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This year, the annual Große Exkursion (Big Excursion) of the Institut für Geowissenschaften (Institute for Geosciences) der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena will undertake a trip focusing on structure and tectonics across the Alps. This will be led by Prof. Dr. Kamil Ustaszewski, the head of Structural Geology at the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena. This trip will involve two transects across the Central and Eastern portion of the Alpine Mountains over a two-week period during Aug-Sept.


Spectacular landscape of Marlomada in the Alps of Italy


The Alps represent a collisional orogen formed broadly during the convergence of the European and Adriatic continents. This process can be traced back as early as 250 million years ago. During this time Europe, North America and Africa were situated very close to each other in what was known as the Supercontinent Pangea. Underlying plate tectonic forces driven by deep convection of the Earth’s Mantle resulted in this supercontinent disassembling, leading to a complex ballet between these large continental plates, and also a number of smaller plates between them. These movements would ultimately culminate in Africa and Europe converging approximately 35 million years ago, causing several continental plates to collide and result in the birth of the Alpine Orogen.



Tectonic map of the Alps from the Schimd et al., 2004

The 2017 Alpine Große Exkursion will expose students to some of the broader Alpine science, while taking a detailed look into some structural aspects that highlight its complicated evolution. Prior to the Alpine excursion, the students will participate in a seminar series included within the module “MGEO2.1: Große Exkursion Alpen”. The main contents of the seminar series include the architecture and development of the Alps, in particular, the tectonic processes of subduction, continent-continent-collision and continent-arc-collision. Other important topics also include the formation and evolution of the Ostalpin, Tauernfenster and Dolomites.


Students examine graphitic phyllite near Viamala Schlucht during the 2014 Große Exkursion


So, to learn more about the Alps, or just to see some really cool pictures, follow this blog to stay up-to-date with the latest developments of our AlpenRocks 2017 Große Exkursion!

Location: Jena, Germany

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