Structural Geology and Mineralogy of the Alps

GEL 491A Summer 2012 Field Journal

Edited by Mitzi Holdren

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A SHORT TALE OF ALPINE GEOLOGY 1

TRIP JOURNAL 9

DAY ONE 10 DAY TWO 12 DAY THREE 15 DAY FOUR 22 DAY FIVE 24 DAY SIX 29 DAY SEVEN 33 DAY EIGHT 39 DAY NINE 43 DAY TEN 47 DAY TEN - CONCLUSION 51

EXPERT TOPICS 53

ALPINE GEOGRAPHY, GEOHAZARDS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 54 AUSTRIAN MINING HISTORY 58 ECLOGITES 61 GLACIERS 64 MINERALS OF THE SWISS ALPS 68 MOLASSE BASIN 69 MOSE PROJECTS’ EFFECTS ON LAGOON ECOLOGY 71 STRATIGRAPHY OF THE NORTHERN ALPS 73 STRATIGRAPHY OF THE SWISS ALPINE REGION 74 UNTERHERVORSCHIEBUNG 79

CLOSING COMMENTS 82

PHOTO FUN 85

A Short Tale of Alpine Geology by Uwe Richard Kackstaetter, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Geology, Department

Of Earth & Atmospheric Science, Metropolitan State University of Denver

1. A recipe for a great geologic challenge Take some oceanic and continental crust and cover liberal with sediments. Converge crusts to the point of overthrusting both sediments as well as tectonic plate segments. Throw in a rift system ever now and then and subduct the whole rift. Make mountain ranges so high that they depress the crust creating deep basins. Fill basins with erosional material, move basins and restack, then repeat process several times. Move sediment and crustal systems against each other shoveling them like a deck of cards. In the process overturn a few cards and make sure that the shuffling is random and does not repeat itself anywhere along the length of the mountain range. Make sure that the central mountains look different than those on the fringes and variance is observed from east toward the west. At the end rework systems with some hefty glaciation events, covering otherwise exposed strata. Inundate landscape bounteously with heavy vegetation, except for lithologies above timberline. Then send in some geologists to decipher the stratigraphy and the structure of the system in precise chronological order while keeping most of it hidden from view. In order to debunk such a complex system, the alps have become a proving ground for internationally renowned geologists. Yet these mountains are far from unique in their geology. Many mountain ranges around the world could tell a similar tale, such as the Himalayas and the New Zealand Southern Alps. However, the majority of mountains lack one feature unique to the Alps: a relatively high population density. Therefore much research has been dedicated to the Alps in Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Hungary in order to protect the population from geologic hazards, make projects possible that serve the common good in Europe (Alpine tunnels, hydroelectric projects), and mitigate an ever increasing infrastructure through such a mountainous environment.

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Figure 1 - Tectonic activities and overview during the Acadian and Alleghanian orogenies. Modified after Marshak (2011), Matte (2001) and Ziegler (1990).

2. A historic overview The tale of the Alps starts during the later Paleozoic. During the Devonian period Africa (Gondwana) begins to move toward the Laurussian supercontinent, a conglomeration of northern North America and greater Europe (see figure 1). A small island arc, the Avalonia islands, is incorporated into the eastern part of the North American area of the Laurussian continent, causing numerous faults and regional metamorphism. Associated subduction results in scattered magmatic activities still evident in scattered outcrops along Connecticut to northern Maine and Newfoundland. During the Carboniferous to Permian periods, Gondwana closes the gap in the Paleo-Tethys ocean, causing the formation of the Appalachian mountains on the North American side of Laurussia. In Europe the chronologically simultaneous Hercynian-Variscan mountain building events contribute to the formation of a proto alpine mountain range (see figure 1). Metamorphism and plutonic igneous activity from this time are evident in the crystalline interior Alps of Austria.

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At the beginning of the Mesozoic era renewed rifting occurs, resulting in the creation of the Hallstatt-Melitia Ocean. Deep sea sediments and slope turbidity lithologies are present in this ocean. During Middle and upper Triassic a large continental or alpine shelf (Alpiner Schelf) had formed with coral reefs (Korallenriffe) at its flank depositing large amount of carbonate lithologies which will later turn into the Northern Calcareous Alps (Nördliche Kalkalpen). The Bohemian massif (Böhmische Masse), now located in northern Austria and the southern Czech Republic, is the remnant of the Variscan orogeny forming the continental landmass at the end of the alpine shelf (see figure 2). A small upward indentation in the graphic near the center of the Alpine shelf signals the rise of a new rift zone which will develop eventually into the Atlantic ocean.

During the end of the Jurassic the indicated rift zone has fully developed creating the Penninic ocean (Penninischer Ozean) as indicated in figure 3. An extension of the rift will give rise to the Atlantic ocean, separating Europe and Africa from North and South America. During this process the area of the Northern Calcareous Alps (Nördliche Kalkalpen) now called Easter Alpine Shelf (Ostalpiner Schelf) is moved in the opposite direction toward the Hallstatt-Melitia Ocean. Here a convergent plate boundary has formed resulting in the Early Alpine collision zone. Lithologic bunching as well as early alpine metamorphosis (Frühalpidische Metamorphose) are the consequence. On the other side of the rift adjacent to the Bohemian massif (Böhmische Masse) the Helvetic Shelf has formed. Again, both shelves are environments for calcareous deposition, while the continental slopes at the rift zones are home to turbidity current deposits identified as flysch (see figure 3).

Figure 2 - Alpine region tectonics during the Middle and Upper Triassic Periods. Modified after Hoffmann et al. (2002) and Lagally et al. (2009).

Figure 3 - Alpine region tectonics during the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous Periods. Modified after Hoffmann et al. (2002) and Lagally et al. (2009).

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During the closing of the Hallstatt-Melitia Ocean and the rifting of the Penninic (Atlantic) ocean, the small Apulian plate is driven toward the Vardar oceanic crust in the Neotethys ocean. The resulting subduction wedges a small sliver of the Meliata plate within the subduction zone, causing the Apulia plate to split into the North Apulian and South Apulian crusts separated by a left-lateral strike slip transform boundary. The split Apulian plate will cause different Alpine orogenic events in Austria and Hungary opposed to the mountain building in Switzerland and France (see figure 4). Beginning with the Upper Cretaceous convergence is accelerated and the Penninic Ocean rift zone is actually subducted below the area of the Gosau Basin (Gosaubecken) causing nappe stacking in the early Alps. A nappe (French for tablecloth) stack is defined as a large sheet like lithologic body having moved several kilometers from its original position, often folded and overturned in the process. Due to the massive build-up of continental crust coupled with subduction, a deep sea trough forms adjacent to the emerging mountains, causing a steady stream of turbidity deposits known as flysch. Carbonates are still being deposited on the Helvetic Shelf (Helvetischer Schelf) while the far reaches of the shelf margin give rise to the Franconian Alp (Frankenalp) in Southern Germany, now located between Nürnberg and Munich (see figure 5).

Figure 4 - Splitting of the Apulian Plate in the greater Alpine region during Late Jurassic. Modified after Stampfli & Borel (2002).

Figure 5 - Alpine region tectonics during the Upper Cretaceous Period to Eocene Epoch. Modified after Hoffmann et al. (2002) and Lagally et al. (2009).

plastered unto the Northern Calcareous Alps (Nördliche Kalkalpen) and the weight of the mountain range forms a basin between the two continental crusts (Molassebecken). Sediment is shed into this basin and generates the sedimentary deposits below Munich. The Molasse basin system fluctuates between freshwater and marine depositional environments. Further movement of the crust will fold part of this Molasse basin against the Alps a little later. A major strike-slip faulting in the central Alps occurs referred to as the infamous periadriatic lineament (see figure 6). The final chapter in the creation of the European Alps is quaternary glaciation. Six ice ages were identified in the region: Biber ice age (2.5 mya), Donau ice age (1.0mya), Günz ice age (0.78 mya), Mindel ice age (0.5 mya), Riß ice age (0.38 mya), and the Würm ice age (0.13 mya). Each episode was responsible for various moraines, river beds, and terraces covering the majority of the geology in Southern Germany and Northern Italy. Loess deposits in the Voralps contributed to today’s thriving agricultural successes in the fringe-areas of the Alps. 3. Deciphering Alpine geology How is the complexity of European Alpine geology studied or even taught? To illustrate, a small representative area within the Northern Alps, the so called Allgäu region was chosen. Figure 7 indicates the geologic map of the area as currently mapped. Note that the actual high Alpine mountains in the area are situated within the Carbonate Alps unit. Before the actual stratigraphy can be decoded, a Nappe stack diagram is created (figure 8). The illustrated nappe stacks are in order of appearance rather than geochronological. Each nappe comes now with its own stratigraphy. However, these stratigraphies may overlap or can be overturned, depending on Nappe tectonics. To make matters worse, several nappe fragments may be slammed together in a small, regional convoluted system called a mélange. Students and professional geologists are advised to be familiar in recognizing nappe stacks through their associated stratigraphy and to order the system correctly into geochronologic relevant systems. As within familiar stratigraphic units, lateral changes within each unit exist and need to be recognized and accounted for, such as changes from East to West or North to South. This takes a good background knowledge of the local geology, the ability to make inferences from observations as well as keen observational skills. The later is especially important when outcrops are sparse and thick vegetation prohibits continual investigation of geologic strata.

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During the Oligocene Epoch the continental crust of the Frankonian Alp (Frankenalb) and the Bohemian Massif (Böhmische Masse) had advanced and collided with the Alpine region causing a continental to continental collision putting an end to the Flysch ocean trough. As indicated in figure 6, lingering heat energy (Wärmeaufstieg) from the previous subduction caused additional metamorphism and crystallization (Tauernkristallisation) within the central Austrian Alps. Tectonic nappe stacking continues on a subdued scale. The flysch zones are now

Figure 6 - Alpine region tectonics during the Oligocene Epoch. Modified after Hoffmann et al. (2002) and Lagally et al. (2009).

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Figure 7 - Simplified geologic map of the Alpine Allgäu region, Southern Germany. Modified after Schwerd et al. (1995).

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Figure 8 - Nappe stack schematic and associated stratigraphy of selected units in the Northern Calcareous Alps. Modified after Doppler et al. (2004), Egger & Schwerd (2008), Lagally et al. (2009), Scholz (1995), and Schwerd et al. (1995).

4. Bibliography DOPPLER, G., FIEBIG, M., FREUDENBERGER, W., GLASER, S., MEYER, R., MINER, TH., ROHRMULLER, J. & Sammu), K. (2004): GeoBavaria — 600 Millionen Jahre Bayern. —92 S., München (Bayer. Geol. L.-Amt). EGGER, H. & SCHWERD, K. (2008): Stratigraphy and sedimentation rates of Upper Cretaceous deep-water systems of the Rhenodanubian Group (Eastern Alps, Germany). — Cretaceous Research, 29: 405-416, Amsterdam. HOFFMANN, TH., MANDL, G. W., PERESSON, H., PESTAL, G., PISTOTNIK, J., REITNER, J., SCHARBERT, S., SCHNABEL, W. & SCHONLAUB, H. P. (2002): Rocky Austria — Eine bunte Erdgeschichte von Osterreich. —2. Aufl., 64 S., Wien (Geol. B.-Anst.). LAGALLY, U., GLASER, S., JOBE, E., LOTH, G., MURR, A., SCHMID, H., SCHMID, W., SCHWERD, K., SIEBLITZ, S. & TEIPEL, U. (2009): Geotope in Schwaben. — Erdwiss. Beitr. Natursch., 7: 160 S., München. MARSHAK, S. (2011): Earth: Portrait of a Planet, W.W. Norton MATTE, P. (2001). "The Variscan collage and orogeny (480 ±290 Ma) and the tectonic definition of the Armorica microplate: a review". Terra Nova 13: 122–128. SCHOLZ, H. (1995): Bau und Werden der Allgauer Landschaft. —2. AO., 305 S., Stuttgart (Schweitzerbart). SCHWERD, K., HUBER, K. & MÜLLER, M. (1995): Tektonic und Herkunft der Gesteine in der Tiefbohrung Hindelang 1 (Allgäuer Alpen), Geologica Bavarica, 100: 75-115, München. STAMPFLI, G.M. & BOREL, G.D. (2002). A plate tectonic model for the Paleozoic and Mesozoic constrained by dynamic plate boundaries and restored synthetic oceanic isochrons. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 196: 17-33. ZIEGLER, P.A. (1990). Geological Atlas of Western and Central Europe (2 ed.). Shell Internationale Petroleum Maatschappij BV. ISBN 90-6644-125-9.

