We focus on (1) the analytical routine, (2) data reduction and age calculation strategy and (3) interpretation of in-situ Rb-Sr age data. In addition, we demonstrate advantages of volume-coupled major and trace element data collected from the same laser spots. This data can for example be used as indicator of alteration and as multi-proxy tool for provenance studies.

The number of zircon age studies being published from all regions of the planet is consistently growing, as is for continental or global zircon ages databases. Unfortunately, a considerable amount of such data is often not utilized for future studies after their publication. Consequently, there is a considerable amount of valuable data that is waiting to be discovered for further use that could reach much further than reconstructing supercontinent cycles. An initial compilation of pre-Mesozoic zircon age data (N>5000, n>275000) characterizes the circum-Atlantic (s.l.) zircon provinces. Despite having compiled an initial zircon age database, further effort is necessary to reach the required sample density for mapping the age spectra of (meta)igneous host rocks and primary sediment flux in appropriate statistical, spatial and temporal frameworks. Nonetheless, this is a primary goal that will allow for more precise palaeogeographic reconstructions of terrane configurations in conjunction with additional data. To date, the zircon age database permits the identification of the primary zircon provinces and some sub-provinces at a reasonable terrane-scale resolution. The database also identifies distinct zircon age populations that can be used as "unique identifiers", e.g. to distinguish the western and the eastern parts of Cadomia or the role of the Kunene Intrusive Complex in southern Africa. Additionally, the presented compilation outlines the key zircon age provinces in large parts of the circum-Atlantic. Therefore, this study aims to present an initial impression of typical zircon age patterns found in the aforementioned areas at certain periods of time.

The erosional debris of the poorly exposed Paleo- and Mesoproterozoic mobile belts of Amazonia (Terra Amazonica Orogen, 2-1 Ga, TAO-1) eventually accumulated in the orogenic basins of the central proto-Andean Terra Australis Orogen (TAO-2, 0.65-0.2 Ga), offering an abundant indirect source of information.

From newly constructed U-Pb, Hf and O isotope zircon data bases we derived that in TAO-1 eHf(t) values define 3 cycles between 2-1 Ga from strongly unradiogenic to radiogenic values. After the dispersal of Rodinia, TAO-2 registers one large similar cycle. In accretionary orogens, such trends indicate the progressive removal of lower crust and lithospheric mantle of the upper plate during subduction and their replacement by new radiogenic crust.

d¹⁸O data show a flat d¹⁸O trend at 6.3‰ over the first 800 Myr of TAO-1, increasing to elevated values around 7.3‰ during collision with Laurentia. Contrastingly, d¹⁸O of TAO-2 trends from 8‰ to more mantle-like values just below 7‰. The different trends show that anatectic intracrustal recycling played only a subordinate role in the generation of new crust during TAO-1. However, there is a correspondence between the O and Hf isotope trends in TAO-2 towards more juvenile compositions through time.

Global d¹⁸O data showed gradually increasing d¹⁸O after 2.5 Ga indicating the progressive hydration and intracrustal recycling of the continental crust after the Archean. Our data register the sudden appearance of d¹⁸O values up to 10‰ at the Archean-Proterozoic transition indicating that Amazonia had experienced intracrustal recycling at an accretionary margin already in the Late Archean.

The Rosenhof Member is part of the Lower Cambrian Fish River Subgroup of the Nama Group in southern Namibia (Groß Aub Formation). The sediments of the Nama Group are deposited in two basins, the northern Zaris Subbasin and the southern Witpütz Subbasin. Both are separated by the Osis Arch, a basement updoming (Germs, 1974; Grotzinger and Miller, 2008). While the basal two Nama subgroups are influenced by these two basins and their paleorelief, the uppermost Fish River Subgroup sediments overstep the Osis Arch and cover previous deposits with an unconformity. Deposits of the Fish River Subgroup are represented by Lower Cambrian shales and sandstones (e.g. Grotzinger and Miller, 2008).

The sandstones of the Rosenhof Member show distinct sedimentary patterns that allow the interpretation as fluvial deposits originating from the north (e.g. Geyer, 2005). They were deposited after the final collision of the Kalahari Craton (south) and the Congo Craton (north) that created the Damara Orogen. The latter is discussed as a major sedimentary source area for the studied deposits covering southern Namibia (Kalahari Craton). For this purpose, the Rosenhof Member was sampled and studied at various locations, covering occurrences from its northern outcrops until its most southern ones. This sample set allows the study of changes in the sedimentary pattern of a particular member over an area of about 300 km.

This talk presents sedimentary structures combined with heavy mineral analyses (U-Pb on zircon and apatite) and discusses possible sedimentary source areas, as well as sedimentary mixing and homogenisation.

Sinich/Sinigo, situated within the Athesian Volcanic District in Northern Italy, yielded an exceptional plant fossil assemblage from the middle Kungurian (Cisuralian), including permineralized stems, compressions, and molds of such diverse plant groups as lycopsids, sphenophytes, ferns, seed ferns, cordaitaleans, and conifers. Notably, the site features the earliest record of coexistence of walchian and voltzian Voltziales conifers, whose exceptional three-dimensional preservation provides evidence of xeromorphic adaptations such as fleshy and deciduous leaves. Additionally, the basin contains the oldest in situ fossil forest in Italy, which was preserved in its original growth position on a deltaic sheetflood fan and subsequently buried by mass flows, illustrating the conifers' significant ecomorphological adaptability in response to waterlogged conditions. Palynological analyses reveal a predominance of woody tissue and charcoal in the lower and middle part of the succession with an increase of spores and pollen in the upper part of the succession. Geochemical analyses on trace elements are rather monotonous in the lower part of the successions but show notable fluctuations in the upper part with pronounced peaks in the abundance of S, As, Pb. Indices of chemical alteration (CIA, PIA, CIW) support significant environmental changes in the later stages of the evolution of the basin, while the isotopic composition of bulk organic carbon remained stable. These analyses underscore Sinich/Sinigo as a key site for understanding the ecological and environmental dynamics of the middle Kungurian, offering valuable insights into the interactions between volcanic activity, weathering and biotic responses.

Since its appearance on land in the early Paleozoic, life has conquered the continents with astonishing diversity. From the deepest caves to the atmosphere, numerous evolutionary innovations such as active flight or seeds paved the way for life beyond water. However, we still have a rough idea of the timelines of terrestrialization, mainly because fossil evidence remains patchy. It is therefore crucial to know the age and taphonomy of the few finds well. One such example is Tridentinosaurus antiquus, Italy’s oldest fossil reptile from the lower Permian Athesian Volcanic Group, Southern Alps. This specimen potentially enlightens the earliest ecosystems that coped with extensive volcanism, but its stratigraphic context is barely referenced. We clarify the provenience, age, fossilization and paleoecological meaning of T. antiquus using sampling-history review, field mapping, mineral chemistry and U-Pb radioisotopic dating. Accordingly, rock petrography and biotite composition prove that a crystal-rich, monotonous intermediate tuff from the Regnana Formation at Stramaiolo, Northern Italy, is the host rock of T. antiquus. Biotite crystallization in both field samples and the rock attached to the fossil yield values of 670±17°C and 1.7–2.0 kbar close to the granite solidus, strengthening a common magmatic history. The tuff formed from hot, diluted pyroclastic density currents that filled a paleo-valley between small volcanoes around 275 Ma. T. antiquus, hence, is par-autochthonous and truly inhabited the volcanic landscapes. Along with fossil plants and other similar taphocoenoses worldwide, this fossil documents the presence of differentiated ecosystems in late Paleozoic volcanic environments.

The reconstruction of paleocurrents is crucial for understanding ancient environments and the past climate. Such reconstructions are often based on the distribution of marine species as well as on geochemical proxies. In this talk, a new approach is proposed which uses the occurrence of glendonites as a proxy for cool bottom currents. Glendonites are pseudomorphs after the hydrous carbonate mineral ikaite that only forms in environments characterised by near-freezing temperatures. The pseudomorph has been identified in a number of Phanerozoic successions deposited in high latitudes. However, occurrences in mid-latitudinal sections have also been reported. These occurrences are of particular interest as they document the formation of glendonite in temperate areas, where the prevailing temperatures were above the threshold required for the precipitation of the precursor mineral ikaite.

This study investigates a recently discovered glendonite-bearing interval from the Buttenheim clay pit section (Bavaria, Germany), which represents the southernmost glendonite occurrence in the late Pliensbachian (Early Jurassic). Based on geochemical and sedimentological analyses, the glendonite-bearing interval is interpreted as the result of cold bottom-water masses which originated in the Arctic Sea and migrated southward into the Tethys Ocean, thereby passing the extensive shelf areas of the European epicontinental sea. The influx of cold water caused a significant temperature decrease in the deeper parts of the epeiric sea, which led to the formation of glendonites in lower latitudes. This model can help to explain unexpected mid-latitudinal glendonite occurrences and can serve as a valuable tool for the reconstruction of paleocurrent patterns.

The Late Cretaceous epoch was characterized by extreme greenhouse climates and widespread glaucony formation in marine shallow water settings. In the Danubian Cretaceous Basin (DCB, Bavaria, SE-Germany), contemporaneous and closely-spaced shallow-marine accumulation of glauconitic strata in the eastern and the glaucony-free Neuburger Siliceous Earth in the western parts of the basin during Cenomanian–early Turonian times represents an unsolved phenomenon with great potential to unravel important aspects of the poorly understood mechanisms of Late Cretaceous glaucony formation.

An integrated sedimentologic, stratigraphic, mineralogic and geochemical approach reveals that the striking small-scale lithofacies differences can be attributed to the geological structure of the hinterland and the nature of elemental influx: in the eastern DCB, deeply chemically weathered granites and gneisses of the Bohemian Massif were leached due to the warm climate and high precipitation rates, and elements crucial for glaucony formation (K, Fe, Si, Al) were amply supplied by rivers, fueling a shallow marine greensand giant (Regensburg Formation). In the western DCB, a hinterland consisting of karstified Jurassic carbonates devoid of elements necessary for glaucony formation and a lack of significant fluvial input repressed the shallow marine glaucony factory. Furthermore, the originally rather marly sediment of the Neuburg Siliceous Earth of the Wellheim Formation was affected by early diagenetic silicification due to a combination of inflowing silica-rich groundwater from karst aquifers and dissolution of biogenic siliceous components. Additionally, our geochemical data provide the first evidence of a redox-sensitive trace metal drawdown during Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 in shallow water/coastal settings in Germany.

