22nd Swiss Geoscience Meeting 2024 Basel
The 22nd edition of the Swiss Geoscience Meeting focused on the Anthropocene. It was held in Basel on 8 + 9 November 2024.
The Department of Environmental Sciences of the University of Basel and and the Platform Geosciences of the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) cordially invite you to participate in the 22nd Swiss Geoscience Meeting to be held on Friday, 8 November and Saturday, 9 November, 2024 in Basel.
On Friday, 8 November
The SGM started on Friday morning with a GEODES Workshop on decolonizing geosciences.
The theme of the Plenary Session on Friday afternoon was: “The Anthropocene – Past, Present and Future”:
Since its formation around 4.5 billion years ago, planet Earth has experienced many major transformations in consequence of processes and events such as plate tectonics, meteorite impacts and mass extinctions. With the appearance of modern humans around 250,000 years ago, a new force began to alter the planet. In recent decades, human activities have culminated in massive modifications of our world that may be visible in rock layers, and the geological indicators preserved in these layers, for several hundred thousand years into the future. The term “Anthropocene” is now frequently used to highlight our profound influence on climate, biodiversity, habitat destruction, pollution and alterations to the Earth’s surface. Geoscience plays a pivotal role in revealing how our actions have impacted the Earth’s systems during the Anthropocene from the past to the present, in addressing potential future impacts, and to propose options to mitigate our influence into the future.
Our four keynote speakers covered a wide range of topics related to this year’s theme:
- Helmut Weissert (ETH Zürich, Switzerland): “Anthropocene, a new Epoch in Earth History-but not for stratigraphers”
- Jürg Matter (University of Southampton, United Kingdom): “Carbon dioxide storage in mafic and ultramafic rocks: Learnings from field demonstration projects”
- Bettina Schaefli (University of Bern, Switzerland): “Alpine water resources in the Anthropocene”
- Thomas Stocker (University of Bern, Switzerland): “Sliding into the Anthropocene: Surprises ahead?”
On Saturday, 9 November
508 scientific presentations (297 talks and 211 posters) spread over 25 symposia covered the diverse spectrum of current research in geosciences, encompassing the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the biosphere, the atmosphere and the anthroposphere.
The SGM again provided an ideal environment to foster informal contacts and discussion among scientists, in particular during the Swiss Geoscience Party on Friday evening but also at the poster sessions on Saturday. Time was reserved for two poster sessions on Saturday, at which the authors were present for active discussion and feedback.