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Trip Journal

“A journey is best measured in friends rather than miles.” ~ Tim Cahill

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Day One - June 11, 2012 Munich, Germany to Innsbruck, Austria

By Will Schaar

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Stop 1: Farm country, field – How do geologists do their work if they can’t see any rocks? Dig Core drilling Exposures near rivers/creeks Mitzi talked briefly about the Molasses Basin and how it has collected sediment from the Alps since their inception. Nearly 6,000m of sediment over an area the size of Texas gathered over millions of years. Environmental Hazards – 66 day rule and the highly protected recharge areas (biodegradable ways to take care of and manage the land)

Stop 3: Neuschwanstein castle, Raina led the way back behind the castle. Extreme castle fraud and lots of slugs Limestone tested positive for CaCO3, dolomite was found, along with chert pebbles formed from continental slope debris that was churned up during tropical storms near reef zones during the Jurassic. RAIN and SUN, but mostly RAIN! Carbonate Alps (3 types/facies), all seen in the Matterhorn. Continental slope pushed on top of land and then pushed on top of itself Stink Carbonates – filled with organic matter and actually stink Stinging Nettles – grow near muddy or nitrate rich soil, angels anyone? Slug vs. Snail, battle of the century. Slug wins. Which came first? The rock or the tree? You decide. More RAIN!

Stop 2: Stop to take pictures of the local river and see exposed rocks, most likely a fault since the river changes direction so fast.

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Stop 4 &5: Stopped to take pictures of scenery and recharge with candy and gelato. Stop 6: Innsbruck Youth Hostel filled with young kids participating in a tennis tournament. The rooms were tight and there were funny smells according to the girls. Most of the class stayed in to work on their projects, but a small contingent went to explore the city and find the Golden Roof. Unfortunately, it was under construction.

Day Two - June 12, 2012 Innsbruck, Austria to Bozen (Bolzano), Italy

By Mitzi Holdren

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A strange thing happened in Europe. For some reason an overcast day didn’t carry with it the overtones of melancholy. Instead, a sense of unknown adventure was heavy in the air. We loaded up the vans and made our way to the Koefels Valley for a beautiful drive through the clouds. It was evident there was a steep topography in the area. Everywhere you looked there were waterfalls and landslides. Our first expert topic was by Armando on frictionite. Landslides fall vertically so rapidly, they metamorphose rock. This only happens two places in the world; the Alps and the Hymalayas.

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Frictionite Landslide

Met some snow going to see garnets

The pass was closed, so we had to turn around

Where the sidewalk ends; suspended in a sea of fog

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We couldn’t see the Tauren Window on this trip either, but things began to brighten as we neared Bozen

What better way to end the day than with an authentic Italian dinner? Mangia!

Day Three – June 13, 2012 Bozen (Bolzano), Italy to Alle Laguna, Italy

By Aaron Vickles

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Today we are leaving Bolzano. In the parking garage, Dr. K gave a speech about a famous mountain climber who climbed all the high peaks in the alps and holds incredible time records for reaching the summits. He holds the Mt. Everest record as well. He always hiked with his brother until a tragic accident happened when they got caught in a storm and his brother died. He has a museum in Bolzano in his name for his great accomplishments.

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At our first stop we found a bunch of orthoclase in a rock outcrop (quartz). There was a rock slide fence set up that Dr. K joked “was put up to keep geologists from stealing”. We also saw a dike in the rock and crystallization in some of the rocks.

At our 2nd stop, in Dolomite National Park, Cole gave his speech on Dolomites.

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After Cole’s speech, we all voted to catch a lift up to the top of Karer pass-Passo Carezza and check out the area.. When we met back up with the group, we saw that Will had found fossilized shells and metamorphosed Dolomite (crystallized dolomite), which is rare.

The view from the top was absolutely beautiful! When we arrived, Dr. K gave us an hour to hike around.

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The whole group (besides Lauren and I) went to the left to check out the dolomite face and search for rocks, fossils or anything that would catch a geologists eye.

What Lauren and I found was one of the most amazing views of the surrounding alps and far beyond. We hiked the mountain as fast as we could to get as much in as an hour allowed. Lauren decided that it was only appropriate to verify that this was indeed Dolomite. So a test was conducted and the results proved that it was indeed dolomite

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Back in the vans we moved out in front of dark skies that were following us. When we stopped in a small town to see if they had a post office (don’t ask), Will and I played house, at a playground, while we waited. We went through the town of San Pellegrino but didn’t stop for water.

We finally reached a small grocery store and decided to buy some food for lunch. This was where all hell broke loose! We had to eat lunch in the vans because of the heavy rain. We pulled the vans next to each other and handed food back and forth as we tried to make sandwiches and divvy up the snacks. It was chaos, to say the least. So began black van vs. gray van.

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We drove on through Dolomite National Park for many a miles and eventually out of the park. We drove through one of the longest tunnels I have ever been in. Dr. K is STILL driving. What a champ!

Arrived just outside of Venice in a town called Alle Laguna. After we had to stop for the pharmacy. Aahhhh the pharmacy! To the hostel, and then to dinner is how our evening ended.

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But not before we spotted jellyfish in the harbor at dusk.

Quotes of the Day

“ I cant see any clouds with all

these mountains in the way.”

- Will

“ I miss Kansas.”

- Aaron

“That’s so Italian.”

- Dr. K.

“ Moderate your velocity.”

- unknown

“ Meat is reverse gravity.”

- unknown

If you could be one mineral, what would you be?

Aaron – Corundum

Armando – Platinum

Cassie – Fluorite

Cole – Crystallized Dolomite

Dr. K – Beryl

Laura – Quartz

Lauren – Topaz/undecided

Mitzi – Jadeite

Olivia – Chalcopyrite

Preston – Silver

Raina – Azurite

Will – Cumintonight

Day Four – June 14, 2012 Venice, Italy

By Raina Baldwin

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The class took the #12 bus to Venice for a truly unique experience of architecture, art, and history. It was so exciting to walk around the city and to weave through the intricate alleyways and over decorative bridges. Often islands would come to an end and canals block the way. One could either sit beside the canals contemplating the fascinating city, or wander back for more adventure and surprise. The city was built with canals rather than roads and these canals still function for the transportation of goods and tourist sightseeing. The class was lucky enough to take a ride through the canals by the classic wooden gondolas. It's been a family business since 425 to be a Gondolier. The oldest son inherits the boat and license; he must train for 2-3 years and study a variety of languages to get the license and earn a living. The class hopped on two long black gondolas and saw Venice from the perspective of the canals. It’s the way the city is meant to be seen. We were shocked to see how accurately the Gondoliers could maneuver the boats around narrow corridors and tight corners. It was so quiet and relaxing to be on the water and smell the salty fresh sea air. Everyone's eyes were full of wonder as we passed alongside old colorful buildings with clotheslines draped between them, flower boxes hanging out of windows, and rustic wooden doors only inches away from the rising tide. Beneath narrow arches of hand carved bridges the water ripples reflected off the inner walls. It was like floating through a dream back in a time full of romance and passion.

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Venice was founded on March 25th, in 421 AD when people were fleeing from successive waves of Hun and Germanic invaders. The 118 islands were built in the marshy Venetian Lagoon: a fluvial delta extending from the Alps. Trees were sharpened and planked vertically into the ground into 300 feet of alternating sands, silts, and sediments. More planks of wood were laid horizontally on top because the wood preserves in saline water. Dolomite, which is very resistant to erosion and has already been chemically altered by water, was then added above the planking as a base layer for buildings. Most of the city was rebuilt in the 15th century following a major flood. The small city is designed to hold a large population with several story buildings and passageways only a few feet wide. There aren't many roads within the city and definitely no place where two average cars could fit side by side.

All around the city there are many fresh water wells: many are closed off, but there are some people can still actively drink from. A fascinating question comes up when discussing these wells. How can a drilled well produce fresh water when the entire city is formed on Pleistocene sediments in salt water?

These wells can exist because rainfall brings fresh water that's less dense than the salt water. Tiny pockets of fresh drinking water can be drilled an accessed. There are over 100 of these confined aquifers around the city and there is some speculation if the releasing of these aquifers could lead to the eventual sinking of the city. It would be quite the disappointment to see Venice submerge, as there is no other place in the world that is so unique and fascinating.

Day Five – June 15, 2012 Venice, Italy to Milan, Italy

By Armando Calderon

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“Compassion, humor, willingness and being open will get you through in life.” –Laura Kackstaetter

Morning Lecture (Day started out at Venice, headed out to Milan) Dr. K explaining the geology of Venice based on the PBS Movie. Based on the movie, Venice was settled by people seeking to escape the German barbarians. Around 6,000 years ago the lagoon was dry land and was part of the Italian mainland. With the end of the ice age, water and sediment poured down from the Alps creating small islands. The Venice lagoon was a perfect place to settle because it was difficult for the barbarians to invade such difficult terrain. At around 400 AD, people began to settle, and because the sediment was so saturated, they had to figure out a way to build for their city. As a result, Venetians decided to use long logs into the sediment down about 15 feet until they reached more stable sediment. Next, they would lay down marble which was resistant to weathering. Finally, they were able to lay bricks over the marble to start building extraordinary architecture. One of the first buildings that were built under the method was the cathedral at San Marco. Venetians had to dig down about 15 feet until they reached fine compacted sand. As a result of their unique style of constructing their city, they are known as “a city build on petrified forest”. 8:30 am Packed up the van, headed out of the beautiful city of Venice and off to Milano, Italy. But before we head out to Milano, we will be headed to the beach to observe and analyze the depositional environment surrounding the Adriatic Sea.

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9:41 am Driving by bamboo….The journey continues, didn’t know they had bamboo in Europe!!! 9:45 Italians’ are really bad drivers! Drivers here tend to just try and pass you by switching lanes regardless if there is oncoming traffic! Black Van says landscape reminds them of Nebraska, there are fields of bamboo and other vegetation. Just hit traffic and drove five miles to skip ½ mile of traffic but got to see great Italian homes, group deciding on which one we will live in when we come back. 10:30 Just called Preston John for some reason…. 11:20-2:00 Arriving at the beach….. This beach is not like any other beach. It is tranquil, quiet and a natural oasis that provides lush vegetation. As we walked towards the beach we were surrounded by wildlife, and native lush green plants that welcomed us into the delta.

Dr. K’s lecture… The composition of the sand… By just looking at the sand one can determine that there are sources of fine silt and mica which was deposited from the carbonate Alps. Also, we can see some evidence where reefs grew against the coast over time due to tides. Sea Shells found throughout the beach was from the Jurassic Period. Based on the depositional environment, the river delta is an excellent source for oil because of the organics that was once deposited in this environment. By looking at the sand, we can see shell bands.

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As we walked towards the ocean, we observed that there was a large difference in the tides during the day and night, the shelf extended out for at least a mile and was very shallow. There were very low waves and the shelf remained about the same elevation. Sea shells and limestone pebbles demonstrate that it was once a coral reef. Preston, Aaron, and Mitzi walked for at least 1 ½ mile out to sea!!! If they walked any further they would reach the coast of Africa!! Throughout the day, we collected crabs, small fish and other marine samples.

We caught a mama crab and her son!

Will and the temporary aquarium.

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After we collected samples we decided to sit back and soak up some sun.