Massive and (geologically) fast shallow-marine glaucony formation was a widespread phenomenon during the Cretaceous greenhouse world that has no recent analogue. Based on several integrated case studies from different basins around the Mid-European Island, we intend to better understand the geochemical and depositional constraints on Late Cretaceous glaucony formation. X-ray diffraction analyses showed that the abundant green grains and matrix of all sites definitely constitute glauconitic minerals with high-order, 1M-type layer stacking. Inorganic geochemical analyses, normalized to Al and compared to average shale (AS), demonstrate that most element/Al ratios of greensand deposits are higher than AS values, including the chemical index of alteration (CIX). These observations suggest an intense chemical weathering of the exposed hinterlands, resulting in a continuous supply of essential elements required for glaucony authigenesis in nearshore settings under variably reducing and/or oxidizing redox conditions, associated with somewhat increased palaeo-productivities. The leaching of palaeosols and swampy coastal low-/wetlands during major transgressions related to eustatic Late Cretaceous sea-level rises was an important process for trace metal and nutrient mobilization. Furthermore, the significant influx of terrestrial organic matter from the densely vegetated continents suggests a significant impact of plant-decay-related potassium to glaucony maturation. In a nutshell, our new integrated data provide novel insights into the anactualistic formative processes of authigenic glauconitic minerals during greenhouse phases of Earth history.

The continental response to global climate forcing remains difficult to predict due to the intricate feedbacks among climate, vegetation and other land surface changes. This is exemplified by the Eocene-Oligocene Transition (EOT; 34 Ma), where a 2-3°C cooling event is observed in marine records around the world, but continental records from the North American Great Plains suggest more extreme cooling of 7-8°C instead. Here we present a new Oligocene record from the adjacent high-elevation North American Cordillera (Cook Ranch section; SW Montana) constrained by four radiometrically dated tuffs. Dual clumped isotopes (Δ₄₇ and Δ₄₈) of this record suggest no major changes in temperature across the EOT, but instead show extreme cooling of 10±1°C in the early Oligocene (32-30 Ma). Based on paleobotanical and climate model data, we interpret this as summer cooling coeval with a decrease in atmospheric CO₂ identified in recent proxy compilations. This long-term Oligocene cooling may explain the lack in mammal response observed in North American fossils compared with other continents.

Geoscience learning in outdoor, field-based settings can provide students with a deep understanding of the core practices of geoscientists. Although field-based learning has been studied at different educational levels, most research has been at the tertiary level, and few studies have considered field learning progressions across grade levels. This research is a synthesis of our team's decade of research on field experiences of students and preservice teachers. The goal was to identify the characteristics of successful field learning to determine how educators can support learners of different ages as they progress into and through tertiary education. Students ages 10-25 participated in environmental geoscience experiences of varyng types, including geocaching, field photography, citizen science, community-engaged research, and field excursions. The findings support the conclusions of other researchers that observation, data collection, and analysis are appropriate for primary grade levels, but primary level teachers need experience in the field, ideally during their training, to gain confidence taking their own students into the field. For primary education, after a training program with scientists, teachers were comfortable adopting field photography as a method to increase student observational skills. Further, primary and secondary students were able to complete research projects on geoscience hazards that required generating a hypothesis, collecting and analyzing data, and presenting their interpretations to a public audience. This synthesis both confirms the importance of field-based learning in sparking student interest in science and provides insights on how the geoscience community can support teachers to design effective field learning.

Field trips are essential for Earth Systems Education. Students must be given the chance to draw conclusions from their own observations in the field. Nevertheless, the practice of removing students from the conventional educational setting is associated with a number of significant challenges. These include additional costs for the families, students missing out on classes, schools having to substitute the participating teachers and finding suitable and safe locations of educational geological value.

A total of 29 middle school students were taken to the vicinity of the Harz. The topics were related to sedimentary and igneous rocks (e.g. dinosaur tracks, mining history, fossil coral reef, regional geology). We conducted a simple practical pre- and posttest on two typical rock samples in the classroom and asked them - on the way home after the field trip - to rate the field trip as a whole, and their interest in geoscience before and after the field trip. Finally, they had to state with a clear “yes” or “no” whether they would recommend a field trip as part of future geoscience classes and explain their opinion.

A clear majority of 27 students (93%) recommend field trips as an obligatory part of geoscience courses. They stated that they had gained knowledge, enjoyed the practical learning setting and felt it was a unique experience. The fieldwork programme, the designed exercises and evidence on the extent to which middle school students are able to draw conclusions from their own observations will be presented.

The promotion of STEM education, known as MINT in German-speaking countries, is widely acknowledged as essential for addressing future scientific challenges and enhancing quality of life. The current scarcity of skilled professionals and declining student interest in scientific fields underscore the urgent need for sustained investment in STEM education, both within schools and through extracurricular initiatives.

The Thuringia Foundation for Technology, Innovation, and Research (STIFT) has taken a leading role in advancing STEM offerings since 2020 through the "MINT-Thüringen" initiative. This collaborative effort involves schools, universities, research institutes, and companies to foster STEM interest from kindergarten to secondary education. Seven STEM regions across Thuringia offer tailored programs, with extracurricular research centres (Schülerforschungszentren, SFZs) serving as the organizational backbone.

In northern Thuringia, initiatives often overlook geosciences, despite the region being rich in geological heritage. To address this gap, the SFZ Nordhausen, based at the University of Applied Sciences of Nordhausen, has set a new goal, namely to raise awareness of local geology and resources. This includes the following initiatives: a pilot school working group with the Kyffhäuser Geopark, a summer camp in collaboration with the South Harz Nature Park and the Youth Art School Nordhausen, and teacher training sessions on mineral resources during the 9^th Thuringian edition of "School MIT Science".

In this meeting, I report on the evaluation of those initial efforts to expand geoscience outreach and cultivate a deeper understanding of the region's geological significance among students and educators with alternative forms of cooperation in schools and extracurricular contexts.

An important goal of education for sustainable development (ESD) is the ability to analyse conflicting goals in the implementation of various SDGs and, based on this, to formulate judgements and negotiate solutions (UNESCO 2021). The extraction and use of geological resources often leads to such conflicting goals. School and extracurricular educational contexts relating to the extraction of raw materials therefore offer great potential for promoting this ESD goal.

The presentation will provide an overview of the following questions relating to the teaching of such raw material conflicts:

1) What are the prerequisites on the part of the learners?

2) What methodological approaches exist for teaching such conflicts in school and extracurricular educational work? And: how can these approaches be categorized?

3) How are the different didactic approaches to teaching such raw material conflicts justified?

4) What empirical findings are available on the implementation of such approaches?

A special focus is placed on the differentiation and reflection of factual and ethical aspects within such conflicts, as it is laid out in biology and geography educational approaches to "double complexity" (Bögeholz & Barkmann, 2005; Meyer & Felzmann, 2011) and to evaluation competence or as it is considered in the approach of geoethics (Peppoloni & Di Capua, 2015) and its didactic further development (Vasconcelos & Orion, 2021).

The umbrella organization of the geosciences DVGeo has been organizing the German Geoscience Olympiad for school students since 2023. 170 students took part in the Online test and 20 were selected for the second round. This nationwide competition builds on school knowledge from geography as well as chemistry, physics and biology and provides deeper insights into the geosciences. The German Earth Science Olympiad is also the national selection competition for the established International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO).The German Earth Science Olympiad was conceived by representatives of the DVGeo's supporting organizations from the fields of geology, geophysics, palaeontology and mineralogy. The aim is to arouse pupils' interest in the geosciences. Students from 9th grade to Q1 (qualification year 1 for the Abitur) can participate. We will present task formats of the first edition and summarize students‘ results in order to discuss possible guidelines for future editions.

The DEKORP (Deutsches Kontinentales Reflexionsseismisches Programm) initiative, conducted from 1984 to 1997, was Germany's national reflection seismic program. DEKORP aimed at resolving the deep crustal and upper mantle structure, employing mainly near-vertical incidence seismic surveys that in some cases were complemented by wide-angle seismic studies and accompanied by research projects dedicated to refining and optimizing processing and interpretation methods. The resulting seismic images significantly contributed to the geological interpretation of the crust and upper mantle, e.g., unveiling distinct units of the Central European Variscides in Germany.

We reprocessed several of these DEKORP profiles located within the Federal state of Bavaria and in particular around the German Continental Deep Drillhole (KTB). We employed advanced focusing pre-stack depth imaging techniques in conjunction with newly derived near-surface tomographic velocity models. Our approach yields novel images with improved quality and new structural details in several profile parts. The results provide a comprehensive view of the entire crust and the basis for new geological interpretations and modeling, including a significant enhancement of our understanding of the crustal architecture.

We thank the Bayerisches Landesamt für Geologie for assigning the new processing and providing the seismic data. Particular thanks to J. Großmann and K. Dengler for their support.

The Kraichgau Terrane is a NE-SW elongated high-density body covered by Mesozoic sedimentary rocks and occupies the southwestern parts of the Saxo-Thuringian Zone in the Central European Variscides. Compared to other regions of the Saxo-Thuringian Zone, the Kraichgau Terrane is poorly studied owing to very limited subsurface data. We integrate reprocessed DEKORP-2S seismic reflection profile, filtered Bouguer gravity and total magnetic intensity data and show the regional subsurface litho-structure of the Kraichgau Terrane.

The seismic reflections show a stratified crust with high amplitude, continuous and subhorizontal middle and lower crust in the SE and NW separated by a central zone of medium to low amplitude and transparent area hosting several oppositely dipping high amplitude reflections. This central zone (CZ) is approximately 80 km wide along the DEKORP-2S profile, exhibits a high density anomaly and shows two distinct linear features on the vertical derivatives of the magnetic intensity data. Further NE along the DEKORP-3MVE profile, the CZ is approximately 20 km wide, is denser than surrounding areas, and exhibits a single linear feature on the vertical derivative of the magnetic data. This linear feature is correlated with exposed Early Paleozoic magmatic rocks known as the Vesser units.

In addition to the magnetic and gravity signature of the Vesser units, the tilt and vertical derivatives of the Bouguer gravity anomaly show several NE-SW linear structures in the central and southeastern parts of the Kraichgau Terrane. These linear structures are interpreted as the folded and overthrusted Saxo-Thuringian units during the Variscan tectonics.

We are in the process of making a tectonometamorphic map of the Erzgebirge and present our preliminary state of this work. We follow the scheme of previous studies and distinguish four major allochthonous units in the Erzgebirge: Basal Gneiss Unit, Gneiss-Eclogite Unit, Mica schist-Eclogite Unit, and Phyllite Unit.

In the course of this project we would like to address the following open questions:

1. Where are tectonic boundaries between these units? Which subunits can be distinguished?

2. Do high-pressure/ultrahigh-pressure (HP/UHP) conditions form different clusters? If so, what is the extent of these clusters and is the current scheme of two HP and one UHP cluster accurate?

3. Are high-pressure rocks solitary occurrences in a matrix with different pressure-temperature evolutions or did the units share a common evolution? If units behaved coherently – how do the HP clusters fit into this picture and where are the associated tectonic boundaries?

4. Does the main foliation in the HP units reflect exhumation from eclogite-facies conditions, exhumation from mid-crustal levels or even something else?

5. What explains the overall distribution of metamorphism in the Erzgebirge? While high-pressure and Barrovian conditions seem to fade out towards higher structural levels in the west, the eastern border of the Erzgebirge towards the Elbe Zone is metamorphically abrupt, represents a major structural jump and shows similarities to an extensional detachment fault.

