Funding: Peking University – University of Salzburg collaborative program

Time: July 14th to July 25th, 2014

Introduction:

The field trip was mainly concerned about the geology of Eastern Alps located in Austria. It provided a great opportunity to overview the main tectonic units (nappes) of the Eastern Alps, as a classical area to understand mountain-building processes of collision zone on Earth. During the trip, The Eastern Alps consists of Molasse, Helvetic and Rhenodanubian Flysch unit, Northern Calcareous Alps, Greywacke zone, Tauern window, Austroalpine nappe, Carnic Alps, and Julian Alps. During the trip, several points or observations are highlighted: Tethys, convergence-collision-collapse, basement versus cover, continental versus oceanic unit, sedimentary environment, extrusion tectonics, deep subduction, and metamorphic overprint. The trip shows abundant structural and petrological evidence to elucidate the complex evolution of an orogenic belt at convergent plate margin, as a significant supplement to professional training outside the classroom.

Field excursion Advisor:

Prof. Dr. Franz Neubauer (Universtiy of Salzburg, Austria), Dr. Johann Genser (Universtiy of Salzburg, Austria), Prof. Zhang Jinjiang (Peking university), Prof. Yu Chaomei (Peking univeristy), Dr. Lü Zeng (Peking univeristy).

Students:

24 undergraduates

Route map of field trip

Prof. Franz Neubauer