2:00 Time to pack up and observe the area surrounding the beach. The area looks like a salty marsh. The Mediterranean Sea is known for its salinity which is 39%, one of the highest salinity content in the world. The reason for such a high salinity is because there is a great amount of water entering into the bay but nothing coming out which results in a high concentration of salt. As a result, with a concentration in salt, there is a higher evaporation rate which results in the semi-arid environment. Sediment samples from below the deep seafloor of the Mediterranean Sea, which include evaporate minerals, soils, and fossil plants, show that about 5.96 million years ago in the late Miocene period the precursor of the Strait of Gibraltar closed tight, and the Mediterranean Sea, for the first time and then repeatedly, partially desiccated. 5.6 Ma ago the strait closed one last, final time, and because of the generally dry climate conditions, within a millennium the Mediterranean basin nearly completely desiccated, evaporating into a deep dry basin bottoming at some places 3 to 5 km (1.9 to 3.1 mi) below the world ocean level, with a few hyper saline Dead-Sea-like pockets. Around 5.5 Ma less dry climatic conditions allowed the basin to resume receiving more fresh water from rivers, with pockets of Caspian-like brackish waters getting progressively less hyper-saline, until the final reopening of the Strait of Gibraltar 5.33 Ma with the Zanclean flooding

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2:30 Packed up the vans and headed onto Milano, Italy!!! 3:30 Driving to Milano was amazing!!! We got to see beautiful castles along the way and vineyards. The scenery in Verona was like taking a step back in time. 4:25 How peaceful, the whole van is sleeping! 5:53 We are starving and out of food!!!

6:30-9:00 Finally got to the hostel in Milano after intense traffic. Now its time to eat and enjoy the night! The food was amazing; I think everyone was pleased with how the food turned out

Day Six – June 15, 2012 Milan, Italy

By Cassie Shenefelt

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After the morning lecture the group of us decided to explore the sights and history of Milan. The first stop was the Da Vinci Museum where as a group we explored some of Da Vinci’s greatest inventions as well as a natural history of manufacturing, boating , and aviation.

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There was some very interesting stuff in there including a Foucault pendulum which measures the movement of the earth. According to some of the students which came early and went to the Deutches Museum in Munich, there is a much larger one there. Almost as impressive as the items in the museum was the actual building of the museum which had a large courtyard that included roman ruins, and the building inside had a very intricately painted ceiling .

The group decided to go see the Duomo, the famous cathedral and plaza in Milan. This cathedral was unlike anything I had ever seen, it had intricate carvings all over the outside walls and beautiful towers all around. The cathedral was free to go in, and unlike San Marco in Venice, was not very busy. We decided to go inside and explore. The outside said no pictures inside the cathedral but since I do not listen very well I took pictures just like every other person. The first thing I did inside the cathedral was go back to my catholic roots and make a donation to light a candle for prayer for my family. I then wandered around the cathedral and admired the stained glass windows and hand carved statues of saints. The plaza around the Duomo had many high end shops but also some statues of our main man, Leonardo Da Vinci.

After the Duomo the group decided to split up, most of the group went back to the hostel to rest up before our next day of travel but some of us decided to go explore the sights, since we no longer had to go to the opera. This group included Lauren, Aaron, Cole, myself, Armando, Will, and for a little bit, Preston, we gathered a map and decided to point out all the places we wanted to see over lunch. We grabbed lunch off the main strip which we figured would be cheaper, quieter, and more authentic, the place was a little Panini shop which had decent food and a delicious desert (Nutella Crepe anyone?). Preston enjoyed lunch with us and told us he would meet us in the center of town for dinner (he never did) and he left us to fend for ourselves. After lunch we made our way to the subway to navigate to our first stop, one of the many public gardens in the city. We made it to two separate gardens in the city with hopes of finding the observatory and aquarium but never did. The gardens, however, did not disappoint. They were lush green gardens and despite the traffic around they were quiet and serene, one garden even had ruins from the Romans.

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While navigating the subway we decided to visit the main train station. All the buildings in Milan were so beautiful we figured the center of travel had to be a pretty sight too. The building had high arches and some pretty carvings, this stop allowed for a quick bathroom break and regrouping from the hot day. The touristy map we had showed some places at the far ends of town; a business district and an arch near there. We decided to go see these places. The business district had an interesting skyscraper which would fascinate anyone even if they weren’t into architecture. The skyscraper looked like a swirl, almost like rolling paper and pulling it to a point.

We were never able to find the arch we were looking for and ended up exploring a part of Milan that was very authentic . We found a small market which seemed to have the entire neighborhood out and about, women were selling clothes and fruits and vegetables and the men seemed to sit around talking business. This gave me the feel that I was truly immersing myself in the Italian experience. Once we gave up finding our way to the arch, the group decided it was time to head back towards the center of town and take another break since we walked around for about an hour or so without shade. We headed back to the train station and found the main center of town, which I later learned is known as the historical district. This area included the main city gate of Milan, a large fountain, and the Arco della Pace (arch of peace) . I later researched the history behind these landmarks and it is truly fascinating.

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The main city gate of Milan is known as Porta Sempione. This gate is a newer structure dating back to the 19th century, but the original structure dates back to the roman times. The gate is part of a larger structure known as Sforza Castle which dates back to the 15th century. The arch of peace was built during Napoleonic rule in 1807. This arch was meant to mark the road Strada de Sempione which connects Milan to Paris, and is still in use today. After seeing the castle and the arch, we decided to head over and get dinner.. We went to a few places which weren’t serving dinner, but eventually found a nice restaurant on a side street. This restaurant was the nicest place I had eaten in on the entire trip. The food was delicious and the wine was flowing. The meal was pricier than we anticipated but well worth it. I had a salmon linguini, which tasted freshly caught. I had some tiramisu for dessert, which was super delicious. After dinner the group made our way back to the hostel where we met up with the rest of the people on the trip. We told them about our day and sat around laughing. Overall it was an awesome day.

Morning Lecture The floor of the hostel is made from black slabs of gabbros which includes blue specks of labradorite. The Po Valley is in North-Western Italy. This valley was created by a combination of compression and extension faults caused by the Alps to the north and the Apennines to the south. These 2 separate mountain ranges cause many problems as they compete for space. The Alps are older and higher but are more weathered than the Apennines which are the youngest mountains on the planet (Quaternary in age). The Apennines were created by a sever thrust fault from the Adriatic subducting directly under the European plate. This sever thrust fault creates many earthquakes which have sporadic epicenters caused by the lithospheric plate getting stuck in subduction, this subduction is also the cause of the volcanism seen off the coast of Italy on the outlying islands. This zone is very active moving apart at 1-4mm per year which could be the cause of Venice’s problem of sinking. Surrounding lakes are mostly alpine lakes. Lago di Guardia is the largest lake in Italy; it is located between Brescia and Verona as well as Venice and Milan. The lake is a moraine created by glaciers from the last ice age. A little further away is another large alpine lake known as Lake Lugano in Switzerland. This lake has an interesting climate with a Mediterranean climate in an alpine setting. This lake is mostly human geology with a dam at one end caused by a landslide.

Day Seven – June 17, 2012 Milan, Italy to Zermatt, Switzerland

By Preston Purviance

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Morning Sunshine The day began with recollections of misadventures from the previous night, glories that now have transcended to defeats. With the optimism for this expedition you must also welcome some pessimism as to appreciate the opposite. Around the breakfast table hung a distinct smell of Milan’s nightlife that hung heavy on our breath and shown apparent in our demeanor. Sleep last night seemed futile in the hot and muggy environment of the hostel we graced with our presence. Our previous lodging in Mestre/Venice had set the standard for quality and space. The conditions we endured in Milan seem to fill the metaphorical half empty glass, quite “hostile.” The day’s first battle was for key number 112 C that somehow worked its way under my mattress. To quote Mrs. K., “Fiddlesticks.”

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To the Autostrade We loaded the vans and venture out on to Italy’s Autostrade. As we proceeded no one articulated any sentiment for the city we just left. We were headed to greener pastures of alpine terrain. Our destination is a country that has managed to remain neutral in conflicts and battles between countries that also lay claim to patricians of land on their shared continent. A place of vast geologic beauty, not easily rivaled anywhere else on this planet, systematically worshiping the sun with elliptical certainty, a place where the Autostrade becomes the Autobahn and where our feet will be our carriage. As we headed north the natural barrier that divides Europe begins to rise from the horizon, faint and distant towering ghost grew higher on the horizon. We stopped at the political border that separates the country we were bidding goodbye so we could abide our destination countries laws, though we found out taking pictures of the automobile portal into the mountainous country is in fact breaking it. We reconvened in our diesel powered chariots and begun our ascent into Switzerland. U-shaped valleys became visible; the valley bottom the Autostrade had been following was replaced by a vast lake and its tributaries cascading down cliffs from elevated sources above the eastern and western horizons. The straight and wide road was replaced by narrow and winding asphalt transport veins nestled closely to the slopes and cliffs on the passenger side. The view to the west was a majestic lake occupying both Italy and Switzerland, spanning the political border between. The low hanging state of the “Black Van Crew” was mirrored by the quiet sounds of self defeated lyrics of country musician Merle Haggard. Songs from the Western United States about down low mornings that some of our troop could temporarily relate to. The irony of listening to American music in Europe seemed to weigh heavy on me; the fact that Americans who can relate to country music European ancestors left Europe no more than 500 years before, becoming a mixture of heritages extending across a vast “new world” bringing traditions and lifestyles from their home land that we now make pilgrimages to in effort to connect with our roots. That musical traditions were brought from the continent we were at present travelling through, and they have evolved to something very American. The passengers began to perk up as we meandered deeper into the mountainous region. The beauty of the lake and its steeply sloped confines made it almost impossible to feel anything but pure exhilaration as this was only a peak (yes that’s a pun) of what we were going to be exposed to in the coming hours and days.

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Lake Lugano, Switzerland

The valley dominated by Lake Lugano began to open up, and the lake grew wider as ventured on a more northwest bearing then previous to a bridge spanning the lake from east to west with a channel for marine crafts below. The road was leading us to obvious signs of civilization. The town of Lugano was lined with mostly modern structures displaying logos of high fashion retailers in the store front windows. Expensive sports cars cruised down the streets and occupied the parking spaces. Eventually we found a parking garage near the center of town where our impromptu classroom lay by the shore.

First impressions of Lugano set the standard of beauty in Switzerland, only to be recalculated hours later. As we walked through a park by the reaches of Lake Lugano it became obvious to the trained eye that glaciers had shaped the landscape of the valley. Hypotheses begin to develop about the origin, and age of the body of water we had traveled so far to experience. The air felt significantly cooler and drier than our last two stops, seemed an alpine but hospitable climate. The flora of the location cemented thoughts about the odd climate; palm trees growing side by side with evergreens, well manicured green grass and shrubbery that seemed as out of place as the palms at this elevated altitude. We all walked at our own pace taking in and processing the beautiful geology there. We convened at a point extended out into the lake. On one side of the natural pier was a tributary stream that fed cold, fresh water to the lake. On the opposite side was a rock wall by the shore, facing the beautiful lake sprawled before us. We were delivered a lesson about the glacial past of the region. We posed theories of transgressional and recessional movements of glaciers that carved the valley and dammed up and now confines present day glacial run-off in a human controlled lake. The front range of the Alps, we learned, is dominated by limestone formations and will fizz when subjected to acid tests, as would much of the rock on the south eastern boundary of the Alps due to over thrust of marine sedimentary formations on top of the continental basement rock. To the to the north and north-west the crystalline systems of the Alps have multiple over thrust, containing Amphibolites, Gabbroic Schist’s with garnets, Pyroxene, and Hornblende. Those formations are high above our present location in the calcareous Front Range of the mountains. We were educated about the seemingly strange climate and flora of the area, a mixture of alpine and tropical/Mediterranean species. We ate lunch as Dr. K turned over the floor to Lauren for her expert topic on glaciers. Lauren told us about an imaginary line divides the Alps into the eastern and western provinces, defined to the south by nearby Lake Como in Northern Italy and to the north by Lake Constance on the border of Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. She shared her knowledge on why the valleys of the area and throughout the Alps are often U-shaped, carved very slowly by glaciers dictated by the law of gravity and victim to seasonal and climatic changes. She added to Dr. K’s lecture telling about the knap stacks of the region and their differences in other parts of the orogenic belt. The remainder of the time spent was filled with swimming in the warm waters of the lake, finding and skipping some appropriate rocks, feeding the habituated and aggressive swans, trolling for rock and mineral specimens in the delta of the nearby tributary while finding time to chase the fish sunning themselves in the shallows of the cool water.