The Elbtalschiefergebirge - the tectonic border between the Lusatian Massiv and the Erzgebirge – is limited by two large regional faults, the West Lusatian fault and the Mid Saxonian fault. In Saxony, both NW-SE striking faults are running mostly parallel. So, a generally cogenetic evolution of both structures was assumed until now.

The paleozoic units of the Elbtalschiefergebirge itself are limited very often also by faults. However, deep drillings are missing until now.

During the still running project „Railway tunnel Dresden-Prague“ several geological units and faults are exposed by numerous drillings up to 400 m depth.

The new results show, that the West Lusatian fault as thrust zone and the Mid Saxonian fault as shear zone are not comparable as well in time as in genesis. The thickness of the Mid Saxonian fault is proved by drillings of at least 900 m. On the other hand, the fault volume of the West Lusatian fault includes only several meter. This is untypical for such a regional fault zone, but the main movement seems to have taken place about 300 m south of the recently mapped fault position.

Instead this, the faults in the Elbtalschiefergebirge are thrusts with considerable displacement.

The drillings of the ongoing project will just be investigate by several research groups of different institutions. Numerous new drillings in special areas are planned in the next years.

In the Saxothuringian Zone a unique assemblage of high to ultra-high pressure and ultra-high temperature metamorphic units is associated to medium-to-low pressure and temperature rocks. The units were studied in a campaign with garnet and monazite petrochronology of gneisses, micaschists and phyllites, and monazite dating in granites. P-T path segments of garnet crystallisation were reconstructed by geothermobarometry and interpreted in terms of monazite stability field, EPMA-Th-U-Pb monazite ages, and garnet Y+HREE zonations (Schulz and Krause 2024). One can recognise (1) Cambrian plutonism (512-503 Ma) with contact metamorphism in the Münchberg Massif. Subordinate monazite populations may indicate a (2) widespread but weak Silurian (444-418 Ma) thermal event. A (3) Devonian (389-360 Ma) high pressure metamorphism prevails in the Münchberg and Frankenberg Massifs. In the ultra-high pressure and high pressure units of the Erzgebirge the predominant (4) Carboniferous (336-327 Ma) monazites crystallised at the decompression paths. In the Saxonian Granulite Massif, prograde-retrograde P-T paths of cordierite-garnet gneisses can be related to monazite ages from 339 to 317 Ma. A (5) local hydrothermal overprint at 313-302 Ma coincides partly with post-tectonic (345-307 Ma) granite intrusions. Such diverse monazite age pattern and P-T-time paths characterise the tectono-metamorphic evolution of each crustal segment involved in the Variscan Orogeny.

Schulz, B., Krause, J. (2024): Electron probe petrochronology of monazite and garnet bearing metamorphic rocks in the Saxothuringian allochthonous domains (Erzgebirge, Granulite and Münchberg Massifs). Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ., 537:249-284. https://doi.org/10.1144/SP537-2022-195.

Geoscientific research yields diverse outputs, including samples, data publications, research code/software and articles. The fragmentation of this knowledge, where different types of research outputs are stored and published in isolated systems, poses a challenge to scientific progress, hindering comprehensive data analysis and collaboration. Additionally, researchers must comply with various data laws, such as the Geological Data Act of 2020, and adhere to Open Science and FAIR principles. The linking of contextually connected research outputs via persistent identifiers (PID) like DOI, ORCID, ROR or IGSN is vital. An interconnected research infrastructure, such as closely collaborating repositories, enhances the value of research outputs and facilitates the overcoming of these challenges.

The Specialised Information Service for Geosciences (FID GEO), funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), is an example of such an integrated approach. FID GEO facilitates the dissemination of various research results and offers geoscientific communities access to the repositories GFZ Data Services for data and software, and GEO-LEOe-docs for the publication of texts and geological maps.

Moreover, FID GEO provides consulting and training services to assist researchers in effectively managing and linking their research results. These services encompass conference presentations, workshops, and support for the digitisation and online publication of older works.

FID GEO encourages its community to publish and describe all their research outputs. By integrating data and text repositories, FID GEO streamlines research workflows, enhances the dissemination of scientific contributions, and supports compliance with necessary principles.

The National Research Data Infrastructure for Earth System Science (NFDI4Earth) aims to create a networked infrastructure connecting different research data sources (repositories, data bases) to overcome the challenges associated with Research Data Management (RDM) in Germany. Researchers collaborate in international research teams, resulting in interconnection between national and international activities. Thus, a core element of the initiative is the ambition to harmonize the research data landscape on a national level and to connect them with international initiatives. The key areas of interest are to increase the interoperability between different research data domains, metadata standardization, controlled vocabularies, application programming and the setup of different service interfaces. NFDI4Earth would like to support researchers in various aspects such as discovering and exploring relevant data sources, publishing and curating data and addressing research data management challenges. NFDI4Earth focuses on being attractive for the user by having a user-friendly entry point (OneStop4All), services such as a living handbook, user support network, educational resources, and an academy for early career scientists, the knowledge hub as the technical backend, as well as participative opportunities. NFDI4Earth is open to promote common metadata standards, to support, motivate and enable the wider ESS community appropriately to move towards FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and Open Science Data principles. NFDI4Earth initiatives are in line with the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), an ecosystem of research data and related services; such as multidisciplinary projects FAIRCore4EOSC and FAIR-EASE. Thus, NFDI4Earth advances the cultural shift towards FAIR and open RDM.

The ongoing digitization enables the development of new methods for data-driven research and of large research infrastructures (RI) across the Earth and environmental sciences. The increasing demands for RIs to enable seamless data integration and visualisation requires the harmonisation and interoperability of data formats, and the use of agreed metadata standards. Especially for data intensive disciplines in geophysics and geodesy, disciplinary metadata and data standards are important and already in place and widely adopted which makes their integration in new RIs easier than for small and highly variable datasets from the long-tail communities.

In addition, it becomes increasingly relevant to make data discoverable in the internet (via their metadata) and to digitally connect research outputs (articles, data, software, samples) with each other and with the originating researchers and institutions – in unique and machine-readable way. The use of persistent identifier (like DOI, ORCID, ROR, IGSN) and descriptive linked data vocabularies/ontologies in the metadata associated with research outcomes are strongly supporting these tasks.

Research data repositories, especially domain repositories, are experts for this Domain repositories are digital archives that manage and preserve curated research data from specific scientific disciplines. The metadata associated with the DOI-referenced objects is specific for their domain and richer than generic metadata supposed to describe data across many scientific disciplines. Their metadata for data discovery is provided in machine-readable formats (XML, JSON) following international standards (e.g. DataCite, ISO 19115/INSPIRE) and include all information for the development of knowledge graphs. As such they are much more partners than opponents of RIs.

Data is only useful if you can get your hands on it. When you have mountains of data to wade through, you need the best, most efficient methods of finding precisely what you are looking for. The easiest way to look for a needle in a haystack is to use a magnet. A good search strategy is that kind of magnet, helping you find that needle of desired data in the haystack of countless sets!

Classical metadata schemes might not be sufficient to guide one to all relevant data sets. The name of the data creator or the year of publication might not be known. Many times data sets are linked to research papers but this does not simplify the search because research papers are just another haystack. A combination of keywords or title words are rarely unique and may yield numerous hits.

Using classical metadata and viewing long query result lists is time-consuming, but even with this method there is a risk of not spotting relevant data. Either one does not know the best keywords or the creator did not label the data set with the best keywords. This presentation makes suggestions on how to find geoscientific data better and gives examples of web based information systems.

Faults act as conduits for large-scale fluid movements, often hosting multiple circulation events within their brecciated structures.

In the Alps, particularly along the Penninic Frontal Thrust within the ‘Briançonnais Zone’, a mineral assemblage of calcite and hematite has been observed in the breccias of the High-Durance normal Fault System (HDFS). Recent geological investigations have utilized a multidisciplinary approach, including petrological analysis, geochemical examination of calcite (involving stable isotopes and clumped isotopes analysis), and U-Th-Pb dating.

U-Pb dating on calcite provided dates ranging from 5.3 to 2.3 Ma and Hematite (U-Th)/He dating from 13.3 to 0.2 Ma. All ages indicates the onset of transtensional fault activation and the transition from the previous compressional tectonic regime in the Middle Miocene with a westward migration of the extension. The onset of the HDFS extensional regime thus appears to be contemporaneous with the development of the fold and thrust belt of the western Alpine foreland.

Two isotopic signatures (Δ₄₇) of the calcites suggest an open fluid system with (1) crystallization temperatures around 130°C related to deep fluids and (2) a meteoric fluid signature (36°C) associated to a 1900m precipitation altitude, indicating that similar altitudes were present around 2 My ago. This coincides with the transition from a Mediterranean climate to a colder, glacier-dominated climate, leading to valley formation during this period.

Upper Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks anchored in the literature as greywackes are exposed in Saxo-Thuringia and represent the main sedimentary part of the Cadomian basement of the region with sedimentation ages between 540 and 570 Ma based on the youngest detrital zircon ages (e.g., Linnemann et al. 2000, Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ., 179, 131–153). Previous Nd model ages give a uniform old cratonic source of 1.5–1.9 Ga for the Neoproterozoic greywackes (Linnemann & Romer 2002, Tectonophysics, 352, 33–64). This study aims to re-examine the Cadomian greywackes of Saxony and adjacent areas by combining analytical methods, such as whole-rock Sm–Nd isotopic studies and detrital zircon U–Pb dating using LA-ICP-MS. The investigations have also been carried out comprehensively at locations not previously studied. Some Carboniferous greywackes were also sampled as a reference due to their similar appearance in the field and local uncertainties in their stratigraphic position. The new data are used to validate existing models of basin development and sedimentary provenance. The sedimentation of a large part of the Saxo-Thuringian clastic rocks along the periphery of Gondwana adjacent to the West African Craton in the Late Neoproterozoic could be proven. However, the youngest detrital zircons of around 490 Ma indicate that some units were deposited during the Late Cambrian to Early Ordovician and do not belong to the Cadomian rock units. Carboniferous samples show in addition Late Devonian zircon ages and Nd model ages younger than 1.5 Ga which points toward a different sedimentary provenance.

This talk presents radiometric ages and mineral sizes of detrital zircons and apatites representing six sediment samples from three different recent rivers of the eastern Erzgebirge: The Wilde Weißeritz, the Freiberger Mulde and the Müglitz. We took one sample from the upper and one from the lower reaches of each river.

The objectives were, (1) to find evidence for thermal, magmatic events in the apatites, (2) to record the U-Pb-spectrum of zircons for each sample, and (3) to improve insight into the transport behaviour and sediment composition of the studied rivers.

The apatites showed thermal overprinting of their U-Pb ages, which varied between ca. 306 Ma and ca. 328 Ma. Therefore, small, local thermal events seem to be more likely than one large event affecting the entire study area. The older ages are interpreted to represent the end of the Variscan Orogeny and the beginning of the post-Variscan magmatism. The younger ages are interpreted as later thermal overprinting by local magmatic events, possibly caused by heating events along the margins of the Erzgebirge Block at the beginning of the Permian magmatism.

