10th Swiss Geoscience Meeting 2012, Bern

The Institute of Geography and the Institute of Geological Sciences of the University of Bern, as well as the Platform Geosciences of the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) cordially welcomed the 675 participants in the 10th Swiss Geoscience Meeting held on 16th and 17th November 2012 in Bern.

On Friday 16th, keynote presentations focused on that year's theme "Mountains – Up and Down". Celâl Şengör from Istanbul Technical University started with a presentation on relief-building processes on rocky planets, Eric Brun from the French National Centre for Meteorological Research (Météo-France/CNRS) discussed the influence of changing climate conditions on snowpack characteristics and on the underlying soil in mountain regions, Olav Slaymaker from the University of British Columbia focused on mountain environment changes in the Anthropocene epoch. The symposium was concluded with a presentation by Paul Messerli, from the University of Bern, who focused on the evolution of the cultural perception of the Alps and their significance for society though time.

On Saturday 17th, a series of 18 scientific symposia covered the diverse spectrum of current research in geoscience, encompassing the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the biosphere, the atmosphere and the anthroposphere.