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On the Road Again

We left Lugano and headed west along a slower, but even more picturesque route; taken for its superior scenery and as an alternative to the Autobahn. I failed to notice the border when we had travelled back into Italy; we were crossing its farthest north reaches travelling through spectacular peaks, and viewing cliffs that looked to rival El Capitan. We were seeing massive waterfalls one after the next, fed by steady rain in the summer and the snows that expand glaciers in the winter only to melt and produce run-off in the spring and summer. The road we traveled was starting to seem all too familiar; wide and sometimes divided thoroughfares while crossing valley floors, only to once again become exceedingly and increasingly narrow, and often rough neglected two lane mountain roads cut into the steep terrain.

The closer we got to our destination commercial tour bus and heavy truck traffic increased, and they seemed to move over for no vehicle. This became apparent when encountering a tour bus in a narrow section of a gorge. I felt very bad for Mrs. K. The bus forced her to get so close to the rock wall on the passenger side that the side view mirror hit the rock and was slammed with great force into its retracted parking position. Somehow there was no damage to the van and no injuries, credited to her skill behind the wheel. The further we drove the vistas became more and more awe inspiring and the waterfalls did not cease to descend off the often vertical pitch of cliffs. We began to see glaciers high up on the mountain faces and filling the previously shaped alpine bowls. We travelled through a wide valley that had been potentially filled with and left flat by deposition of rocks and sediments scoured from high above then dropped by the ice sheets that carved the land during the last glacial maximum, not so long ago.

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We finally saw a sign stating that we had been redelivered to Switzerland. The roads once again became wider, predicatively to accommodate the traffic. They traversed the land efficiently through a system of tunnels and covered roadways prone to avalanche danger. As we topped a low lying pass one of the most humbling views I have ever seen came into appeared. Some distance to the north the highest European peaks we had witnessed thus far dominated the scenery, the world around seemed to be bow to their majesty. It felt like everything I had previously witnessed on the trip was small and insignificant compared to what I was taking in. I assumed the Matterhorn would appear among the giants but not yet, it was waiting for us down the road.

Need Out of the Van!/Ta’sch

Finally, after hours of the anxiety-stricken road travel, we arrived at a place that is the catalyst to seeing arguably the most spectacular vistas in Europe. Ta’sch couldn’t have been more of a mental relief knowing we wouldn’t be back to the vans for a couple days. The relaxation was felt by everyone in the group but appreciated most by the van operators. The one exception to the veil of calm falling on the group was Cassi. She had stated earlier that day she suffers from a phobia inspired by the form of transportation that connects Ta’sch to Zermatt. The “Dramamine suggested” road trip had been potentially nauseating, even for those not prone to motion/car sickness. But, I think, most of us felt like it was a drive surrounded by immensely beauty; the kind of landscape that makes you happy to live on this mysterious body of mass orbiting a life giving star. Ta’sch is the jump-off point to Zermatt. It’s here you park your vehicle and board the cog railway up to a place where cars are not allowed (fantastic idea). It was nearing dusk and the views had started to diminish as we rode the rails to ever higher elevations. We sat patiently on the now stationary train, it was awaiting a descending train to clear the single set of tracks through a tunnel. We had no idea how long we would have to wait to go through the tunnel or how much distance was still between us and Zermatt. It was beginning to look as though we were going to have to wait till tomorrow’s dawn to see the 14,690 foot tall mountain we had hoped to see in the light of the present evening. We are moving again. The train ride was shorter than expected; it ascended the elevating terrain with ease till we reached Zermatt. Dusk was upon us, but the summer equinox was only days away. That fact allowed still enough sunlight to view the surrounding peaks and ridges. We exited the train where mini-taxi cabs for tourist and their belongings could be commissioned for transport to lodging destinations. The cabs cost an arm and a leg; they catered to those with disposable funds. So, instead, we mobilized on our evolutionary developed mode of transportation and began to walk up the hill. Zermatt reminded me very much of the ski destination towns at home in the USA. Vail, Colorado specifically came to mind but only architecturally and socially. The steep sloped terrain of Switzerland was dramatically in contrast to the highly weathered, and rounded Rocky Mountains at home. Needless to say, I was not impressed with the modern chalet buildings occupied with gift shops, boring tourist retail stores, and upscale resort lodging. Being in Europe I had grown to expect historical structures and settlements. I could see a twin city at home.

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As we turned a corner and headed towards a bridge that spanned a rapid moving creek, I looked at Cole and asked, “Where are they hiding the Matterhorn? Sneaky Swiss hiding entire mountains from us. I thought it was…”, and before I could utter the words the landmark I have seen in a thousand paintings and pictures came into view from behind a tall building. The magnitude of 9,000 feet of vertical rise from the peak to where we stood was overwhelmed me, I was speechless. Seeing such an enormously spectacular, an almost indescribable peak from the valley below nearly brought tears to my optical organs. I felt an overwhelming sense of how small and unimportant I stood before such a mountain. My feelings in that moment covered the full range that I’m aware of, and many beyond my normal capability. I knew after writing about the first view of the mountain that I’d have little more to say, everything else seemed routine and trivial compared to the welcome humbling moment I just experienced. The rest of the night seemed like a blur; check–in procedure, claiming bunks, dinner, wifi codes, internet activity, and making rough plans for the allotted time to be spent up there. I remember eating outside and enjoying the cool, dry alpine air. It had felt like we couldn’t wait to get there after enduring the heat and humidity of the country to the south. The journey to our achieved destination had been long. The narrow, serpent-like and sometimes maintenance neglected roads were at times downright unnerving, but absolutely worth it. There is no place I have been prior that can surpass the awe striking beauty of Switzerland. I feel like every mile travelled in my life led to Switzerland. The time spent in the car revealed views along the way and took us to places most of us had never seen and may never return to. The destination was a prize worth enduring ten-thousand times the so called “misery” of a day winding through the pristine Alps of Europa. “I could’ve lived and died an Ithacan prince, could have played safe. But in the end, journeys brought joys that outweigh the pain.” Frank Turner

Personal Note I would have put forth more effort to elaborate my feelings seeing Switzerland, and the Matterhorn but what was within me at that moment was something I wish to keep for my own experience. A moment just for me that I will carry with me for the rest of my days. The way I felt at that moment in time happened once again while exploring the city that all roads lead to, but that is another journal entry. I feel privileged, blessed, inspired and lucky to have been able to go on a trip to a far away continent with such a wonderful group of people. We barely even knew who each other where when the trip began, but by the end of the road in Frankfurt I think we knew each other with an intimacy only travelling and looking out for one another can provide. Experiencing so much geology, geography, and history in such a short time brought out the best in everyone who went. Everyone had a moment(s) that will be an experience they hold in high regard throughout their lives. The world is a big place, the more of it you experience, the more you grow and become the person you are. We all had a moment of difficulty too, but it’s not those moments that define us or that we carry through life. The times of despair are nothing but snowflakes blowing in a blizzard, surely to melt when the spring comes.

Editor’s Note: It is Preston’s picture that graces the cover of this journal.

Day Eight – June 18, 2012 Zermatt, Switzerland

By Lauren Berrien

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So far Switzerland is the most beautiful country we have been in. Not only is the weather amazing, but everything is pristine, like a little slice of heaven left on the planet. No cars, clean air, the Matterhorn towering over the town where people from all over the word come to visit. We have been so fortunate to have such beautiful weather on this trip, although the only time you could capture the Matterhorn in a clear blue sky with no clouds was at seven o’clock in the morning for ten minutes before clouds would engulf it for the rest of the day. Most of the trip we have started out with an interesting hostel room, a disappointing breakfast that had to do with little packets of Nutella, hopeful fruit, bread, bread, and more bread. Today we finally had a decent breakfast and a well packed sack lunch. Today we are going to hike a few hours up towards the base of the Matterhorn in hopes to see a glacier up close and personal. Today I will be doing the expert talk on glaciation. Zermatt sits below towering Alps, a liability to many geo-hazards. Avalanche barricades are high in the slopes that hang almost ninety degrees. In July 2003, ninety climbers had to be rescued and helicoptered off the Matterhorn due to unsafe conditions created by weather. The Matterhorn’s base is surrounded by large glaciers, as these glaciers melt they create rock slides. Frozen fissures are then exposed from the rock slide areas and open and close with the warming and cooling temperatures. Rock becomes loose from this process, and it is important to monitor areas with permafrost and potential danger zones for the town, climbers, and for specific data purposes. Scientists worry about warm droughts repeating the summer in 2003 for future hazards. Starting our hike, trying to find the right trail to take us up, we found a lady in a small cabin who was charging hikers to access a particular trail. This became a dispute between the class and the idea of having to pay to hike. Luckily, Laura is a master haggler and we got a discount on our hike. In a way it seems ridiculous to pay to be outside and hike, but the maintenance of the trails takes work which should be considered. It was an amazing trail too; a narrow canyon with a wooden bridge that hung over raging glacier runoff. Not to mention we were walking in the middle of a fault boundary. The hike up the trail took forever! But once we got most of the way we found this odd playground in the middle of the woods, like a little mini daycare for everyone to play on. I am wondering if we will ever make it to a glacier, and does anybody else care to see a giant ice mass as much as I do?

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The stopping point of our hike, we sit in the middle of a valley filled with rock debris, mostly likely from a glacier. I gave my talk about glaciers to everyone, but there is no glacier near me to reference my information, just landforms carved out from a retreated glacier. From where we were sitting there was glacial evidence of horns, cirques, alpine glacial valleys, moraines, and rock debris. Had we walked farther up we could have seen a glacier and it would have made my talk more entertaining. The group split up to do their own thing. Aaron, Will, and I hike up a mountain, the best idea we ever had. This hike was so challenging, but worth every second. Once we got to the top we found a herd of sheep and two goats. Then we slid down a small glacier on our bums, one of the highlights of the day. There was a small freezing cold glacial pond and a small stream where we found an abundance of chlorite, schist, gneiss, and not to mention the foliation was incredible! There was so much geology all around us and everyone was missing out on it but us. Walking down the mountain with noodle legs, running, trying to make it in time for dinner. We did stop at an amazing Swiss cottage half way down to have a beverage, rest, and talk about this epic hike. Arrival for dinner, more like human vacuum of food and feeling drunk from exerting all of my energy into a mountain. I think I can speak for others on this day, it was one of the best moments on this trip.

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Day Nine – June 19, 2012 Zermatt, Switzerland to Bondorf, Germany

By Deonne Ernst

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On our way to breakfast this morning we were greeted with what was very likely the most breathtakingly beautiful sight of the trip so far; a magnificently clear view of the Matterhorn as it towers over the city of Zermatt. It actually brought me to tears. Words cannot describe it, and pictures just can’t do it justice. But we were all there to experience it, and feel so very fortunate to have been able to have had this vision in our last few hours before departing Zermatt. We walked into the city and parked our luggage at the train station, and took an hour or so to stock up on some very expensive souvenirs. Boarded the train out of Zermatt. Just a little sad to be leaving such an amazing and beautiful place, but excited for the next leg of the trip. The train was delayed a short time about half way back, (which I am sure Cassie did not enjoy), but gave the rest of us an opportunity to take in some more of the beautiful scenery. Arrived at the vans, packed up, and left to go find a glacier.

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We venture along another crazy mountain road on the way to see Rhone Glacier via Furka Pass. The black van mentions how we are once again very impressed with Mrs. K’s driving abilities and her ability to feel calm and focused on these winding foreign roads. We feel completely safe in her hands. As we arrive at the glacier, Dr. K advises us all to grab our rain gear, as we will be going inside of the glacier. This is very exciting news to the group! We had a geology lecture at the scenic overlook of the glacier.

The Rhone Glacier is the source of the Rhone River. The glacier is retreating in response to the current trend in climate warming. We were able to see evidence of glacial movement in the rocks all around. In the hundred meter long tunnel we got to experience the glacier in a completely intimate way. I was immediately struck by the intense turquoise color that made the tunnel seem to glow, because although there is some artificial lighting within the tunnel, it was definitely apparent that natural light makes its way into the cave through the many feet of ice above it. The color is totally unique and unlike any other that I have ever experienced in nature before this visit.