The U-Pb-ages of the zircons represent the rocks of the hinterland of the specific rivers and show mainly Cadomian ages derived from the gneisses combined with (post-)Variscan ages from the igneous rocks. Therefore, the spectrum of zircons found at the sampling sites is dominated by the local rocks.

Interestingly, the detrital minerals analysed do not allow interpretation of very long sedimentary fluvial transport.

Recently, new age data have been published for the Variscan magmatism as well as for times of ore formation in the Erzgebirge (e.g., Breitkreuz et al., 2021; Burisch et al., 2019; Meyer et al., 2024; Leopardi et al., 2023; Löcse et al., 2020; Reinhardt et al., 2022; Tichomirowa et al. 2019, 2022). Förster and Romer (2010) wrote in their compilation on Carboniferous Magmatism that two major periods of magmatic activity occurred in the Erzgebirge. During the first period (327 - 318 Ma) most of the large plutons in the Western Erzgebirge were formed and probably also the volcano-plutonic rocks of the Altenberg-Teplice Caldera (ATVC) in the Eastern Erzgebirge (Förster and Romer, 2010). The second major period of magmatic activity was assigned by these authors to small subsurface granites and various subvolcanic rhyolithic dykes and microgranites (305 – 295 Ma). New high-precision dating of the major plutons in the Western Erzgebirge slightly shifted the proposed time interval for the first magmatic period (323-314 Ma; Tichomirowa et al., 2019). Based on new high-precision ages it was shown that the magmatic activity in the Western and Eastern Erzgebirge was diachronic and that the first volcanites in the Eastern Erzgebirge were already formed at ca. 322 Ma (Tichomirowa et al., 2022). We present new high precision age data for the second magmatic period from the Western and Eastern Erzgebirge and compare the age data of Variscan magmatic activity with the data for ore formation.

The early post-Variscan evolution of central Europe was characterized by the formation of numerous volcano-sedimentary Rotliegend (Late Carboniferous–early Permian) basins. Recent dating attempts in the Thuringian Forest Basin have shown that the precision and accuracy of zircon CA-ID-TIMS dating (< 0.1 %) is crucial to discriminate the sedimentation ages of successive formations. The correlation between different basins will be most successful by a combination of high-precision age dating with the existing extensive knowledge about biostratigraphic correlations.

Here, we present new zircon U-Pb CA-ID-TIMS data of three volcanic rocks from the Unkersdorf, Niederhäslich, and Bannewitz formations of the Döhlen Basin (Saxony, Germany) and of two tuff samples of the Manebach and the Goldlauter formations of the Thuringian Forest Basin (Thuringia, Germany). Our data indicate that all four formations of the Döhlen Basin were deposited during ≤ 1.8 Myr and are within errors coeval with the Manebach and Goldlauter formations of the Thuringian Forest Basin. The Niederhäslich Formation of the Döhlen Basin and the Manebach and Goldlauter formations of the Thuringian Forest Basin contain fossil-rich lacustrine horizons, which have been correlated to a variety of formations in other European basins through the use of insect, amphibian, or conchostracan assemblage zones. Our new data thus provide new absolute age constraints for different fossil assemblage zones, and thereby can be extrapolated to other basins in central Europe.

The Graissessac-Lodève Basin (southern France) contains a thick and very well preserved record of Late Carboniferous to Permian continental sediments. These sediments are remnants of a complex erosional history of the Variscan orogen and post-orogenic extension, as well as a record of the local geotectonic history of southern France. The use of original isotopic detrital zircon and apatite data revealed the provenance of the siliciclastic strata. The detrital zircon age populations and sandstone compositions in the Permian strata, which reflect the rapid exhumation and unroofing of the Montagne Noire dome, are determined by the ages and compositions of units forming the Montagne Noire metamorphic core complex to the west of the basin. The Cambrian to Archean zircon ages are most likely recycled detritus derived from the Early Paleozoic sedimentary cover and Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian shales that formerly covered the Montagne Noire dome. Ordovician detrital zircon ages may indicate orthogneiss units of the dome. The youngest detrital zircon suite, ranging in age from ca 285 to 320 Ma, reflects erosional products of Carboniferous to Permian granites of the Montagne Noire axial zone. The latter zircon population is absent from Carboniferous-aged strata, but was found throughout the studied Permian strata. These results suggest that the young granite suite was exposed during early Permian time, reflecting uplift of the southern Montagne Noire during post-orogenic extension. Detrital apatite data from the Permian strata show that the last thermal event in the hinterland of the Graissessac-Lodève basin occurred in the Upper Carboniferous.

By our DFG funded project “On sedimentation pattern of the eastern Canary Islands”, we are concentrating on two sediment archives, the dune sequences on Fuerteventura and the Vega sequences on Lanzarote. So called “Vegas” are dammed valleys which act as sediment trap since the damming. The vega sediments consist of redeposited (soil-)sediments from the slopes, volcanic material and dust deposits originating from the northern African continent. In those vegas well differentiated sediment layers can be recognised with alternating pale calcified layers (pcl) and reddish clay dominated layers (rcl). This alternation shows a recurring pattern within the profile. So far we interprete such a sequence of one pcl and one rcl as follows:

A massive deposition of silt dominated dust is followed by a period of de- and recalcification. At the same time, soil formation takes place on slope positions within the catchment due to more humid conditions. With the onset of aridisation, clay dominated material (> 80% clay) from the slopes is transported to the valley floor with a simultaneous increase in dust accumulation. The aridisation culminates in a next massive aggradation of silt dominated dust.

The transition from a pcl to a rcl above is characterised by a quartz and Zr minimum. Within the rcl layer the quartz and Zr contents increase continuously (due to increasing dust input) and reach its peak during the next massive dust event. Whereby massive dust events seem to be linked to terminations of African Humid Periods.

Microfossils as part of multi proxy analyses are a powerful tool to reconstruct environmental changes, sea level fluctuations and coastal development. In combination with datasets, deriving from sedimentological and geochemistry analyses it is possible to follow coastal evolution from open marine to coastal limnic environments. The method is also used in geoarchaeological studies, especially to present an active phase of an ancient harbour, but the infilling of a harbour basin can also use as geo-bio archives. Concerning the microfossil inventory, harbours are very similar to lagoons in habitat type and ecology due to their protected position. In harbour basins, eutrophication is common, caused by the input of human waste and the reduced exchange of water. This is reflected by a ubiquitous faunal association, adapted to temporary deficiency in oxygen. Often, the sedimentation rate is higher than in natural lagoons. Silting up of a harbour leads to the separation from the sea followed by a freshening of the water body with a characteristic freshwater fauna and an increase of organic matter during the final phase. This marked change in the faunal composition, including ostracod freshwater species and the rapid reduction of foraminifer species indicates the disconnection to the sea and the end of the harbour activity. In this study we present the Roman Harbour of Ephesos and the Hellenistic Harbour of Elaia regarding microfossil distribution, sedimentation processes, landscape evolution and human impact. The key difference between the two harbour sites are the various sedimentation rates and the human impact.

Due to their widespread use in high-tech products and processes, the rare earths and yttrium (REY) are nowadays considered as emerging microcontaminants in the environment. Accordingly, a good understanding of their biogeochemistry is highly relevant. Yet, the knowledge gap regarding the incorporation and fractionation of REY in biological and biogenic samples is still surprisingly large.

In contrast to marine and freshwater mollusc shells, only little has been published on REY in terrestrial mollusc shells. This is rather surprising as “Roman snails”, for example, are used for human consumption and considered a delicacy of the “French Cuisine”. The habitat of this land snail (Helix pomatia) extends over many countries in Europe. Its aragonitic shell precipitates from the snail’s mantle epithelium, implying that all REY incorporated into the shell must have been bioavailable to the organism.

We will present complete REY data for Helix pomatia shells from locations with different lithologies from several European countries. The shale-normalised REY (REY_SN) patterns of all shells show a light and/or middle REY enrichment relative to heavy REY. Furthermore, most samples show small positive La_SN, pronounced negative Ce_SN and slightly positive Y_SN anomalies. We will discuss these features and compare the REY_SN patterns with data of ambient substrate (rock or soil), plant samples and Cepaea snails, which are among the most widespread snails in Europe.

As a result of their widespread use in various high-tech applications, Rare Earths and Yttrium (REY) have become microcontaminants in freshwater systems. However, their biogeochemical behavior, particularly their uptake by aquatic organisms, remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the distribution of REY in different soft tissues and shells of freshwater bivalve A. anatina, along with REY levels in ambient water from the Danube River in Hungary and the Vistula River in Poland, as well as in their potential food sources. Regardless of the origin of the samples, all compartments of the mussels exhibit very similar shale-normalized REY patterns. Despite Gd contamination of the river waters from MRI contrast agents, no anthropogenic positive Gd anomalies were observed in any mussel sub-samples. This suggests that anthropogenic Gd from MRI contrast agents may not be bioavailable in freshwater, or that REY from ambient river water do not significantly contribute to the REY uptake of freshwater mussels.

Compared to ambient water, bivalves accumulate REY, particularly Ce and light REY. However, REY concentrations in mussels are generally lower than those in their potential food sources, with minor fractionation along the REY series, except for preferential uptake of La and Y. Comparison of shells and tissues does not indicate any major fractionation during transfer within the mussels or shell formation. Mussel shells, therefore, may serve as convenient indicators for environmental monitoring of REY, without significant interference from vital effects.

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR)is a unique environment almost 300 times bigger than the next biggest barrier reef system. One of the key questions about this system is what conditions allowed the formation of this environment. Given the influence of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) on modern reef environments, it was originally assumed that it was related to changes in SST. However, there is a lack of SST records for the late Pleistocene for the area around the Great GBR. We used TEX₈₆^H to produce a new SST record starting at 900 ka from ODP Site 820 next to the northern GBR. Before MIS 17, summer SSTs were as low as 26-24 degrees during glacials. While reefs can persist at these temperatures, reef expansion is limited by the cold conditions. Then, there is an increase in temperature around MIS 17. This is followed by a period of relatively of stable SST between MIS 17-13, with glacial summer SSTs above 27 degrees. This period matches the establishment of the GBR at MIS 17 (700 ka) and then the development of the permanent reef system around MIS 13 (500 ka). This period of relatively stable SSTs might have allowed the system to develop and expand within a narrow window ideal for coral Reef growth, even during glacials. Therefore, our research suggests that major steps in the development of the Great Barrier Reef system are linked to changes in the SSTs.

