The Section of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Geneva and the Platform Geosciences of the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) cordially invite you to participate in the 19th Swiss Geoscience Meeting to be held on Friday, 19 November and Saturday, 20 November, 2021.
In light of the on-going situation with the Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s edition of the SGM will be exclusively held online via video-conferencing.
Programme
Friday, 19 November
Catastrophic floods and landslides triggered by violent storms, and unprecedented high temperatures facilitating ravaging wildfires are only a few of the tragic consequences that have affected our society over recent years. There is a causal relationship between such extreme events and the exponential growth of our society over the last decades profoundly altering the Earth’s climate. The sixth IPCC assessment report published in August 2021 describes how the Earth’s climate will continue to worsen if no action is taken in the coming years.
The rapid temperature increase and climate change are an outcome of the rapid growth and globalization of our society and extensive use of fossil fuels. Authoritative and rigorous analyses indicate that an immediate decarbonization driven by a strong divestment of fossil fuels is imperative. At the same time, to contain the risk of inflation and to ensure global economic and industrial growth, several governments have called for an increase in accessible fossil fuel energy production to meet the demand of the post-Covid recovery. These apparently conflicting aspects, present the essence of the complexity of this unique time where access to cheap energy is still a crucial issue for hundreds of millions of people in developing communities in a planet where food scarcity, natural resource decline and exponential growth of global population are just few of the big challenges our planet is facing.
The 2021 SGM plenary session on Friday November 19th entitled 'Climate, Resources and Environment: Conflicts, Synergies & Compromises' will discuss some of these crucial topics. During the symposium prominent national and international scientists, who have been actively working and contributed to the understanding of ‘System Earth’ as a whole, will share their views on aspects ranging from climate science, energy transition and impact on ecosystems and society.
The symposium will include a number of presentations, extensive discussion and open debate facilitated by Pascaline Minet, a well-known journalist who will help unravel these fascinating topics.
Saturday, 20 November
On Saturday, 20 November, 23 scientific symposia will cover the diverse spectrum of current research in geosciences, encompassing the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the biosphere, the atmosphere and the anthroposphere.
The SGM also provides the 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 is reserved for two poster sessions, at which the authors will be present for active discussion and feedback.
Symposium 20. Scalability, transferability and transformative potential of global change research in mountains is jointly organised by the MRI. More information on this symposium is available here.
Registration
Registration is mandatory for this free online event.
The deadline for registration is Friday, 12 November 2021.
Symposia at SGM 2021
- Structural Geology, Tectonics and Geodynamics
- Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry
- Stable and radiogenic isotope geochemistry
- Environmental Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements
- Natural Organic Matter, Trace Metals and Nanoparticle Biogeochemistry
- Palaeontology
- Stratigraphy and Sedimentology: processes and deposits through time
- Seismic Hazard and Risk in Switzerland: From Science to Mitigation
- Deep geothermal energy, CO2-storage and energy-related exploration of the subsurface.
- Scientific Drilling is Going Strong, Scientific Drilling Matters!
- Quaternary environments: landscapes, climate, ecosystems and human activity during the past 2.6 million years
- Soil: Formation, Processes, and Conservation
- Geomorphology
- Hydrology and Hydrogeology
- Limnology in Switzerland
- Cryospheric Sciences
- Atmospheric Composition and Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions
- Tackling the Climate Crisis: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Climate Change Education and Communication
- Geoscience and Geoinformation – From data acquisition to modelling and visualisation
- Scalability, transferability and transformative potential of global change research in mountains (MRI Symposium)
- Human Geographies: Materials, Natures, Politics
- Human Geographies: Bodies, Cultures, Societies
- Human Geographies: Cities, Regions, Economies
Cover image by SofiLayla Thal.
