Underground mapping course in Freiberg 2025, photo: Martin Reichenberger
Field trip to the Western Alps in Switzerland 2025, photo: Kurosch Thuro
From June 19 to 22, students of the M.Sc. in Engineering & Hydrogeology went on a field trip to the Western Alps. In addition to the summer temperatures and the picturesque views of the Swiss mountains, the unique outcrops were the highlight of the excursion. The depositional history and tectonic development of the Western Alps were analysed through hands-on geology in key outcrops. In addition to current infrastructure projects such as the expansion of the Gotthard road tunnel, the high relevance of geological investigations in the Alps became particularly clear with regard to geohazards in the form of slope movements. For example, more than 1 billion cubic metres of solid rock fell into the valley during the prehistoric landslide of Flims, permanently changing the landscape for several kilometres down the valley.
On 9 May 2025, the field exercise for the tunnelling lecture took place for students specifying in Engineering Geology. The students had to record the complex joint and falt structures and the rock conditions in the Wachtl quarry of Rohrdorfer Zement GmbH near Kiefersfelden. The survey was carried out using conventional methods - such as scanline and Barton comb - as well as UAV flights and the subsequent creation of a 3D outcrop model.