Oxygen isotopes (δ¹⁸O) from biogenic apatite are used for the calculation of seawater temperatures in paleoclimatic reconstructions. While conventional δ¹⁸O analyses by IRMS (isotope ratio mass spectrometry) requires sample quantities of more than 1 mg, in situ SIMS (secondary ion mass spectrometry) minimizes sample size and thus the risk of contamination of the primary δ¹⁸O signal. Despite this obvious advantage, there are some critical points that could influence the final δ¹⁸O values and their interpretation: (1) The conventional IRMS method exclusively measures the δ¹⁸O from the isolated PO₄³⁻ group of biogenic apatite (Ca₅(PO₄, CO₃, F)₃(OH, F, Cl, CO₃)). In contrast, SIMS releases the oxygen from all molecular groups and from organics. But, to what extent do these non-PO₄³⁻ bound oxygen isotopes bias the final δ¹⁸O values? (2) Thermometer equations are based on IRMS analyses. Are these equations also applicable to SIMS data? (3) Thermometer equations assume, that the δ¹⁸O of seawater signature is –1‰ or 0‰ (VSMOW) for ice-free or ice-covered oceans, respectively. These data are based on sub-recent glacial-interglacial cycles and the associated δ¹⁸O seawater signatures. Whether the oxygen isotopic composition of seawater has changed during the earth history is still under debate.

Clarification of these aspects is crucial for a reliable assessment of δ¹⁸O values and the calculation of seawater temperatures. For this reason, we compare δ¹⁸O data of recent shark teeth analyzed by IRMS and SIMS. Our sharks lived during documented seawater temperatures, ph-values, and δ¹⁸O signatures and are therefore the ideal subjects for our study.

The French sociologist Bruno Latour has repeatedly described humans as “earthlings” (terrestres) and has thus stressed the point that there is no alternative for us to chose from: we are bound to this earth and part of its system. This of course is not at all new. From Gaia to Jörd to Erda humans have felt a sound (and often: spiritual) connection to our planet. Lynn Margulis' and James Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis – thus being a scientific approach to describing earth as a living system – has also gained some spiritual fame.

There is nonetheless another perspective which has been vocalized by Alfred Wallece for instance: He was convinced that “man's body may have been developed from that of a lower animal (…); but … that we possess intellectual and moral faculties which could not have been so developed, but must have had another origin; and for this origin we can only find an adequate cause in the unseen universe of Spirit.” The German anthropological term "Mängelwesen" ("uncomplete being") goes very much along this line.

These two perspectives on man: pure earthling or moral & intellectual non-earthling can be seen as the gate poles to sociological anthropology. In my talk I would like to discuss in how far adopting the term “anthropocene” into sociological language might add to this very old discussion about the sociological positioning of man in the universe.

Earth scientists analyse the planet and, to a certain degree, the world using discipline-specific methodologies. Discipline-specific notions like 'deep time', 'plate tectonics', 'planetary boundaries', 'tipping points', or 'climate change' have philosophical connotations, as the history of geology shows. Hence, given that geoscientific notions are performative, as the debate 'Anthropocene an epoch or an event' exemplifies, geoscientists should consider geo-philosophical perspectives of discipline-specific notions.

The ICS/IUGS recently settled in favour of an ‘Anthropocene is an event’ concept, emphasising established practices of geological stratigraphy. Neither the foundation of the 'Anthropocene is an epoch’ concept (stemming from Earth System Science), nor the proposed GSSP is challenged scientifically. The primary difference between both concepts of a ‘geological Now’, i.e., of the Anthropocene, is whether a qualitative change of the Earth System dynamics occurs and how it is described in discipline-specific notions.

All concepts (event, episode, epoch) of a geological ‘Anthropocene’, describe a quantitative change of characteristics of the Earth System. The epoch concept recognises (a) a quantitative change (the Great Acceleration) in the Earth System is causing a qualitative change, i.e., the dynamics shift out of the Holocene configuration, and (b) a specific 'Anthropos' (people with affluent lifestyles of a specific historical time). The event concept refers to humans, from people of palaeolithic times to contemporary people, engaged in intensifying sociocultural niche construction.

Hence, concepts of an ‘isochronous planetary stage shift’ or ‘cumulative diachronous regional alterations’ associate different worldviews regarding human agency and prowess. Hence, the IUGS’s choice is geo-philosophical, and not simply geoscientific.

Despite rejection as a formal stratigraphic unit, the Anthropocene refers to a time during which global environmental change developed at unprecedented rate. At the heart of the Anthropocene concept is the dominance of the force of humanity in shaping the geology and biology of the planet. Its stratigraphic beginning was suggested to be based on the signal of the fallout of radionuclides from the 1950s nuclear weapons tests in lacustrine (lake) sediments. In this talk I will present a brief review of the Anthropocene formalization process, and, as a lake researcher, discuss possible future directions and challenges that emerge from using recent lacustrine sediments as Earth archives. We can also discuss other possible onsets and signals of a geological Anthropocene.

Der Beitrag soll am Vergleich von drei verschiedenen Thesauri (Gemeinsame Normdatei, GeoRef vom AGI, BGR-Thesaurus) Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede hinsichtlich der Begriffsbildung, Sacherschließung, der automatisierten Kartendarstellung und der Benutzer-Recherche mit geographischen Namen (Geographika) aufzeigen.

Immer mit Blick auf die genannten Thesauri werden folgende Kernfragen angegangen: Was besagt ein Geographikum in einer inhaltlichen Erschließung? Wie viele und welche Geographika werden für die Erschließung eines Dokumentes verwendet oder sind notwendig, insbesondere bei einem hierarchisch strukturierten Thesaurus? Welche ergänzenden Informationen sind entweder im Normdateneintrag oder im Katalogeintrag wichtig, hier vor allem geographische Koordinaten und ein zeithistorischer Bezug? Wie ist der Unterschied zur generellen bibliothekarischen Handhabe abseits eines geowissenschaftlichen Blickwinkels?

Besonders in den Fokus genommen werden koordinatenungenaue geographische Begriffe, d.h. solche, die mit der Angabe von Himmelsrichtungen oder Zusätzen wie „Region“, „Gebiet“ u.ä. gebildet werden. Hier ist ein Zuwachs zu verzeichnen, der entweder ein Bedürfnis der Nutzenden oder eine Schwäche der Erschließenden abbildet.

Ziel soll sein, einer automatisierten Visualisierung von Treffermengen auf Karten entsprechenden Typs oder anderen Darstellungsformen hinreichende Informationen bereitzustellen. Es soll erörtert werden, was dafür nötig ist und welche Hürden zu bewältigen sind. Eine erste Erkenntnis ist es, dass wegen der bei den drei Thesauri erarbeiteten und erkannten Heterogenität in Begriffsbildung und Sacherschließung mit Geographika ergänzend ableitbare geographische Zuordnungen im Katalogdatensatz (Koordinaten, TK-Nummern usw.) und Methoden künstlicher Intelligenz nötig sind, sowohl für eine treffgenaue Recherche als auch für eine automatische Kartendarstellung.

Die Evolution der Pferde, "Brückentiere" wie Archaeopteryx und das Schnabeltier, die Abstammung des Menschen, Darwin-Finken, die klassischen Evolutionsfaktoren der Synthetischen Theorie, Homologie und Analogie, Lamarckismus und Darwinismus - manchmal hat man den Eindruck Biologie-Schulbücher und Lehrpläne zur Evolution und Geschichte des Lebens auf der Erde sind den immer gleichen Inhalten und Beispielen aus den 1950er Jahren verhaftet. Am Museum für Naturkunde Magdeburg versuchen wir daher seit langem im Rahmen von Ausstellungen, Museumspädagogik-Programmen, Führungen und Vorträgen ein reicheres Bild zu vermitteln. Besonders unsere Sonderausstellungen aus eigener Konzeption mit den Titeln "ColorVision - Evolution der Farbigkeit" (2019/2020), "BioMinerale - Perlmutt, Spirale, Schale" (2021/2022), "Spuren im Stein - aus dem Zeitalter der Ursaurier" (2022/2023) und "Urzeitkrebse - Überlebenskünstler der Natur" (2023/2024) boten zahlreiche oft nur wenig populärwissenschaftlich verbreitete Beispiele zu unterschiedlichen Organismengruppen und aus verschiedenen Teilgebieten der Bio- und Geowissenschaften. Dabei war es uns ein Anliegen, auch komplexe und fachübergreifende Konzepte wie Biomineralisation, plattentektonische Zyklen und Klimawandel im Verlauf der Erdgeschichte, Methoden der Stratigraphie und Altersbestimmung, Massensterben und Recovery-Phasen, Auftreten und Verbreitung von evolutionären Neuerungen (key innovations), Ursprung und Evolution des Farbsehens und stammesgeschichtliches Denken (tree thinking) zu thematisieren. Der Beitrag veranschaulicht verschiedene Aspekte der Magdeburger Museumsarbeit als Anregung und Diskussionsgrundlage.

Museums show treasures. The public admires these and (hopefully) leaves with great respect for the collections. Many times it is not transported how much work, time and effort is behind an exponate.
The Jura-Museum in Eichstätt is one of five paleontological museums in the outcrop region of the Solnhofen Platy Limestone and dedicated to its fossils, including the Eichstätt specimen of Archaeopteryx and the Juravenator. The Museum is within walking distance to the visitor’s quarry at the Blumenberg, a fossil locality of world fame because the Berlin specimen of Archaeopteryx was found there. In the quarry, everybody can dig fossils legally. A similar approach exists in the GeoZentrum Solnhofen. Field trips frequently go to the site near Painten where the fossils on display in a nearby private museum and entertainment park are exposed. It is the combination of field trips to the fossil sites, maybe including digs, and museum pieces which greatly rises the respect for an interest into the fossils on display. This experience is frequently made in the Jura-Museum and increasingly implemented in lectures and field trips. At the same time, earth-science topics and geoscience disciplines can be addressed in multiple ways and like that generate a much better understanding of geosciences. This talk shows inhowfar transfer of knowledge about Archaeopteryx and the Solnhofen Platy limestones in the Jura-Museum is accomplished by the field experiences that can be offered there.

The TUNB project, conducted from 2014 to 2021, marks an important step in the geological 3D modelling of the North German Basin. Through the collaboration of the State Geological Surveys of the participating federal states and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, a comprehensive 3D model was created, comprising 13 geological horizons and important structural elements such as faults and salt structures. The model finds application, for example, as a basis for further investigations and planning in the subsurface, ranging from CO2 storage to the final disposal of radioactive materials.

The follow-up project, 'TUNB Velo 2.0,' extends this work by evolving the geological 3D structural model towards a parameterized volume model, with 'seismic velocity' as the key parameter. This enhancement allows the precise conversion of seismic data from the time domain to the depth domain, thereby correcting the apparent geometry of geological structures distorted by velocity variations. This allows for a more realistic spatial representation of the geological subsurface and paves the way for the creation of more accurate and detailed future 3D geological models in this region.

TUNB Velo 2.0 marks a significant step forward in the geological exploration of the North German Basin and is a vital tool for enhancing the precision and resolution of future geological 3D models. In our presentation, we will introduce the project and its history, summarize ongoing work, discuss key challenges, and highlight the expected benefits for future projects.

A harmonized regional 3D depth model of the subsurface for the North German Basin from Cenozoic to the base of Zechstein was developed from 2014 to 2020 in the framework of the TUNB project. In a next step, this model will be parametrized with a focus on seismic velocities (and optionally other parameters).

The seismic database in the former Eastern and Western parts of Germany differs due to different historical conditions (e.g. concepts of exploration and interpretation, availability of seismic equipment and computing power).

