Multi-day field trips (Germany)

MD 01 - Indicators for Climate Change in the Northern Alps

Berchtesgaden: Lake Königssee as indicator for Climate Change
Leitzachtal: Glacial morphology in the Northern Foothills of the Alps
Ötztaler Alpen: Impact of Climate Change on recent Alpine Glaciation

Day 1: The excursion will start in the Northern Foothills of the Alps with a hike to the valley of the river Leitzach. The uniqueness of this landscape is due to an ancient small local glacier. Hence it is possible to see versatile relicts of the Würm glaciation (e.g. moraines, dead ice holes) in small size, which helps to understand the processes and structures of the last great Alpine ice age.
Day 2: Subsequently we will visit the Berchtesgaden National Park with the famous Mount Watzmann East Face, which is the longest rock wall in the Eastern Alps. Further highlights include the well-known “Ice-Chapel”, the Lake Obersee, the Schrainbach-waterfall and the St. Bartholomä Chapel. We will also look at the impact of Climate Change on the pre-alpine Lake Königssee, which is representative for many other Upper- Bavarian lakes. Finally, we will discuss the results of the LAKE-Project as well as success or deficits of the nature conservation strategy by the National Park Administration.
Days 3 + 4: On the last two days of our field trip we will advance to the Vernagtferner Glacier in the Austrian Ötztal Alps. Special attention will be given to the impact of a warming climate on the recent Alpine glaciation. This includes a visit to the beautiful glacier caves as example for reduced glacier dynamics. A climb up to the Schwarzkögele (optional), will offer scenic views over the complete glaciation area. We will also visit an alpine research group at a runoff survey station and discuss other topics like alpine pasture farming and former transhumance as typical ways of land use in Central Alpine valleys. The last night we will stay at a mountain hut of the Alpine Club.
Beside the scientific programme the field trip will also provide insights into the Bavarian and Austrian culture and gastronomy.

Organisers: Stefan Weinberger, PD Mark Vetter und Prof. Otfried Baume (University of Munich)
Email: S.Weinberger@geographie.uni-muenchen.de or mark.vetter@lmu.de
Phone: +49-(0)89-2180-6666

22th August – 25th August 2012
Start: 22nd August at 12:00h (Munich Central Station)
End: 25th August at 18:00h (Munich Central Station)
Number of participants: 15-25
Fee: 529€

Note: Accommodation and breakfast are included. The train ticket to Munich is not included. A return ticket from Cologne will cost about 160-260€ €. Early booking is recommended to get cheaper train fares. There will be no single rooms available in the mountain accommodation.

MD 02 - Rivers meet volcanoes: Geographical highlights of Rhine, Mosel and Eifel

Drachenfels: Subvolcanism, history of the river Rhine
Blumsley: Fluvial terraces of the river Mosel
Loreley: UNESCO World Heritage, narrow Rhine valley
Burg Eltz: Best-preserved medieval castle of Germany
Mosenberg: Scoria cone and crater lake
Meerfelder Maar: Largest maar, maar formation, eutrophication
Dauner Maar Group: Dating and development of maars, limnology of maar lakes
Bernkastel-Kues: Dining at a monastry, wine tasting
Wallenborn: Cold water geyser
Maarmuseum: Maars as a touristic attraction
Holzmaar: Archive of environmental and climatic conditions
Laacher See: Europe’s youngest explosive volcano
Rodderberg (if time permits): Northernmost young volcano of Germany, interaction between a volcano and the river Rhine

Organiser: Prof. Bernd Zolitschka
Email: zoli@uni-bremen.de
Phone: +49-(0)421-218-67 150

22nd August – 24th August 2012
Start: 22nd August at 8:00h (Cologne, IGC field trip desk)
End: 24th August at 20:00h (Cologne)
Number of participants: 15-45
Fee: 380€

MD 03 - Berlin’s urban and economic development

Day 1 (24th August):

Berlin’s urban development (historic and current), guided tour of the inner city area
Berlin-Adlershof: visit to one of Berlin’s “technology centres” and meeting with representatives of local start-up companies

Day 2 (25th August):