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We all took the opportunity to take a bunch of photos while inside of the glacier… to touch it, feel it, and even taste it. It is an unbelievably humbling experience to walk within the walls of something that has been around, and moving, flowing, for more than 10,000 years. After lunch we were back on the road again, this time going down in elevation. We made several stops for photo opportunities and geological observations, like the sandstone layers near the top creating drop-off. There were many, many waterfalls to see on the pass.

We drove by the city of Lucerne, Switzerland and the beautiful Lake Lucerne which wrapped around it. It is a very large lake with a complicated shape following the different surrounding mountain valleys, and we were told that the lake has three fingers to it. It is just an extremely beautiful area, and apparently a very popular tourist area. There were also many castles that we passed by, but unfortunately did not get a whole lot of opportunities to take very good pictures of them.

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We eventually made it back across the German border on the southwestern side, and into the area of the Black Forest. The pine trees of the forest create very dense coverage. Geologically, within the Black Forest, there exists a layer of sandstone on top of a layer of Gneiss. Mrs. K also informed us that the extremely groomed appearance of the forest and countryside in Germany was a result of specific areas of forest and farmland being owned by locals who take great pride in taking immaculate care of the trees, shrubbery, and grassy areas… which even includes all of the plant life which lies directly at the roadside. You really are very hard pressed to find any part of the German countryside which does not look impeccably cared for. The end of the road trip for this day brings us to the youth hostel in Bondorf, Germany. We unload and all enjoy a much needed delicious home cooked meal, and the feeling in the hostel is charmingly reminiscent of being a welcome guest inside somebody’s home. It is the end of the second to last day of our trip together. I go to sleep slightly sad knowing that when I awake it will be the last full day in this beautiful country with my new friends. We have learned, and gained, so much from each other... I feel very, very lucky to be here.

Day Ten – June 20, 2012 Bondorf, Germany to Heidelberg, Germany

By Olivia Ruiz

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We traveled west cutting through the black forest and drove along the Rhine Valley 1st stop: Small stream rock types found: granite, intrusions from in basement rock, estimation of age; late Paleozoic zoned feldspars, large crystals means longer time to grow What causes zonation? What makes it visible?

Different chemicals compounds and mixing proportions, nucleus has different composition than rim (+Ca, -Ca), forms chemical change when cooled moving out Ca increase.

• How can we get a mafic and felsic composition in the same rock? Chemical composition change when cooling; getting diorite and granites from igneous processes that are different from the quartz and feldspars, which float, and olivines sink which segregate minerals in the magma chambers. Second magma chamber came later, and then there was sea floor accretion and intermingled, re-melted and outcropped. This could be solved by looking at dark bands in rocks and testing the mineral composition.

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2nd stop: Quarry Deposit (figures 1.1-1.2), rock types found: large chunks of pyroxinite, greenish in tint, found with diorites, serpentinites, sedimentary on top, sea floor and Devonian fossils We continued to drive through the Black Forest which is mostly crystalline rock and some sedimentary. Ore mining and coins: The whole process of extracting ore minerals from the rock and producing coins was displayed. There was a step-by-step explaination with pictures to show the crushing, milling, isolation, roasting and smelting that took place during that time with the techonlogy they used. This display was near one of the cook houses that was still standing just off the trail. The purpose of all these mines that surrounded the trail could have been for this coin making process alone of for other minerals found in this area.

Figure 1.1: Rock deposit from quarry

Figure 1.2: Close up of quarry deposit debris, possibly pyroxenes

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3rd stop: Hike through old mines and ore based sites (Figures 2.1-2.6) Shown in figure 1, we drove through the orange area, dates to the Mississippian to Permian, then we followed a trail by foot that goes through sedimentary where there was gypsum mining and followed the fault, then cross to granite (purple) and porphyritic rock, then the blue granites (pink) with pigmetites. As we followed the path there were a series of diagrams that showed the geology of the area. A lot of ore mining in these areas. Figures 2.2, 2.3, and 2.4 show cross section view of the faults and stratigraphy. Figure 2.5 shows the rocks left over from a possible mine. Figure 2.6 shows the opening to an ancient mine, also probably for ores. As we hiked past the last sign we followed a red trail which brought us to a hollowed out rock that had a galena band going all the way across the rock. This was a good sign for ores. Then following that back to the original trail where figure 2.6 was, possible site for galena and silver mining. Further down there was a fault and on one side there were granites and on the other side there were sedimentary rock. These were Jurassic clays, high possibilities for fossils and gypsum has been found. There are mines that go through sedimentary wedges and the closer to saline waters throughout the rock the less the quality of gypsum is also known as ‘dirty gypsum.’ This was later used after WWII for concrete.

Figure 2.1: Shows the road we came in on and the geology of the area.

Figure 2.2: Map shows quartz veins and faults with different sedimentary layering

Figure 2.3: A lot more faulting in the area, water moves in and helps form solid crystalline quartz, barite forms secondary. There are horst and grabben structures found (basin and range), and there is no connection in Rhine Valley; it is a passive tectonic system with a frame of mountain ranges around it, this is not found anywhere in the U.S. and is unique to this area only.

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Figure 2.4: Cross-section view of area with elevations.

Figure 2.5: Rock pile south of Freiburg, possible indicator of ancient mines looking for ores. Found minerals: fluorite, barite, hydro-thermal minerals and quartz.

Figure 2.6: Another possible ore mine remnants.

As a conclusion to our trip, after we all settled in to our last hostel we had a group meeting. Dr. K wanted to show us his impression of the trip which was a video of herding cats. Fin.

Day Ten – June 20, 2012 The Conclusion

By Mitzi Holdren

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Having travelled together in very close confines for ten days, I was much surprised that all of the students went on one last excursion to close our trip. This band of world-weary travelers went in search of one last hearth at which to raise our glasses and toast this momentous occasion. Good humor our compass, and gleeful company our map, we headed off. (Although, had we had an actual compass or map we may not have wandered for almost two hours, but I digress.) Through the darkened streets of Heidelberg, past the hospital (or was it the zoo), admiring the sculptures (oh, that’s his hand), along the river, (Preston, it’s probably not wise to go for a swim), we finally reached our destination unknown. How much we have grown in just under two weeks. (What’s that? You don’t allow throwing peanuts in this establishment?) Now we are all master of our destinies. (Yes Aaron, and you are the king of the skate park.) Armed with our keenly developed sense of deduction, we look at the world with a new sense of wonder. (I have no idea why you took 25 pictures of the same fox.) We are taking something back with us (no, besides the rocks), that could never have been obtained elsewhere. We have bled, sweated, and cried (thank goodness for the Pharmacia). Thankfully, we got more for it than just a crummy t-shirt. Plus, we didn’t lose anyone, not even once! What a triumph, what a success. What a joy to have been part of this adventure.

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Expert Topics

“Expert: Someone who brings confusion to simplicity.” ~ Gregory Nunn

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Alpine Geography, Geohazards and Environmental Protection

by Armando Calderon

Introduction: Besides the complex yet beautiful stratigraphy of the Alps, there are also issues associated with the Alps that affects; tourism, infrastructure, and the population of the people living within and around the Alps. Some issues that are being addressed to mitigate the geohazards in the Alps are issues associated with landslides, glacier retreat, and the phenomenon known as frictionite. As global temperatures increase, so does the threat of these issues along with the safety of the populations living within the Alps is at risk. There are several ways to mitigate the hazards associated with the Alps, which will be discussed.

Geohazards: Landslides in the Alps: A landslide is a sudden movement of rock and debris down a non-vertical slope. There are several types of landslides that can occur within the Alps, which are rotational, translational, block slide, topple, rock flow, and debris flow. A.)Rotational: Rotational landslides occur when a shearing takes place on a well defined curve, (Curving inward). The direction produces a backward rotation in the displayed mass. B.)Translational Slide: Mass displaces along a planar or underlining surface of rupture, sliding out over the original ground surface. C.)Block Slide: Blocks of rock or debris that move forward leaving behind a surface. D.)Topples: A Forward rotation out of the slope of mass of soil or rock caused by differential weathering. E.) Rock Flow- Flow movements in bedrock which include deformations that are distributed among many large or small fractures. F.) Debris Flow: A very rapid to extremely rapid flow of saturated debris in a steep channel. The most common cause of debris flow is due to an high amount of rainfall in a relatively short amount of time. Figure one shows a depiction of the possible ways a landslide can occur in the Alps.

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Figure 1- Types of Landslides, Wood Pg. 41

Analyzing the Risk and Causes of Landslides in the Alps:

Since the 1970’s, scientist have observed a sharp increase in the amount of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere due to the increase of industrialization and other anthropogenic factors. As a result of the anthropogenic activities, global temperatures have had a steady increase along with the increase frequency of extreme climate/weather events. With such sharp fluctuations in temperatures and climate/weather events, the frequency and risk of landslides in the Alps has increase (Wood 13) . For example, heavy rainfall events on a scale ranging from minutes to hours and days, rain can result in erosion of the mountain slopes, triggering flash flooding. Next, both freezing and thawing action between seasons can greatly exaggerate mechanical weathering acting as an important precursor to landsliding. In recent years, the extreme temperatures difference between the freezing and thawing events has increased; resulting in greater instability of the mountain slopes and has increased glacier melting. As a result of the melting, there comes a greater chance of rock/landslides because the ice that once held the mass together on the mountains becomes weak and can no longer support the mass of rock/land. Finally, as more glaciers retreat, the increase of water in the Alps during the thawing events can lead to flash flooding and cause further instability of the mountains by erosion or decreasing resistance of rocks on the surface. The following table identifies the risks associated with landslides and methods of mitigating those risks.

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Factors that can trigger a landslide in the Alps Methods of identifying risks of landslides

Earthquake frequency Seismic data/ Past earthquake events

Pore-Pressure / Hydrogeology factors Pore-Pressure data/ underground water

monitoring/ identifying level of saturation of soil

Rainfall Installing rain gages to identify flooding risk

Rate of Freezing/ Thawing Climate Data

Erosion ArcGis to identify which areas are being eroded over

time.

Slope Google Earth/ Mapping software

Figure 2- Factors triggering landslides vs. methods of reducing the threat of landslides.

Frictionite- a geological hazard: A sturzstrom is a German word composed of Sturz (fall) and Strom (stream) which is used to describe a unique type of landslide consisting of soil and rock which has great horizontal movement when compared to its initial vertical drop, as much as 20 or 30 times the vertical distance. The region of Tyrol, Austria is known as a region where frictionite was formed due to the kofels landslide that occurred during the late Quaternary period or close to 8,000 years ago. This landslide which covered 11.5 square kilometers occurred in the region between Umhausen and Langenfeld. The valley is u-shaped with the Tyrol River cutting through the middle. The area became famous when pumiceous glass was found in boulder deposits and was associated with volcanic activity. Some years later it was hypothesized that a meteorite led to the result of the deposits and the formation of the glass. It was not until the 1970’s when scientist disassociated this theory and said that the pumiceous glass was a result of a landslide that formed great kinetic energy, resulting in the molten rock. Scientists

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hypothesized that the glass formation was caused by the kinetic energy formed from the landslide and that the heat necessary to melt the rock could have been produced by a large landslide itself. During the process temperatures within the landslide reached over 600˚C. Scientists named the pumice “frictionite”. The frictionite does not occur at the base of the landslide deposits but forms in dikes at the top of the landslide deposit (Hermanns, R, et. al, 2011). Frictionite only occurs in two parts of the world, the Alps and the Himalayas. In the Himalayas, it is known as Hyalomylonite and is thicker than frictionite. The reason this phenomena occurs in these two places is due to its’ high local relief and slope steepness that serve as a perfect setting for such large landslides (Weidlinger, Johannes , 41). The frictionite is not only composed of pumice but also has grains of quartz, gneiss, feldspar, and mica (Milton, Daniel 1963). With such hot temperatures during the landslide, these minerals and rocks are close to melting and metamorphose. Because frictionite contains pumice and gneiss deposits, they have left trace amounts of uranium. Since 1992 the village of Umhausen, situated north of the landslide, is notoriously known for its high percentage of lung diseases and cancer of the local inhabitants. The lung cancer increase was caused by the unusual high concentration of the radioactive gas radon in buildings of the area. Due to the traces of uranium left in the deposits, when exposed to the surface it became radon. Rocks of the landslide deposits, on which the village in part stands, are shattered until they are single mineral grains, increasing exponentially the surface emanating radon (Bressan, David). Not only has the village of Umhausen been exposed to radon, but so has the rest of the Tyrol area. As the hypothesis of sturzstorm and frictionite continues to evolve by new discoveries and studies, the people of Tyrol are at risk, so it is important to make people aware of the dangers of living within the frictionite landslide.

