06.12.2025 | 00:00
University of Bern
The Institute of Geological Sciences of the University of Bern, the Platform Geosciences of the Swiss Academy of Sciences, SCNAT as well as the Swiss Association of Geologists, CHGEOL cordially invite you to participate in the 23rd Swiss Geoscience Meeting × 7th Swiss Geologists Day to be held on Friday, 5 December and Saturday, 6 December, 2025 in Bern.
On Friday, 5 December
The SGM will start on Friday morning with the GEODES Workshop on «How language influences the way we see the world», as well as a new ASG workshop.
The theme of this year’s Plenary Session on Friday afternoon is: “Realigning within Planetary Boundaries: Equity and Sustainability in Resource exploration”:
The day will end with the traditional Swiss Geoscience Party.
On Saturday, 6 December
A series of 31 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.
This year, the 23rd Swiss Geoscience Meeting is also hosting the 7th Swiss Geologists Day. About 30 exhibitors from industry, government, private sector and academia will offer opportunities for speed-dating, networking and to discover new professional horizons.
The Swiss Geoscience Meeting × Swiss Geologists Day provides an ideal environment to foster informal contacts and discussion among scientists and practitioners in particular during the Swiss Geoscience Party on Friday evening but also at the poster sessions and exhibition stands on Saturday.
The MRI at the Swiss Geosciences Meeting 2025
At this year’s Swiss Geoscience Meeting 2025, the MRI will host a session titled ‘Glaciers and Delegation: Multidisciplinary perspectives on their relevance for society’ presented by Carolina Adler (MRI Executive Director), Iago Otero and Jeanne Fournier (Interdisciplinary Centre for Mountain Research), and Elisa Frank (Forum Landscape, Alps, Parks).
Session Description
Through a resolution passed at the United Nations General Assembly in 2022, the UNGA proclaimed 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation (IYGP) to raise awareness of the vital role glaciers play as a key component of the cryosphere and Earth system, the far-reaching impacts of rapid glacial melt for ecosystems and people, and actions needed to limit their loss. In doing so, the IYGP also shines a spotlight on the urgent need to strengthen and broaden scientific research to inform measures that “protect” glaciers, through decisive climate mitigation and adaptation action.
The IYGP shines a spotlight on those places in which multiple and interconnected processes of change, feedbacks, and socioeconomic factors interact with glacier loss, thereby exacerbating impacts – such as in mountains and their downstream areas. In “strengthening and broadening scientific research”, this session connects expertise, interests, and scientific insights by taking a systems approach to understanding and characterising the far-reaching impacts associated with glacier loss and future risks. Some of the topics and themes to explore include (but are not limited to):
- Cascading impacts and compound risks (natural hazards and disasters).
- “Mountains without snow and ice” – scenarios and foresight to imagine the unimaginable.
- History, ethnography, and the role of the arts and humanities for sensemaking and shaping societal values in times of rapid change.
- Impacts and opportunities for societal sectors (tourism, energy, water, agriculture) and governance imperatives posed by glacier loss and the emergence of new periglacial landscapes.
This session features invited speakers with multidisciplinary contributions to the theme of glaciers in a changing climate. It also invites contributions from across the geosciences, and beyond, to explore and inspire new integrative research ideas and collaborations, as well as prospects for broader future-oriented and socially-relevant glacier and cryosphere-related research.
The session is a contribution from the organising entities to the observance of the IYGP 2025.
Abstract submission closes 29 August 2025.
View all the sessions, including this one, on the official Geoscience Meeting 2025 website.