2. Advent (English version) – Gaining an understanding of the Earth system – Fachgruppe Geoökologie der TU Bergakademie Freiberg

It is already the second Sunday in Advent season! Time for having a brief recap of last Sunday…

Recap: Geoecology – GeoWHAT?!

Last week we tried to figure out what Geoecology actually is. We got the following contributions:

K.S.: Geoökologie - Natur im Erzgebirge. — (c) K.S.

>>For me, Geoecology is a mixture of
several classical sciences and one of
its aims is an improved environmental
protection.<<

>>Geoecologists are those people 
standing on the meadows on our 
Campus and trying to figure out which
plant it might be...<<

A more general definition comes from the Association for Geoecology in Germany e. V. (VGöD → https://www.vgoed.de/):

>>Geoecology is an interdisciplinary natural science focussed on environmental problems.
It aims to understand the functioning and effects of the environment, 
in particular to recognise and solve problems in connection with human use of the environment.<<

Trying to understand the Earth system: The Department of Geochemistry, Geoecology and Biogeochemistry

Many processes in the Earth system, such as the formation of ores, can be described in geochemical terms.
However, life has existed on Earth for over 3 billion years. All organisms change their environment: be it bacteria that break down nutrients or be it beavers that dam up entire rivers. Therefore, at least on the earth’s surface, pure geochemistry does not make sense – the biological influences must always be considered (cf. Vernadsky 1926, repr. 2012). This is the focus of the Department of Geochemistry, Geoecology and Biogeochemistry (→ https://tu-freiberg.de/en/faculty3/mineralogy/biogeochemistry).

Prof. em. Jörg Matschullat had set the focus on atmospheric processes and the geochemistry of soils. Since 2020, Jun.-Prof. Maximilian Lau continues this work, but also sets new spotlights, e.g. on limnology (science of the inland water bodies). Additionally, Prof. Marion Tichomirowa puts in the perspective of isotope geochemistry.

Teaching activities of the department encompass e.g. Biogeochemistry, Meteorology & Climatology und Geochemische Analytik. Those courses are taken by students of mainly Geoecology, Geology/Mineralogy, Geosciences and Energy and Resource Management.

Besides, the Department of Geochemistry, Geoecology and Biogeochemistry can also help you with the question how to dress weather-proved today: They run own weather stations, e.g. on the university’s mining facility „Reiche Zeche“. ☔⛄☀️

Challenge of today

Today’s challenge is a crossword puzzle about the tree and plant species on our Campus. You can find the crossword puzzle using following link: //puzzel.org/de/crossword/play?p=-OD5Kjnilqsouix8M-6W. It uses the German names, but don’t hesitate to contact us if you have an idea about the species. :)
Below, you can find some images of the species we are looking for.

Don’t forget: Anyone who participates in all four Advent challenges has the chance to win a small gift!¹

Wishing you a peaceful christmas time and a great second advent

Fachgruppe Geoökologie 🎅