Mission statement

For us, working in the field of Quaternary geology is the most diverse and best work on Earth. We focus on long-term developments of our landscape – especially of rivers and glaciers. Human settlements in (Alpine) environments are always related to climate shifts on Earth. We investigate these prominent developments in the Alpine living space and present our results to students in lectures and excursions, to international colleagues in talks and publications, to national park rangers during seminars, to pupils in school lectures, and to the public in podcasts and newspaper articles.

Our Quaternary group is part of the Institute of Applied Geology in the Department of “Civil Engineering and Natural Hazards”. The name of our department clearly expresses, that humans make use of the dynamic environment for settlements and infrastructure, and that this process requires consideration of natural risks and hazards.

Precisely that is our mission: based on our expert knowledge about (Alpine) environmental change, we provide scenarios of long-term landscape development and safety of our living environment. Only by exact observation and investigation of natural conditions, we can guarantee fresh water supply in our households, maintenance of Alpine traffic infrastructure, and fabrication of products based on natural resources.