In the eastern part of the North German Basin (Federal States of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt) most of the velocity data were acquired in 2D-seismic surveys from the 1960s to the 1980s that focused on deep Permian reservoirs. Strata and structure of the Mesozoic were also documented, but were usually not an exploration target. Besides processing velocities and in a minor extent sonic logs comprehensive data from check-shots and vertical seismic profiles were documented for several hundreds of wells. Based on these heterogeneous data, interpretations concepts and velocity models were developed from the 1960s to the 1980s on local scales for detailed seismic surveys and on regional scales for Northeastern Germany.

The main goal of the ongoing project is to develop workflows to revitalize the historical data with modern methods and possibilities of 3D modelling to derive cross-country-wide harmonized and seamless 3D-velocity fields. These velocity models allow large-scale depth-time- and time-depth-conversions of geological 3D models and support upcoming seismic processing and reprocessing campaigns.

The TUNB model provides a 3D model for the North German Basin consisting of 13 lithostratigraphic units from Zechstein to Tertiary and numerous salt domes and fault systems. The aim of the project TUNB Velo 2.0 is to assign reasonable seismic velocities to the lithostratigraphic units. The resulting velocity model enables to convert information on a regional scale from time to depth domain and vice versa. Therefore, a 3D volume model is created from the 3D structural model and then parameterised with seismic velocities.

For Schleswig Holstein and Lower Saxony, Jaritz (1991) published a regional velocity study within the Tectonic Atlas (GTA) project that serves as the database for velocity modelling. The authors derived the velocities mainly from Vertical Seismic Profiling measurements as well as considerations of the regional geology. Their model covers 11 layers from Zechstein to Tertiary. For every sediment layer, maps display its surface velocity. The velocities can be calculated in depth using the surface velocities, an individual gradient for every layer and the dedicated depth.

Both Federal States use Aspen SKUA for region-wise velocity modelling. Close to the border, we harmonized the velocities to enable the creation of a consistent, trans-border model.

In this talk, we will provide insights in the processing of the database, the modelling methods in Aspen SKUA and show the resulting velocity distribution.

References:

Jaritz W., Best G., Hildebrand G., Jürgens U. (1991) Regionale Analyse der seismischen Geschwindigkeiten in Nordwestdeutschland. Geol Jahrb 45:23–57

Reliable geological models of the North Sea are essential for a robust assessment of subsurface potentials in this vital European economic region. While commercial and scientific surveys have effectively explored the upper 2 to 4 km, there is currently no well data reaching the base of the locally more than 10 km deep rift structures such as the Central and Horn Graben. This leads to considerable uncertainties in the regional seismic velocity model and thus in the depth-conversion of reflection seismic profiles. Our objective is to reduce these uncertainties in the German North Sea by integrating the abundant gravity data, offering additional constraints on both the geometry and petrophysical properties of deep basins. We present the results of 2D gravity forward modelling, which combines existing regional and global crustal models with the most recent structural model of the Paleozoic to Cenozoic sedimentary sequences. Density information is thereby derived from well logs, seismic tomography studies, and further literature implications. The calculated free-air gravity anomalies are then compared with the measured gravity field to assess the quality of the used crustal and sedimentary models. The insights gained will subsequently inform a more intricate inverse 3D modeling, resulting in a quantitative description of the geological uncertainties.

The new Dresden - Prague railway line is a Saxon vision. Since 2014, the Geological Survey of Saxony has been developing the geological 3D model on the basis of archive data and geophysical investigations.

In cooperation with the TU Bergakademie Freiberg (TU BAF) and the Czech geological survey, a cross-border model was built that illustrates the complex geological structures in the underground of the route corridor. As part of an INTERREG project, the model was presented to the public in a walk-through 3D room at the TU BAF.

When the planning task was assigned to Deutsche Bahn, the geological 3D model proved its worth as a basis for the first steps of exploration planning, regional planning and preliminary planning in combination with GIS.

The model will be updated as knowledge is gained during the explorations.

It is a real pilot project for successful cooperation between authorities, research institutions and the railway companies in using graphic datamangement and 3D-modeling.

Behördliche Genehmigungsverfahren für Projekte ab einer gewissen Größenordnung unterliegen in Deutschland seit einiger Zeit regelmäßig starker öffentlicher Kritik, z.T. durch die etablierten Umweltverbände, z.T. aber auch durch eigens gegründete Bürgerinitiativen. Dabei werden auch über die in den verschiedenen Verfahren vorgeschriebene Beteiligung hinaus auch die Möglichkeiten des Rechtsstaats immer häufiger genutzt, so dass behördliche Genehmigungen immer öfter durch die Verwaltungsgerichtsbarkeit bis hin zum Bundesverwaltungsgericht überprüft werden. Überspitzt könnte man formulieren, dass die Verwaltungsgerichte inzwischen zur obersten Genehmigungsinstanz in Deutschland geworden sind.

Dies hat insbesondere für die Genehmigungsbehörden zur Folge, dass bei "umstrittenen" Verfahren die verwaltungsrichterliche Überprüfung sinnvoller Weise schon im Verfahren mitgedacht und und bei der Formulierung der einzelnen Genehmigungen, aber auch der jeweiligen Begründungen und Abwägungen berücksichtigt werden sollte.

Dabei müssen z.B. bei Vorhaben, die Auswirkungen auf Menge oder Qualität von Grundwasser haben können, z.T. sehr komplexe Abhängigkeiten und Wechselwirkungen in einer für fachliche Laien wie z.B. Verwaltungsrichter verständlichen Sprache beschrieben werden. Gleichzeitig muss natürlich diese Beschreibung dem Juristen aber auch die Grundlage für seine Entscheidungsfindung liefern, also im Hinblick auf jeweilige juristische Problematik nachvollziehbar formuliert sein. Dies ist nur im engen Austausch mit juristischem Fachpersonal und weitestgehendem Verzicht auf geologisches Fachvokabular möglich.

Denn nur bei einer korrekten, für ihn verständlichen Beschreibung des Sachverhaltes kann der Richter Tatbestandsmerkmale prüfen und entsprechende Rechtsfolgen korrekt ableiten. Damit hat die geologisch-hydrogeologische Expertise - zielgerichtet und für Laien verständlich formuliert - eine entscheidende Bedeutung für den Verfahrensausgang.

Anpassung der Kommunikation an das Zielpublikum und Verzicht auf "Geologenkauderwelsch" erhöhen die Durchschlagskraft der fachlichen Argumentation!

The European Critical Raw Materials Act, which entered into force on 23 May 2024, brought a need for reporting of the critical raw materials projects by the Member States to the European Commission, using the UNFC.
In response to this need, the EU International Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Resource Management (EU ICE SRM – in establishment) has developed a UNFC Train-the-Trainer programme as part of the GSEU - Geological Service for Europe project activities. The goal was to train the experts from the European geological survey organisations (GSO) to apply the UNFC and further disseminate the knowledge they have acquired at the national level.

The training programme used a three-level approach:

Level 1 - General principles: the training designed for broad audience with diverse levels of knowledge on UNFC addresses related concepts, international reporting standards and their links to UNFC using practical examples;

Level 2 - User need specifics: designed for practitioners it builds up on Level 1 covering various cases. The course enables participants to apply UNFC classification independently;

Level 3 - Qualification: building up on Level 2 training and participants deepen their knowledge and are finely able to pass it on.
Each training programme level was structured within 2-day educational workshops and successfully held for the first time in April, May and June 2024 at the Geological Survey of Slovenia in Ljubljana. Over 30 experts from various European countries were trained by the skilled trainers from Finish, German, Austrian, Norwegian, Swedish, Czech, Hungarian, Slovenian and French GSO.

The United Nations Framework for the Classification of Resources (UNFC) is a generic tool that can be used for all types of resources, including anthropogenic resources. Compared to the primary raw material sector, the classification of resources is not common in the recycling sector. Therefore, we are working on a conceptual approach with seven stages to define, evaluate and classify a project and to summarize the results in a report. At the same time, we are working on a concept of how the UNFC can be used at national level.

The principle how the results can be combined will be shown by the case studies on the recovery of phosphorous from sewage sludge. Statistical data was used for a mass flow analysis (MFA), looking at the amount of sewage sludge produced, processed and treated for phosphorous recovery. The result of the MFA is visualized in a Sankey diagram. This approach helps to identify the viable projects in terms of circular economy and those that meet the criteria for phosphorous recovery. Based on that, it can be shown how much of the phosphorous is currently being recovered. In addition, specific projects along the recycling value chain were selected to apply the conceptual approach. This provides information on the level of confidence of the produced materials, the technical feasibility as well as the economic viability and environmental and social impact of the project. Overall, the results can be used to compare the projects and highlight the potentials and obstacles of the project.

Resources such as minerals and metals are essential raw materials for our daily lives. Yet, it is a long road (> 10 years) before they become available for the first time through mining. From basic scientific research to on-site prospecting and exploration to the technical, economic and legal challenges associated with the development, operation, maintenance and aftercare of a mine and/or processing plant, many experts from a wide range of disciplines are involved. The civil society is also involved in all these steps - whether because they are directly affected, have an interest in the project or the location of the action, or because they are involved in non-technical, administrative tasks. Thus, how can these different stakeholders and the great variability of detailed knowledge about project specifics and its location communicated in a form that is equally understandable to all?

This presentation will outline the various steps of the process using the UNFC (United Nations Framework Classification for Resources). It will discuss a) how and where the different steps a resource project goes through can be visualised in an understandable way, b) whether and how this information used for communication outside one's own bubble and c) what information used for this purpose. To this end, publicly available information is analysed across the phases of a project and from different temporal perspectives. The results presented in the form of UNFC figures building the basis for further discussion.

The goal of the energy transition is to enable future generations a fair and just opportunity to live without bearing the costs of the doings of previous generations. This transition, marked by international commitments to tripling renewable energy capacities and advancing critical mineral intensive technologies, underscores the crucial role of managing critical minerals in discussions on and beyond climate justice. Achieving inter- and intragenerational justice necessitates extending the dialogue to include responsible resource management practices both now and in the future. Scholars of intergenerational justice argue that the current SDG-oriented approach to resource management falls short. But even within this comparatively weaker framework, implemented resource management practices often fail to meet sustainability criteria due to economic pressure.

This keynote will dive into some the underlying reasons for the shortcomings of existing frameworks and explore potentially promising approaches to addressing intergenerational justice in resource management while ensuring economic stability and the well-being of current generations. By showcasing some of the work of the Resource Management Young Member Group (RMYMG) within the UNECE Expert Group on Resource Management, diverse perspectives and approaches from youth will shed light on their efforts to transform our current resource management practices to better meet intergenerational justice. RMYMG has published a Guidebook on Intergenerational Action in Critical Minerals Management, a White Paper on demand-side considerations in CRM management and has advocated for the inclusion of resource management in global policy forums. This keynote serves as an introduction to the fresh insights and approaches of the youth.