Conclusion:

There are many risks associated with the Alps, and as global temperatures increase, the threat of these hazards increase due to; increased water, decreased stability and unstable conditions. By being prepared and monitoring the Alps, the risk of loss of life can be diminished. By combing methods such as GIS, rain gages, mapping, hydrology and stratigraphy studies, scientists can get a better understanding of the complex structure of the Alps. Fricitionite is a fairly new discovery, and with better understanding we can diminish the health effects of humans due to the effects of the landslides. For this, and many other reasons, the Alps serve as an excellent place to study geohazards.

Austrian Mining History by Preston Purviance

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Austrian Mineral Resources Theory, Depleting Resource Model “The siren song of mineral-resource theory is that minerals are fixed, and therefore depleting, resources.” (Jr., 2007) Austria is a world leader in natural resource conservation, and efficient use and extraction techniques. Austria is credited with being first to realize how minerals, their uses, mining, and milling operations affect economics. More specifically, they have long known that non-renewable resources, once exhausted, will have to be replaced or an alternative found to fill the niche in an economic market. (Jr., 2007). Austria pioneered low-grade ore recovery through centuries of trial and error. During World War One Austria prepared effectively for the shortage of copper. Austria had previously been reliant on Chile, Argentina, and Spain before the war; but during the war, imports and exports were suspended. Rather than continue to trade, Austria utilized their domestic copper ore and simply recycled what was already in circulation. Through detailed record keeping and new conservation practices they managed to make it through the war with only minimal loss of copper, attributed to metal used in spent munitions. In today’s developing countries, and developed countries like ours, Austrian principals have been utilized and innovated since they were first recognized as an efficient and reliable system for sustainability.

Ancient Copper Mines and Smelters Mining of copper and salt have a long and pre-historic history in Austria. The ancient mines helped give rise to what we now call the “Bronze Age.” There is evidence of smelting operations as far back as 4500-3650 BCE, before the time of the “Alpine Iceman (3,300 BCE)” found in a receding Austrian glacier in the Tyrol area of Austria (B. HÖPPNER, 2005). The ancient Austrians had a well developed infrastructure for copper production. Roads were constructed to bring the raw ore from the mines to the smelters. There is evidence of primitive villages near operations with remains of fireplaces, pottery, fire pits, and shelters. They cultivated farmlands near the operations probably in efforts to reduce transport time and cost. It appears they had some knowledge of the contamination brought on by smelting and mining and potentially tried to keep their farmlands and drinking water upstream from operations. Estimations for copper extraction in Austria during the Bronze Age (about 1000 years of exploitation) are 100,000 tons of raw copper, with 20,000 tons coming from the Mitterberg district alone. By 1948 there were 180 identified ancient copper smelting sites

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in the Salzburg-Tyrol area alone. There is evidence that the miners may have even worn protective equipment implying the notion of an industrialized operation during the Bronze Age (Pittioni, 1948). The ancient mining industry in Austria had significant societal effects centralized around trade. Like the archeological sites at Austria’s ancient salt mines, artifacts have been recovered that originated in places great distances from the mines themselves implying that a vast trade network was in place during ancient mining and smelting operations, giving the people economic prosperity through trade.

Ancient Salt Mines Halite is the natural occurring form of sodium chloride (NaCl) that can be found all over the world and is one of the earliest known traded commodities. Salt is essential to the human body for regulation of fluid content, and making food taste good. Salt has had value as a commodity since the dawn of humanity. So much so, wars have been fought over it (Venice versus Genoa, Germany versus Poland, etc), and cities have risen and fallen because of salt values (e.g. Liverpool, UK). The salt mines at Hallstatt have been dated to as far back as 1474 BCE. Salt mines are very unstable; masses of ancient timbers used for support were buried and preserved in salt, giving very detailed dating of the mines (Michael Grabner, 2006). Due to the instability, miners were trapped and died underground leaving behind their own bodies and artifacts on their person. Wooden handle bronze pick axes have been found preserved in excavated caved-in areas of the mine at Hallstatt. The tools found are thought to be made from bronze from nearby copper mines in operation at the same time. Much like the copper mines, the salt mines created infrastructure and encouraged trade (Michael Grabner, 2006). Artifacts have been found in the mines, nearby settlements, and in graves nearby with artifacts from places as far away as the Middle East. The plentiful existence of salt literally put Austria’s Inns Valley on the map, along the ancient European east west trade route north of the Alps.

Conclusion Austria’s long and prosperous history with mining has historically set standards, and helped define practices of mining and define the economic importance of ore minerals worldwide. The conservation and recycling techniques employed by Austria since World War One have helped Europe become the leader in recycling practices worldwide. Salt is a necessity for human life, and copper has helped shape the course of human history. Without Austria’s vital role in developing the mining industry, it’s quite possible the whole of the industry could be a far cry from the efficiency we implore today.

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References B. HÖPPNER, M. B.-P. (2005). nn Valley (Austria) AND THE EARLIEST COPPER IN CENTRAL

EUROPE. Archaeometry 47 , 293-315. Budd, E. A. (1916). The Salt Mines of Austria. The Journal of Geography , 58-59. Jr., R. L. (2007). Resourceship: An Austrian theory of mineral resources. Houston: Springer

Science + Business Media, LLC. Michael Grabner, A. K. (2006). Bronze age dating of timber from the salt-mine at Hallstatt,

Austria. Dendrochronologia , 61-68. Pittioni, R. (1948). Recent Researches on Ancient Copper-Mining in Austria. Royal

Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland , 120-122.

Eclogites by Raina Baldwin

Being 50 kilometers below ground doesn’t seem that far when you’re thinking about crossing distance on the surface of the Earth, but 50 kilometers below the surface is a place of intensely crushing pressure and unimaginable high temperatures. Human beings will never be able to go 50 km beneath the surface of our Earth’s crust, and we have yet to create any equipment that could withstand those pressures to bring back information. However, there is a rock that has been deeper than 50 kilometers and returned to the surface to tell the story. This rock is called eclogite, and it is gorgeous, full of rich red to pink garnets, green omphacite, and even diamonds.

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Figure 1. Photograph of eclogite by Ian Stimpson. Sample from the Mariánské Lázně Complex in the west Czech Republic. Keele Collection. http://www.flickr.com/photos/17907935@N00/4652324838

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Near Innsbruck, Austria the class attempted to find large garnet crystals on Reschenpass, a high mountain road that connects Austria to Italy. However, an unexpected June snowstorm blocked the pass so we could not see the eclogite formations that contained massive garnets. Fortunately the class was able to see a section of smaller crystalline zones of the eclogite formation off an alternative road. In this essay I will discuss the fascinating tectonics of this area that is called the Eclogite Zone, Tauern Window, Austria and how it came to be. The Tauern Window is a thrust sheet, where the large body of rock lays above a massive scale reverse fault. In the case of the Alps we have many of these thrust sheets stacked on top of each other creating what is called nappe stacks. The Tauern Window is intercalated between the base of the Venediger nappe which is mainly gneiss and metasediments of the Lower Schieferhhulle formation, and the upper portion of the Glockner nappe which are metasediments of the Upper Schieferhulle (Hoscheck, 2006). Figure 2 below is a simplified geological map of the Tauern Window within Eastern Alps.

Figure 2. Geological map of Tauern Window from Hoscheck’s article. Legend from article: “1 Penninic units, 2 Central Gneiss, 3 Austroalpine units, 4 Basement, Northern Calcareous and Southern Alps, 5

Helvetic units, 6 Tertiary intrusives, 7 major eclogite units, 8 metasedimentary rocks” (Hoscheck, 2006).

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Eclogite is an extremely dense metamorphosed mafic rock that is basaltic in composition. It forms at pressures greater than the average of the Earth’s crust, from the deepest layer of oceanic crust of repeated underwater basalt flows, or from precursor assemblages of blueshist-facies or amphibolite-facies that have undergone intense metamorphism. Eclogites are of huge importance to driving convection within the Earth’s mantle, and exposing the incredible tectonic processes which bring oceanic crust that has been subducted to depths as far as 35km and thrust to the mountain tops. The eclogites in the Tauern Window are amazing, with red to pink almandine-pyrope garnet within a matrix of green sodium-rich omphasite pyroxene. The main physical characteristics of the Eclogite Zone are Mesozoic metasediments from calcareous schists, quartzites, marbles, and pelitic schists that were metamorphosed during the alpidic plate collision 31.5 million years ago (Glodney et al. 2005). According to Holland and Powell (1998) the pressure depths and temperature during the metamorphic stage was 25 kB and 630 °C. From the same zone we find the eclogites there are also many metamorphosed siliceous dolomites. In studies done by Franz & Spear (1983) the eclogites in the Tauern window were metamorphosed at the same pressure-temperature conditions as the dolomites. These findings indicate that the zone of dolomite and eclogite was brought up from extensive depths as an entire unit, and helps explain the complex deformation of the tectonics at work. It is incredible to comprehend the tectonic forces of the Earth, and to know that it can push its densest and deepest crustal material from subduction depths below the ocean to the cloud veiled mountain tops.

Bibliography

Franz, Gerhard, and Frank Spear. "High pressure metamorphism of siliceous dolomites from the central tauern window, Austria." American Journal of Science. 293-A. (1983): 369-415.

Glodny, J., U. Ring, P. Kuhn, P. Gleissner, and G. Franz. "Crystallization and very rapid exhumation of the youngest Alpine eclogites (Tauern Window, Eastern Alps) from Rb/Sr mineral assemblage analysis." Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology. 149. (2005): 699-712.

Holland, T.J.B., and R. Powell. "An internally consistent thermodynamic data set for phases of petrological interest." Journal of Metamorphic Geology. 16. (1998): 309-343.

Hoscheck, G. "Metamorphic peak conditions of eclogites in the Tauern Window, Eastern Alps, Austria: Thermobarometry of the assemblage garnet omphacite phengite kyanite quartz." Lithos. 93. no. 1-2 (Jan. 2007): 1-16.

Stimpson, Ian. "Sample from the Mariánské Lázně Complex in the west Czech Republic." Keele Collection. photograph, http://www.flickr.com/photos/17907935@N00/4652324838.

http://all-geo.org/metageologist/.

Glaciers by Lauren Berrien

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Glaciers have had an influential impact on the Earth's global habitats, hydrology systems, and climate. There has been fluctuating glaciations from millions of years ago during the pre-Cenozoic to late Cenozoic periods. Evidence of glaciations during these millions of years were discovered not only by remnants of Pangaea aftermath, but from ice cores, and oxygen isotope records from the ocean. Knowledge from past glaciations benefit studies now and in the future for many purposes. Glaciers and core samples can tell a lot about past environmental profiles and show an indication of changes in the atmosphere today. As snow falls it accumulates. As more weight presses down on the snow, the snowflakes become smaller and most of the air is forced out. Snow begins metamorphosis and recrystallizes into a denser mass called firn. Once firn exceeds a certain thickness it fuses together creating interlocking ice crystals, the creation of glacier ice.

Air/gas bubbles in glacier ice

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There are two types of glaciers; alpine found in mountain regions, and ice sheets such as Antarctica. Glaciers form at high altitudes with low surface temperatures, areas of low solar radiation, and dry polar continental sites. For instance, fewer glaciers are found in the southern region of the Alps due to weather patterns, greater humidity, rain fall on external boundaries, laden lateral winds, and solar radiation. The Alps are subdivided into different regions where an imaginary line follows the Rhine River from Lake Constance to Lake Como. The largest glaciers in the Alps are in the higher elevations and numerous amounts of smaller glaciers are found throughout the Alps. Summit elevations reach 3,500-3,378 meters in the eastern region. Glaciers form at 2,600-3,100 meters above sea level depending on the geographic location, slope orientation, and precipitation. In the Dry Rhone Basin, the glaciers are several hundred meters higher than those found on the North Slope, which are exposed to more storms passing through the Southern Alps.