Guided tour of different inner city neighbourhoods, introduction to Berlin’s most recent urban developments and discussion of the concept of “neighbourhood management”, the role of demographic change, urban regeneration, gentrification and their effects on housing prices and residential structures

Organiser: Prof. Elmar Kulke (Humboldt University of Berlin)
Email: elmar.kulke@geo.hu-berlin.de
Phone: +49(0) 30-2093 6814

23rd August – 25th August 2012
Start : 24th August 9:00h (“Weltzeituhr” on Alexanderplatz, Berlin)
End: 25th August 16:00 (Berlin)
Number of participants: 20
Fee: 200€

Important Notes:
(a) The train ticket to Berlin is not included. A regular train ticket from Cologne will cost approximately 100€. Booking early is recommended to get cheaper train fares.
(b) As the field trip will start early on Friday morning, participants should arrive on Thursday evening, the 23rd August. Accommodation for Thursday and Friday night (single room occupancy) is included in the participation fee.

MD 04 - Shaping the Future of the Ruhr Metropolitan Region

(Duisburg – Essen – Bottrop – Gelsenkirchen – Dortmund - Bochum)

The polycentric urban landscape of the former German heartland of coal mining and steel production along the river Emscher and bordered by the rivers Lippe and Ruhr has been subjected to a profound and ongoing transformation. How does this region react to the driving processes such as economic restructuring, demographic and climate change, regional effects of globalization?
The field trip demonstrates recent key projects in the Ruhr Metropolitan Region such as the InnovationCity Ruhr, the Emscher Landscape Park and the former International Building Exhibition (IBA Emscherpark). The changing discourses, the potentials for regional identification and the challenges for the planning authorities, stakeholders and manifold actors will be discussed in the field comprising aspects of industrial heritage, river restoration, postindustrial nature and energy efficient city restructuring. Perspectives from human geography, landscape ecology as well as planning strategies will be addressed.

Organiser: Prof. Harald Zepp (University of Bochum)
Email: gi-research@rub.de
Phone: +49-(0)234 - 3224788

24th August – 25th August 2012
Start: 24th August at 8:00h (Cologne, IGC field trip desk)
End: 25th August at 18:00h (Cologne)
Number of participants: 20-35
Fee: 220€

MD 05 - Between River Ems and River Weser: Northwest Germany

This 6-day field trip will explore the regional challenges of globalization in the Northwest of Germany. A special focus will be on the environmental history and recent geo-ecological and socio-economic dynamics at the German North Sea coast.

Periphery in the German Northwest (Emsland and Ostfriesland)
Meyer-shipyard in Papenburg
marshland evolution and historical and recent coastal protections
geo-ecological evolution of a Frisian island (Spiekeroog)
tourism and environment protection in the UNESCO World Heritage “Wattenmeer”
conceptions of recent and future harbours in Wilhelmshaven and Bremerhaven
historic Hanseatic and modern city of Bremen

Organiser: Prof. Jörg Friedhelm Venzke (University of Bremen)
Email: jfvenzke@uni-bremen.de
Phone: +49-(0)421- 218 63490 or 63491

31st August – 5th September 2012
Start: 31st August at 8:00h (Cologne, IGC field trip desk)
End: 5th September at about 14:00h (Bremen) - assistance with booking train ticket to Cologne or to a local airport can be provided
Number of participants: 18-30
Fee: 740€

MD 06 - Sylt Island & Hamburg

Hamburg City & Port:

Port infrastructure, construction and engineering
Urban Geography of Hamburg

Sylt :

Coastal Geomorphology
Evolution of the North Sea
World Heritage Wadden Sea
National Park Wadden Sea
Coastal Protection
Sea level rise

Organisers: Prof. Andreas Vött and Konstantin Ntageretzis (University of Mainz)
Email: konstantin.ntageretzis@uni-mainz.de
Phone: +49-(0)6131-39-22773

31st August – 4th September 2012
Start: Friday 31st August (09:00h Cologne)
End: Tuesday 4th September (in the evening, Cologne)
Number of participants: 18-25
Fee: 864€

Note: The fee is based on double room occupancy. Single room occupancy (max. 5 rooms available) will incur a surcharge of 86€