Global population growth and prosperity will result in increased raw material- and energy consumption. Countries such as China, India and Russia likely achieve today’s European living standards and related raw material and energy consumption by 2060. OECD (2019) states that the extraction of ores will likely increase globally from 2.6 Gt (1970) and 9 Gt (2019) to 20 Gt (2020), which cannot be covered by recycling alone. In addition, the German energy transition requires additional raw materials, black-start capable gas power plants, large underground energy storage sites and energy imports, aimed to balance fluctuating wind- and solar energy, among others, and replace the current 77% primary energy derived from gas, oil and coal. The responsible use of the geological subsurface for the extraction of raw materials and energy as well as energy storage locally and abroad is thus essential for a success of the planned German energy transition “Climate neutrality 2045" announced by the Federal Government (2021), aimed to counteract anthropogenic climate change. While Germany imports metals and energy and continuously loses applied know how of mining and refining industry being offshored, China, India, South Korea, Japan and the USA are pursuing different strategies to keep know-how and secure supply chains. The subsurface storage of CO2 (CCS) has been implemented by neighboring countries such as Norway and Denmark to reduce emissions, while the technology is still being discussed in Germany. This contribution discusses some challenges of energy- and raw materials supply, driven by increased anthropogenic climate change and environmental footprint.

Quantifying the feedbacks between tectonic processes in the lithosphere and climatic processes in the atmosphere is an overarching goal in Earth-Systems research. Long-term cooling during the Cenozoic has been linked to the growth of mountain belts, which enhanced erosion, chemical weathering, organic-carbon burial and drawdown of atmospheric CO₂. Conversely, it has been proposed that the cooler and more variable climate of the late Cenozoic led to increased topographic relief and erosion. However, the topographic and erosional response of mountainous topography to late-Cenozoic climatic cooling culminating in Quaternary glaciations, and the potential couplings between these processes, remain poorly constrained. Advancing our understanding requires the development of tools that record erosion rates and topographic relief changes with higher spatial and temporal resolution than the current state-of-the-art, and the integration of newly obtained data into next-generation numerical models that link observed erosion-rate and relief histories to potential driving mechanisms. Within the ERC-funded COOLER project, we are building a new ⁴He/³He thermochronology lab in Potsdam, developing numerical modelling tools that incorporate the latest insights in kinetics of thermochronological systems to make sample-specific predictions, coupling these tools to glacial landscape-evolution models to enable modelling of real landscapes with real thermochronology data as constraints and, finally, studying potential couplings between glacial erosion, relief development, and tectonics in selected field areas.

Species richness of Madagascar is uneven, with the highest species richness and endemism found on the steep great escarpment of the eastern margin. The unevenness is further observed within the escarpment region in that phylogenic turnover shows both latitudinal and altitudinal variations. Madagascar has remained almost tectonically inactive since the last rifting with Seychelles-India such that the fundamental topographic framework has been in place since Cretaceous. The high diversity and endemism of Madagascar challenge the conventional notion of uplift-driven speciation, which argues that speciation is driven by the formation of diverse habitat types. To investigate the causal mechanisms of the diversity at the eastern escarpment, we constructed landscape evolution models, tracing the dynamics of habitable land surface patches throughout model simulations.

The landscape of a great escarpment is dynamic and the heterogenous retreat of the escarpment and the water divide makes the geographically isolated drainage basins expand landward at different rates. Within the escarpment region, habitat patches dynamically appear, disappear, fragment, or merge at a frequency that scales with the retreat rate. The models predict that escarpment retreat fosters habitat patch dynamics such that patches isolate, or reconnect with a frequency on the order of a million years, appropriate for allopatric speciation. We conclude that the spatially heterogeneous but temporally steady retreat of the Madagascar escarpment since rifting has sustained allopatric speciation over evolutionary timescales resulting in the observed high diversity and its spatial pattern of eastern Madagascar.

River networks function as conduits for water and sediment transport across Earth's landscapes, while the elevated boundaries separating these networks, termed drainage divides, determine the partitioning of material fluxes among adjacent basins and establish physical barriers that restrict biotic dispersal. Variations in tectonics, climate, and lithology can alter the position of these divides, influencing water balance, erosion rates, sediment flux, and the geographic connectivity and evolutionary trajectories of biota. This study focuses on the overlooked temporal evolution of 'wind-gaps' (i.e. old river valleys transformed into in-valley drainage divides by drainage capture events) as an unstudied but key capture-related landform hypothesised to be fundamental in shaping post-capture-related landscape evolution. Using numerical landscape evolution modelling, our findings challenge the prevailing perception of wind-gaps as static landforms, revealing previously unrecognised mobility, with wind-gaps serving as mobile divides that reshape entire landscapes. Moving wind-gaps can trigger cascading morphological and erosional changes beyond an initial capture event, initiating a domino effect of captures of lateral tributaries to the pre-capture river. This can repeatedly alter the connectivity of riverine ecosystems, driving complex but predictable patterns of biotic diversification and leaving abiding imprints in the sedimentary and landscape records. Wind-gap propagation offers a mechanistic framework that opens avenues for deciphering complex linkages over time between landscape evolution, sediment dynamics, and biodiversity.

The application of the triple oxygen isotope system (¹⁶O-¹⁷O-¹⁸O) provides a new tool for stable isotope paleoaltimetry. Here, we use triple oxygen isotope (Δ’¹⁷O) geochemistry to determine the past elevation of the Eocene Kettle Metamorphic Core Complex (MCC) (Washington, USA). We analyze quartz-muscovite pairs from mylonitic quartzites from the MCC-bounding shear zone. δ¹⁸O values range from 4.8 to 11.3‰ (muscovite) and 6.8 to 14.6‰ (quartz) and Δ’¹⁷O values (λ_ref = 0.528) range from -0.054 to -0.077‰ (muscovite) and -0.052 to -0.071‰ (quartz). The calculated quartz-mica oxygen isotope equilibrium temperature averages 390°C ± 90°C, which in line with observed quartz microstructures. Compared to existing muscovite hydrogen isotope data (δD = -101 to -138‰), both approaches, δD-δ¹⁸O and δ’¹⁸O-Δ’¹⁷O, indicate oxygen and hydrogen isotopic exchange between syntectonically formed minerals and a meteoric-derived fluid within the Kettle shear zone. We find that the shear zone minerals are in isotopic equilibrium with a fluid having a δ¹⁸O_water value of ~-14‰, which likely reflects high-elevation inland precipitation. Combined with a low-elevation δ¹⁸O_water estimate (-6 to -8 ‰) from the Eocene near-coastal Chumstick Basin (WA, USA), the δ¹⁸O_water estimate translates into a paleoelevation of 3-4 km for the Eocene Kettle MCC. This is consistent with δD-based elevation estimates of 4.2 km and underscores the robustness and complementary nature of the two different isotopic approaches.

Chemical weathering in Southeast Asia is increasingly recognised as being a core control over global climate, particularly the cooling of Earth during the Cenozoic. This is particularly true during the Neogene when chemical weathering fluxes from the Himalayas decreased through time, meaning that silicate weathering in that region was not the primary control over falling CO₂ levels in the atmosphere. Instead, chemical weathering of sediments eroded from the arc and ophiolite terrains in Southeast Asia may be critical. Recent study of marine sedimentary deposits offshore Eastern New Guinea now show that there is a trend towards more intense chemical weathering in that region over the last 20 million years and especially since 6 Ma. Collision between New Guinea and Australia primarily commenced around 15 Ma when erosion from uplifting arc terrains made the sources especially reactive. Since that time uplift has created a large island with increasing erosion from continental Australian sources, reducing the reactivity. We estimate that sediments eroded from New Guinea maybe approximately 2 to 3 times as effective at consuming of CO₂ as their equivalents in South Asia. Over shorter, orbital timescales there is more erosion from accreted Australian crust during interglacial times when the stronger rainfall was able to penetrate deep into the New Guinea Highlands than during glacial times when erosion was more focused on mafic rocks along the coast. Chemical weathering intensity follows global climatic cycles with generally less weathering during interglacial warm periods, likely related to faster transport driven by high fluvial discharge.

Seit über 300 Jahren wird Kaolin in Sachsen abgebaut. Ehemals allein zur Herstellung von Porzellan wird heute Kaolin auch in der Papierindustrie, Farben- und Lackindustrie und vielen weiteren Anwendungen verwendet. Primärkaolin in Sachsen entstand maßgeblich während des Paläogen und Neogen durch tropische Verwitterung aus feldspatreichen felsischen bis intermediären magmatischen Gesteinen oder klastischen Sedimentgesteinen. Diese Verwitterungskrusten waren einst weiträumig in Mitteleuropa verbreitet, wurden jedoch meist erodiert. Die Primärkaoline sind nur dort erhalten, wo sie durch tektonische Bewegung versenkt und überdeckt wurden.

Wie alle staatlichen geologischen Dienste ist auch der sächsischen dazu verpflichteten Karten der oberflächennahen Rohstoffe (KOR50) zu erstellen und regelmäßig zu aktualisieren. In früheren Umsetzungen dieser Karten wurde ein theoriedominerter Ansatz zur Erstellung der KOR50 für Kaolin gewählt. Dabei wurde von einer flächendeckenden, ungestörten Verbreitung von Kaolin liegend zu Schichten des Paläogen ausgegangen. Notwendige Vorbedingungen wie das Vorhandensein geeignete Ausgangsgesteine oder die Abtragung der Kaolinkrusten wurde dabei vernachlässig.

Für die aktuelle Überarbeitung der KOR50 für Kaolin wurde ein stärker evidenzbasierter Ansatz zur Erstellung der Rohstoffpotenzialflächen gewählt. Als Arbeitsgrundlage zur Überarbeitung diente vor allem die sächsische Bohrdatenbank. Außerdem wurden Abstandsregeln von Bohrungen festgelegt, sowie weitere Bedingungen welche den Erkundungsgrad einer Rohstoffpotentialfläche bestimmen. Mit Hilfe von SQL-Abfragen konnte die Anzahl der zu sichtenden Bohrungen stark reduziert werden. Anhand dieser ausgewählten Bohrungen konnten zahlreiche neue Kaolinvorkommen identifiziert werden. Insgesamt wurde 854 Kaolinpotentialflächen an den aktuellen Kenntnisstand angepasst, neuentdeckt oder ehemalige Flächen verworfen. Außerdem wurden durch Interviews mit Kaolinabbaubetreibenden Firmen Kriterien bestimmt, die in einen weiterentwickelten Bewertungsschlüssel für Kaolinvorkommen einflossen.

Calcined clays are promising sustainable alternative materials for cement production. By calcining natural clay minerals (usually 600–900 °C), they become reactive and can be used as a partial replacement for Portland clinker in cement production. This results in a lower carbon footprint and reduced energy consumption in the production process.

Replacing cement clinker with so-called supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) such as fly ash and blast furnace slag has been done for several decades. Calcined clays have also been used, mostly in the form of metakaolin, which significantly improves the strength and durability of mortar and concrete. However, its limited availability and high cost restrict its practical application to a few specialist applications.

In comparison, 2:1 clay minerals such as illite or smectites are more widely available and economically attractive due to their lower costs. Recent research has explored the use of calcined 2:1 clay minerals as SCM, but their properties and efficient production are still not fully understood.