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Glaciers are large masses of ice that weigh several tons, scale meters thick, and move downhill by gravity in a viscoplastic stress. Depending on the bed below this huge ice mass scars the surface. Melt water causes channel bed erosion scour and drainage networks in glacier environments. Among other things, sediments and landforms are dominated by melt water that comes from glacial melt. Sediment is derived from the ice mass. The most recognizable sediment transfer is through moraines creating ridges of till. There are terminal moraines at the glacier tongue, lateral moraines along the edges and side walls of the glacier, and medial moraines in the center of the glacier. Medial moraines are created when two glaciers merge or when rock fall from a cirque supplies debris above the firn line. The debris that forms the Water is the most eroding factor other than the movement of the ice mass. Glacier water comes from basal ice melt from friction eroding the rock beneath and carrying sediments and debris, surface ablation where debris surfaces to medial moraine, and melt from geothermal heat and air temperature. This type of melt water can happen constantly if the glacier is retreating at a steady pace, or regularly four times per year in concert with the changes of the seasons. Data collected internally and externally of the glacier is put into categories in relation to their conditions. This data may be useful for a number of things. Wet base glaciers are at melting point and are melting throughout the entire mass at above freezing point, greater than 0˚C, in warm summer months. Cold base glaciers are frozen; polar cold base is frozen throughout and sub polar cold base has a frozen exterior and a wet base interior. By carving out an ice tunnel into the interior of an ice mass, like the Rhone glacier, data can be obtained. Examples of such data include:

• ice temperature • sub glacial cavity air temperature • rates of net loss by melting • rates of net gain by freezing • basal en-glacial debris content and concentrations

The costly effects of temperature rise within 2˚C and an increase in C02 gas has a huge impact on glacial melt. Researchers have developed models of melting glaciers to show the evolution over the next sixty years, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Studies are important for hydroelectric energy suppliers, climate change, and science experts. The ACQWA, assessing climate change impacts on the quantity and quality, has a 6.5 million case study on the European Alps and other regions where glaciers are retreating. Studies show a possible threat to the water supply. What glaciers are left today hold an important role in the hydrology system. These large ice masses hold a large percentage of the world’s fresh water. As they melt, communities in river valleys depend on runoff. Large rivers like the Rhine River in Switzerland, supply hydro power to many counties. Rivers also irrigate many crops, vineyards, fruit, flowers, and gardens.

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Glaciers have a huge impact in many cultures and the planet itself. Runoff into oceans can have impacts on sea level, habitats, and climates. In all, a glacier frozen or melting has a lot to offer. Reference Menzies, John. Modern & Past Glacial Environments. 2002.

Minerals of the Swiss Alps by Cassie Shenefelt

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Switzerland is known for its beautiful mountains, weather, and people. However, inside the Swiss Alps is a treasure trove of beautiful minerals which leave a key to how the mountains were formed. The most common mineral in Switzerland is quartz. This comes as no surprise as quartz is possibly the most common mineral everywhere. With a chemical composition of SiO2; quartz has two of the most abundant elements in the earth’s crust. Quartz comes in many colors due to impurities form surrounding minerals. The most common color of quartz in Switzerland is pink (rose quartz) and brown (smoky quartz). Rose quartz is formed due to impurities of manganese, titanium, or iron. This leaves me to believe that rose quartz is formed near hydrothermal fluids or areas rich in deep crust minerals. Rose quartz will sometimes exhibit rutile (TiO2) in a thin section analysis; however, since I did not find any rutile I can not determine this to be true. Smokey quartz is a dark brown to almost black color of quartz. The coloring comes from free silicon in the crystal structure. This form was broken free due to natural irradiation. Therefore smoky quartz was at one point exposed to some form of radiation during it’s formation. Quartz is not the only mineral found in the Swiss Alps. Switzerland has many other minerals formed in cavities known as Zerklüfte. The other minerals in Switzerland are rich in deep crustal elements brought to the surface by hydrothermal fluids. These fluids can bring heavy metals such as iron, titanium, manganese, gold, and others. Some of the more common minerals (besides quartz) are malachite, calcite, titanite, brookite, and kyanite. My research project is on a slice of kyanite we may have found on one of our hikes. These minerals form in high pressure metamorphic zones which makes the Alps a perfect incubator.

Molasse Basin by Mitzi Holdren

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The Alpine orogeny occurred as a result of the collision between the African and European plates.

As the two plates collided, the resulting mountain range was deposited in repeating layers, called nappe stacks.

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The weight of the deposits on the European plate caused a flexion in the area inland creating what is called the Molasse Basin.

As the Alps have weathered away the basin has been filled with the erosion debris. In some areas this debris can reach up to 6,000 meters thick.

The molasse basin is a prominent source for oil and gas production as a result of the fault lines caused by the flexing foreland.

Reference: How the Earth Was Made: The Alps. History Channel. A&E Home Video, 2010.

MOSE Projects’ Effects on Lagoon Ecology by Aaron Vickles

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Venice was built in the early 1500’s on a group of 117 low islands in the middle of a lagoon. The many canals provide a perfect location for a city and a natural defense against attackers (kind of like a moat). It is a very stable foundation as well because it is sunk deep in a bed of compounded silt and sand called subsoil. Wood was the perfect formation material because the wood wasn’t exposed to the deterioration and rotting it would have been exposed to in the air. With that, the wood also served as a strong, flexible support against the constant movement of the tides. However, over time, with rising tides and sinking foundations, the threats of floods have shown proof of potentially destroying Venice and its amazing architectural masterpieces. On November 4, 1966, water levels in Venice lagoon rose above 196 cm, all the people in piazza San Marco were in chest high water. Many people’s homes and businesses were flooded. This disaster brought media attention from across the world. Since this incident, scientists have researched the flooding increase in Venice and have noticed that the city is slowly sinking. Flooding issues in the city have been a major concern and in 2003 a plan was agreed upon to help save Venice from additional damage from future floods. This plan was called the MOSE project and was first projected in 1989. MOSE stands for ‘experimental electromechanical module’. While it was accepted in 2003, it is still under construction. This development consists of 79 mobile floodgates placed at the 3 entrances of the lagoon. Each floodgate is 20 meters wide, 20-30 meters high and 4-5 meters thick! The floodgates stretch out flat on the sea floor in concrete beds during normal tides. In the case that the water levels rise above 100cm, the gates fill with compressed air, causing them to tilt up to a 60 degree angle and come up out of the water to block the water surge in the lagoon and keep the water level in the lagoon lower than that of the Adriatic Sea. They would stay up for 4 and a half hours until the tides drop back down. This is no cheap mission by any means. The estimated cost was around 4-6 billion dollars and is actually scheduled for completion this year. At this time, there is minor hindrance with the normal water circulation between the Adriatic Sea and Venice’s lagoon. There are however, major concerns about the effects the barriers will have on the water quality and wildlife in the lagoon. One of the fears is that the lagoon could potentially become a stagnant pool. Another key concern is a preventative measure that the structure will have to keep barnacles and mollusks from inhabiting the barriers. This measure consists of slowly releasing zinc into the water by the barriers anodic protection system. The zinc released by the anodic protection panes is a polluting material. This zinc accumulation in

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the water raises serious concerns for mollusk numbers and could damage the mollusk farming in the region. These issues raise serious concern for the ongoing project. What will happen when the project is complete? Will it indeed save Venice from future flooding and from slowly sinking into the lagoon? What will happen to the sea life in the area? Will the project turn Venice into a stagnant lagoon and hinder the commerce from visitors every year? Will it ruin the seafood business in the area? These are all important issues that will only be figured out when the project is complete, since it has already begun. Until then, only time will tell.

Stratigraphy of the Northern Alps by Olivia Ruiz

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5 Movement events: • Volcanism and rifting during Permian-Triassic • Mid-Triassic magnetism and tectonics • Rifting and continental margin evolution, associated with the opening of the Ligurian

Ocean, resulting with facies changes and thickness changes. During the late Jurassic-Cretaceous

• Paleogene compression (N60˚E) which produced a WSW converging thin-skinned thrust belt in the central-eastern Dolomites.

• During the Neogene, Dolomites became the inner most of the present elevation occurred during the last 10 million years.

250 Mya- Deposition began with continental and marine sediments for tens of millions of years forming land in some places. With the tropical environment colonies of calcareous algae were capable of constructing the first carbonate shelves 230 Mya- The Dolomite region was affected by volcanic events with seismic shock, sea quakes, sub-marine landslides and variations of sea levels. Lava flowed along reef slopes and filled up the deep sea canyons. 224 Mya- Dolomite region became a coastal and partially lagoon flat expanse. This created new debris and making the Raibl Formation. 223Mya- A new sea floor subsidence began with new reef building. This makes up the Dolomia Principale Formation, the tabular formation 210 Mya- Deeper sea with finer grain deposit, most has been eroded in the uplift of the Alpine Chain (Alpine orogenesis) which was the movement of the earth’s crust which was the convergence of the African Continent and Europe Continent. Uplift continues through today with lower intensity, starting during the Eocene (58-37mya) 2 Mya- Erosion with forces of gravity, running waters and movement of ice, all contribute to the transformation of the landscape. 5 glaciations have been identified in the alps and rockslides can be found presently

Stratigraphy of the Swiss Alpine Region by Deonne Ernst

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The Alpine orogeny happened as a result of the collision of the European and Adriatic continents, following the subduction of their intermediate ocean basins. This Tertiary collision followed other collisions which occurred during the Cretaceous. In fact, the first overthrusting within the Alps occurred during the Jurassic period. Much of the Alps were formed by these thrust sheets, or nappes, which makes the entire Alpine region a thrust belt. Difficulty in reconstruction makes analyzing the stratigraphy of the Alps a somewhat daunting task. It seems that as new pieces of information are discovered regarding the origin and time table of any specific section, debate about its accuracy ensues. The Alps are notoriously difficult to confidently analyze because of the high level of deformation and over-thrusting which creates confusion in the reconstruction of layers. Adding to the confusion is the fact that before the continental collisions which created the Alpine orogeny occurred, there was already deformation taking place within these areas of continental crust.

This is a simplified drawing of how an out of sequence thrust can occur and make reconstruction difficult, (same which I used in my presentation). It is very important that layers are identified correctly based both

on original placement and direction and location of thrust. (1)

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The nappes which make up a large portion of the Alps are large sheet-like rock units which have been displaced and folded on top of themselves due to thrust faulting from the continental plate collision. Within the Swiss Alpine region lies the Penninic nappe stack. Underlying rock considered to be in “original” placement can be visible at times through windows or klippes. Reconstructing the timeline and creating an accurate stratigraphic unit for any section can be exceedingly difficult. Penninic nappes show the highest grade of metamorphism consisting of sediments which existed on the continents before the collision occurred. This gradient identifies metamorphoses which have occurred at the lowest temps in the metamorphic gradient through the highest; from green colored ophiolite sequences once part of the upper mantle to deep marine sediments, metamorphosed to phylites, schists, and amphibolites. Cretaceous limestone becomes marble visible as white bands within the folds, and flysch layers become micas. The Penninic zone shows a stack of metamorphic nappes of oceanic lithosphere and European continental crust which was already in varying stages of deformation, accreted during the Paleogene. The nappes are thus both oceanic and continental in origin, originating from the Mesozoic ocean and the distal part of the European continental margin. Again, nappe refolding has created late stage deformation, (deformation of deformed deformation). Unique eclogites are common within the Zermatt-saas ophiolite complex which is a fragment of the Tethys oceanic lithosphere. Facies of greenschist can be seen over the ophiolite in the area of the Gorner Gorge which we visited.