In the present work, different clays from Germany are characterized and tested as potential calcined clay. Besides conventional calcination using a rotary kiln, fluidized bed calcination is used to improve the reactivity of the calcined clays while being less time-consuming and therefore more energy efficient.

Rohstoffvorkommen und deren Gewinnung spielen in Sachsen seit Jahrhunderten eine große Rolle. Erzen und Spaten kommt dabei eine besondere Bedeutung zu, begründete doch vor allem der Bergbau auf Silber den Reichtum Sachsens. Die Aufgabe, das Wissen über Bodenschätze und Bergbau zu sammeln und zu erhalten, wird im Freistaat von verschiedenen Institutionen wahrgenommen, z.B. vom Geologischen Dienst Sachsens als Teil des Landesamtes für Umwelt, Landwirtschaft und Geologie (LfULG), vom Sächsischen Oberbergamt (OBA) und vom Sächsischen Bergarchiv.

Bereits 2012 beschloss die Sächsische Staatsregierung die 1. Sächsische Rohstoffstrategie mit dem Ziel, die Rahmenbedingun­gen für den heimischen Bergbau hinsichtlich wirtschaftlicher und nachhaltiger Aspekte zukünftig aktiv zu gestalten. Ein entscheidender Faktor um sich diesem Ziel zu nähern, ist die Verfügbarkeit von Daten zur Geologie, den Lagerstätten und den Rohstoffen. Diese Daten sind jedoch geschichtlich begründet großräumig über verschiedenste Institutionen, Ämter, Behörden und ehemalige Bergbaubetriebe mehrerer Bundesländer verteilt. Um sächsische Rohstoffdaten für Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft und Fachverwaltung in Wert zu setzen, startete 2013, aufbauend auf einer Initiative und umfangreichen Vorarbeiten des Geokompetenzzentrums Freiberg e.V., das Projekt ROHSA 3 (Rohstoffdaten Sachsen). Mit Ressourcen des Freistaates Sachsen wurden durch ein Projektteam des LfULG und des OBA aus über 20 Archiven bisher über 10.000 Metadaten von Dokumenten recherchiert und erschlossen, 45.000 Dokumente gesichert und gescannt sowie 700 Wismut-Bohrungen, 220.000 geophysikalische und 250.000 geochemische Punktdaten digitalisiert. Um diesen wertvollen Datenschatz nutzen zu können, wurde eine neue Onlineplattform erstellt, mit deren Hilfe direkt auf die Daten zugegriffen werden kann (www.rohsa.sachsen.de/suche).

Die Sächsische Staatsregierung verfolgt mit ihrer Rohstoffstrategie unter anderem das Ziel, die Entwicklung des gesellschaftlichen Rohstoffbewusstseins zu unterstützen. Das Rohstoffbewusstsein ist im Unterschied zum Umweltbewusstsein in der Bevölkerung weit weniger präsent, obwohl auch die Rohstoffwirtschaft eine wesentliche Lebensgrundlage der menschlichen Gesellschaft darstellt.

Das Sächsische Oberbergamt unterstützte dieses Anliegen mit der Erstellung des Sächsischen Naturwerksteinkatasters. Für die wichtigsten Natursteinlagerstätten im Freistaat Sachsen soll das Kataster die potentiellen Natursteinnutzer (staatliche und private Bauherren, Architekten, Planer, …) auf den Gebieten der Denkmalpflege, des Gesellschafts- und Industriebaus sowie im privaten Bausektor zur Auswahl einheimischer Materialien anregen.

Gleichzeitig ist das Kataster auch dafür gedacht, den Bekanntheitsgrad sächsischer Natursteine in der breiten Öffentlichkeit zu erhöhen. Dafür wurden neben wesentlichen bauenden Lagerstätten auch einige historische, nicht mehr bebaute Lagerstätten in das Kataster einbezogen, da sie für eine Reihe sehr bekannter Naturwerksteine stehen, wie zum Beispiel der Chemnitzer Zeisigwaldtuff, der Zöblitzer Serpentinit oder der Wildenfelser Marmor.

Das Kataster beinhaltet einen umfangreichen bauhistorischen Abriss zur Werksteinnutzung in Sachsen, einen Überblick über die Geologie der Naturwerksteine in Sachsen, eine Abhandlung über die Bestimmung und den Aussagewert ihrer petrophysikalischen und gesteinstechnischen Kennwerte sowie eine Übersicht über weitere historisch bedeutsame sächsische Baugesteine.

Der spezielle Teil des Katasters beinhaltet für 34 Gesteine/Steinbrüche Datenblätter, in denen Daten zu den Steinbrüchen und den gesteinstechnischen Kennwerten der Gesteine, aber auch makroskopische und mikroskopische Gesteinsbeschreibungen, der Mineralbestand, zur Verwendung der Gesteine, den Referenzobjekten und zum heutigen Zustand der Steinbrüche zusammengestellt sind. Das Kataster ist mit einer Vielzahl hochwertiger Fotos illustriert.

The North German Basin (NGB) is known for its capacity for geological storage applications. However, due to limited data availability, the data first needs to be collected from different sources and further compilation and processing is needed. This study's primary step is to compile and refine public data, fostering transparency for further scientific exploration. The comprehensive database encompasses five key aspects: geological features (e.g., reservoir thickness), litho-mineralogical characteristics, petrophysical properties (e.g., porosity), surface and risk factors (e.g., fault zones), and DAC-related considerations (e.g., geothermal energy availability).

The secondary step involves adapting and validating a holistic ranking methodology for evaluating sites suitable for direct air capture (DAC) technology in the NGB region. This method incorporates ten distinct criteria for initial site screening and selection. The criteria are divided into five classes and assigned scores based on quantitative or qualitative assessments. Then weighting factors were applied to quantify the relative importance of each criterion. They are determined by analytical hierarchy analysis method, which leveraging pair-wise comparisons to minimize inconsistencies and mitigate bias in expert opinions from a broad research background.

The method is tested on the 91 identified potential sites for underground CO₂ storage, with 4 offshore North Sea traps identified for their favorable geological characteristics and 2 other onshore sites, a gas field in the west of Bremen and a saline aquifer in the north-east of Berlin. Future site-specific studies should be carried out on these four traps.

Our study investigates the subsurface storage of CO₂ in saline aquifers, specifically in the Volpriehausen Sandstone beneath the German North Sea. We conduct numerical simulations using the TOUGH3 simulator with the ECO2N module. The reliable estimation of dynamic storage capacity for CO₂ storage is a challenge due to the lack of measurements for process parameters in the model area.

Therefore, we estimate some parameter ranges from literature and OpenData for Volpriehausen Sandstone from Denmark and the Netherlands. Based on these parameter ranges, sensitivity analyses are conducted to identify important rock parameters. A comprehensive dataset of parameters and corresponding simulation results is generated using Latin Hypercube Sampling.

This sample is used to perform sensitivity analyses and to train surrogate models using machine learning approaches. This allows us to identify relevant process parameters. At a constant injection rate, the injection pressure is affected by the permeability and pore compressibility of the reservoir rock, as well as the reservoir and injection temperature. The storage efficiency is affected by the relative permeability of the reservoir rock. The predictions of the surrogate models are illustrated with 3D simulations.

This research has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement “LEILAC2 - Low Emission Intensity Lime and Cement” GA 884170.

In the German national annex of Eurocode 8 (EC8) "Design of structures for earthquake resistance", the influence of local ground conditions on earthquake impact has to be taken into account. Generally, the shallow structure is classified as a combination of one of three geological subsurface classes and one of three subsoil classes in the national annex. For the determination of the subsoil class, the rock mass down to a depth of 30 meters is considered. For the determination of the geological subsurface class, the structure below 30 m depth down to several hundred meters is considered.

As part of the recent update of the national annex of EC8, the map of geological subsurface classes, which is a part of the code, was revised. For the new map, the methods of geological 3D modelling were used for the first time. Based on data from the geological 3D models of the federal states Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia, the thicknesses of Quaternary and Tertiary sediments were determined first. Based on these thicknesses, the geological subsurface classes "R" (rock), "T" (shallow sediment basins), and "S" (deep sediment basins of more than 100 m thickness) were assigned. The geological subsurface classes were presented on a grid with a cell size of 1 km x 1 km. Compared to the previous assignation of geological subsurface classes, in which geological structures of less than 20 km extension or diameter could not be considered, a significantly higher spatial resolution was achieved.

Semi-automatically generated maps highlight the variability of the stratigraphic thickness of the Helvetic Kieselkalk. This geological unit is exposed in different Helvetic nappes over more than 300 km along the Swiss Alps and it is commonly extracted to produce hard rock aggregates for the national road and railway infrastructure. The deposition of this unit onto the European (Helvetic) continental margin during the Early Cretaceous coincided with normal faulting, which lead to strong lateral thickness variations.

The Python and MATLAB approach used to create the thickness maps was developed as part of a Switzerland-wide mineral resource mapping project and has been applied to the geological vector dataset GeoCover. The approach is designed to rapidly generate large-scale map overviews of the stratigraphic thickness, for which the construction of 3D models would be very time consuming.

Our results highlight an increase in thickness along the Alps from 100 m in the west to 1000 m in the east. The depositional thickness was certainly modified by the subsequent burial, folding, and faulting during the formation of the Helvetic nappes. Two discrete thickness jumps indicate the presence of three sedimentary basins in east-west direction with a half-graben-like geometry. These thickness jumps coincide with present-day nappe boundaries and suggests that the inherited basin geometry influenced the nappe formation.

The large-scale thickness maps and the improved undestanding of the paleogeography and tectonic evolution are used to rapidly identify mineral occurrences with favourable geometry. These can, when sufficiently investigated, be considered in land use or resource safeguarding plans.

Structural geologic modeling and subsurface process simulation are important tools in geoscience. Various software solutions—ranging from manual to semi-automated—are available in this field. These include proprietary and open-source software, often covering specific components of a larger workflow. Consequently, comprehensive workflows typically combine different software solutions and custom-built tools to address specific scenarios.

However, these workflows frequently require substantial manual adjustments and are tailored to particular applications, making reuse challenging without significant modifications by skilled professionals. In addition, it is not always possible to access all parts of a workflow, reducing transparency and the flexibility to modify components.

To address this issue, within the project WBGeo, supported by BMBF through the programme “Geoforschung für Nachhaltigkeit (GEO:N), Digitale Geosysteme: Virtuelle Methoden und digitale Werkzeuge für geowissenschaftliche Anwendungen”, we aim to develop a workbench for digital geosystems. This workbench enables the creation of complete workflows by integrating three core components: structural geologic modeling, numeric process simulation, and visualization as well as the interfaces between these components. A visual scripting environment using an underlying domain-specific language provides intuitive access for users with limited technical expertise. At the same time, the flexible modular structure ensures that experienced users have full access to the underlying code, allowing them to customize existing or add new components as needed.
This structure increases reproducibility, transparency, accessibility and comparability of workflows, as a multitude of components are available in a single framework.