Borrowed Picture – from the north face of Gornergrat ridge http://www.mindat.org/photo-130454.html

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This is a nice illustration of part of the area we visited. It shows the location of some of the features mentioned. I think being able to see exactly where and how these features occur helps with the

visualization process and reconstruction (2)

The Brianconnais zone refers to continental crust found in the Swiss Alp region originally believed to belong to the microcontinent of Iberia. The high level of deformation, however, makes this fact debatable. In the western Swiss Alps remnants of the Valais oceanic crust, Briannconnais continental crust, the Piemont oceanic crust, and the Austroalpine continental crust can be seen, recognized as lower, middle and upper Penninic respectively. The Valais trough oceanic sediment is likely cretaceous to Eocene in age. (3) Basement nappes from the Brianconnais terrain form a central unit in this region. Early in the deformation of the Alps much of the Brianconnais tertiary and Mesozoic sediment cover left its original basement cover and traveled northwest. Piemont oceanic crust is represented in the western Swiss alpine region; the Zermatt saas fee zone is a likely remnant of Tethyan oceanic crust thrust over the Monte Rosa and Brianconnais continental crust. The Tsate nappe is likely an accretionary remnant formed during late Cretaceous subduction of the Piemont oceanic crust. At its base are the Triassic and Jurassic rocks of the Frillihorn nappe. Between the area of the Tsate nappe and the Zermatt-Saas Fee zone exists an area of Mesozoic sediment known as the Cimes Blanche nappe. (3)

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Following is a stratigraphic unit showing the complexities of some of the above mentioned oceanic sedimentary and metamorphic units; area is the Western Swiss Alps.

Stratigraphic Unit – (4)

Following are some of the minerals which we could have expected to encounter while traipsing through the Swiss Alps, along with their stratigraphic counterparts:

• Monte Rosa Nappe – Quartzites, dolomites, and flysch (Mesozoic); schists and amphibolites (Permo-carboniferous); granites and gneisses (Paleozoic and older).

• Frillihorn Nappe – Dolomites, marbles, quartzites, and conglomerates (Permian Cretaceous).

• Cimes Blanche Nappe – Dolomites, marbles, quartzites, breccias, and conglomerates (Permian Cretaceous)

• Zermatt-saas Fee and Antrona ophiolite zones – serpentenites, metagabbros, metabasalts, and calschists (Jurassic – Cretaceous)

• Dent Blanche Nappe – schists and gneisses of the Valpelline zone (Paleozoic) It is because stratigraphic reconstruction of the Alps is debated, confusing, and complex, that it makes such an interesting subject for research. It seems that there is still a lot of mystery within this massive and beautiful mountain range. I look forward to expanding my knowledge of this area even more, and perhaps even revisiting the area to reinforce what I have learned, and most likely to discover something new.

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References:

1. Froitzheim, Nickolaus. "Geology of the Alps Part 1: General Remarks, Austroalpine

Nappes."Http://www.steinmann.uni-bonn.de. UniversitatBonn, Steinmanninstitut, n.d.

Web. 16 June 2012.

2. Giovanni, Melissa K. "Orogenic Systems." The Alps. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Aug. 2012.

<http://www.geo.arizona.edu/geo5xx/geo527/Alps/geos527.html>.

3. Escher, Arthur. "The Overall Tectonic Framework of the Penninic Domain." Institute of

Geology and PaleontologyResearch. Universite De Lausanne, n.d. Web. 1 Aug. 2012.

4. Stampfli, G. M., D. Marquer, R. Marchant, T. Baudin, and G. Borel. "Subduction and

Obduction Processes in the Swiss Alps." Tectonophysics 296.1-2 (1998): n. pag. Print.

5. G.M Stampfli, J Mosar, D Marquer, R Marchant, T Baudin, G Borel, Subduction and

obduction processes in the Swiss Alps, Tectonophysics, Volume 296, Issues 1–2, 30

October 1998, Pages 159-204, ISSN 0040-1951, 10.1016/S0040-1951(98)00142-5.

Unterhervorschiebung by Will Schaar

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Summary The Tauern Window located in Austria and Northern Italy is an elevated window that has been extruded from underneath the Astroalpine Nappe by multiple tectonic forces. It is also referred to as an elongated metamorphic dome that exposes Penninic amphibolite to greenschist facies from the Tertiary period. It consists of a series of strongly amplified antiforms that have converged closer together due to ongoing North–South shortening (figure 1). On the western and eastern sides it is bounded by low angle extension faults and strike-slip faults on its northern and southern margins (figure4).

Process As European plates (very strong) move southward from Germany and a plate of Dolomite (very strong) moves northward from Italy, the Zentralgneiss complex (ductile) that lies underneath the Austroalpine Nappe has to be moved or deformed. And since the weight of the Swiss Alps prevents it from moving westward, it must be pushed up and out to the East. Just as toothpaste comes out of the tube, the Zentralgneiss was squeezed and extruded from beneath the Astroalpine Nappe (figure 2).

Age The oldest rocks in the Tauern window are found in a volcano-sedimentary sequence comprising ophoilites, island arc volcanics, and associated sediments of Late Proterozoic age. A part of this sequence underwent pre-Mesozoic metamorphism and was intruded by Variscan granitoids. The Postvariscan sequences start with Permotriassic quartzites, middle Triassic limestones and dolomites, and late Triassic sandstones and shale’s. Jurassic to early Cretaceous shale’s, marls, and shaly limestones over the Triassic rocks. The youngest rocks of are from the early Cretaceous. Associated with the sediments are ophoilites and other basic intrusions, and volcanics.

Events Besides the Pre-Mesozoic metamorphism, there were three metamorphic events that are recognized: an eclogite event, a blueschist metamorphism (figure 3), and the final greenschist to amphibolite facies metamorphism called the “Tauernkristallisation”. The eclogitisation affects only a relatively small strip mainly at the southern escarpment of the Tauern Window, the blueschist metamorphism is more widely distributed, but restricted to ophoilites, both above and below (tectonically). The Tertiary greenschist to amphibolite facies metamorphism can be seen in all rocks of the Tauren Window.

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Work Cited “Indentation model and origin of the Tauern Window”. Geological Society of America, November 2004. v. 32; no. 11 p. 997-1000 Tauern Window. Wikipedia. Web 25, May, 2012. “Mesozoic Metamorphic evolution of the Tauern Window”. Rocnik. 1999. v. 2; p. 145-147 Dr. K for the pictures and expert knowledge. “Lithographic Mapping, Petrologie, and Structural Geology on the Tauern Window Southern Edge in the Anrntal”. South Tyrol University Geology Department, February 2007. v. 14; no. 2 p. 63-87 Pictures; 1 and 2 given to me by Dr. K., 3 from Google images, 4 found in the indentation model and origin paper, 5 is from Google images since we couldn’t see it while we were there!!

Closing Comments

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What was your favorite or most impactful part of the trip? There were so many wonderful and truly unique moments on this trip it is hard to pick just one, or even two for that matter. I got to go swimming in the Adriatic Sea, well after walking for almost a mile the water finally got deep enough to swim. I got to see the Matterhorn without clouds, even though that meant Mrs. K. and a couple of us kids couldn’t go paragliding. I saw Venice, something I have wanted to do ever since I was a kid. I don’t think there was a single day where something didn’t take my breath away. It was so wonderful getting to be part of other cultures and enjoy other people’s backyard.

Mitzi Holdren My favorite and most impactful part of the trip was hiking in Switzerland and Italy. The hikes showed differences in the geology of the Alps. I loved seeing new places and meeting new people. I learned so much on this trip it was hard to narrow down to one thing.

Cassie Shenefelt

The best part of the trip was getting to climb in the Alps during our time in Zermatt. The scenery was uber amazing and it kind of felt like home being in the thin air. Gaining altitude while looking at glaciers and the Matterhorn made me speechless.

Will Schaar

My favorite part of the trip was when we visited Switzerland and saw the Matterhorn. By visiting the Matterhorn, I was able to put all of the geology that I learned in the classroom and see it in the field. Seeing evidence on how the African, European, and Oceanic plate collided gave me a better understand on how unique and amazing Earth can be. Also, visiting the glaciers was amazing. Getting to enter a glacier, feel the inside, and see the structure of the glaciers and how much time it took to form, provided me with an experience that I will never forget and made me appreciate the value of learning the geology of the Earth so much more.

Armando Calderon

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Other than the whole trip being a highlight, and the experience, I would have to say climbing the mountain in Switzerland next to the Matterhorn was the greatest experience. Seeing the Matterhorn was amazing and being so fortunate to see it with blue skies. On our hike we saw sheep, goats, glaciers and glacial landforms, amazing views, and so many geologic structures. To be able to experience that is once in a lifetime, eye-opening, and educational. I’ll never forget this trip and all the things we did: Venice, the Dolomites, glacial lake swimming, and walking through a glacier. The Rhone glacier was probably the second best thing on the trip, considering they will be gone one day. How many people walk through the inside of a glacier? I have definitely gained a lot from this trip and plan on going back to Europe.

Lauren Berrien

Why are international educational experiences important? International educational experiences are important because it provides students with different perspectives on different ways of life. Not only did we learn Geology on the other side of the Earth, but we also got to learn different cultural values, customs, and ideas that allow us as students to expand our views on the world. By visiting Europe and learning the structure of the Alps, it allowed us to see, feel, and better understand the complex formation of the Alps, A textbook can get a student so far, but by visiting the actual place that one has read about in textbooks for years, it gives the students much more appreciation for on what they are learning and is an experience that will never be forgotten.

Armando Calderon It was one of the greatest experiences as a geology student to be able to really interact with what we were studying. Getting the opportunity to study the Alps up close is something that can never be taught through a text book. Being able to collect rock samples, actually see the magnitude of the Dolomites, and stand on the ground which we talked about was an experience lifetime.

Olivia Ruiz

International educational experiences are important because we get to see different geology from around the world. Geology is a hands-on science that requires lots of field work. Sitting in a classroom looking at pictures does not give you the knowledge that being in a field collecting samples does. Being in Europe looking at the Alps is such a mind-blowing experience. No place in the world is geology exactly the same, and seeing a different mountain range than the Rockies really shows how geology is not a science of similarities but a science of differences.

Cassie Shenefelt

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Although we have a lot of geology in Colorado, the geology in Europe is slightly different. As a class we all went to Europe with different geology backgrounds. Some of us had taken stratigraphy and structure, mineralogy, and the basics of geology. Overseas, all of our knowledge put together was still intimidated by the structures that were upon us. By studying geology in Europe I was able to recap my geology 1010 knowledge and learn a wide range of other geology such as: coral reef, history of geologic areas, plate tectonics, landforms, rock types, environmental hazards, policies, and some hydrology facts. Europe is a wonderful place to learn geology, it has perfect examples of faults, foliation, stratigraphy and structure, and the rock change through the Alps. Learning overseas is also a great way to compare and contrast environmental differences. Seeing geologic structures in Europe made a larger impact on my education than reading it out of a book. I feel confident in myself and in my knowledge that I could go out and identify a specific landform and talk about it since this trip. Colorado has some amazing geology also but it’s important to understand what’s going in other places as well. For example, we certainly do not have the same type of plate tectonic movements as Europe does, so we should understand how the world works as a whole cycle. Another benefit from this trip was seeing all the glaciers and going inside the Rhone Glacier. I have gained so much knowledge from being able to see a glacier and study them in person. Especially since glaciers are a goal for my career, this was a golden opportunity for me. Hands-on education makes any education stronger and helps any student in the long run and when they graduate. I have used my experience and knowledge gained by going overseas in some of my other classes and outside of school. I think that every student should experience education abroad.

Lauren Berrien

We went to a part of the world that some of the most interesting and complex geology in the world. The Europeans who study the Alps are some of the best geologists in the world and gaining from their experience is invaluable to becoming a better geologist. The nappe complexes that we encounter were beyond anything we can experience in the desert, let alone in the United States. Trying to understand how and why the Earth moves is the reason I became a geologist, so this trip really helped me see how the Earth moves different ways in different parts of the world. The best geologist is the one who has seen the most rocks!

Will Schaar

International education opportunities allow students to not only study new and different subject matter, but to experience education in a whole new environment. Learning about things where they happen allows for an entire connection of concepts and provides a wholly wealthier enrichment.

Mitzi Holdren

Photo Fun

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