From the Equator to the Ice Age: 400 Million Years of Geology in the Field

Around 40 first-year geoscience students at Heidelberg University have successfully completed their field

course Geoscientific Methods in the Field – taking a journey through 400 million years of Earth history.

The course began with local geology around Heidelberg, including the Upper Rhine Graben and the

Spatschlucht, where students developed their first practical field skills. The focus here was on learning how to

“read” the landscape: observing, describing, and interpreting geological features in the field.

The excursions then moved on to two contrasting geological environments:

• the Vulkaneifel, a geologically young and dynamic volcanic region shaped by explosive activity –

almost “still warm” in geological terms

• the Rhenish Massif, a much older, strongly deformed terrain, whose rocks were originally deposited

near the equator during the Devonian

Together, these sites tell a remarkable story: from tropical marine environments at the equator, through

mountain building and deformation, to the landscapes shaped by Ice Age processes in Central Europe.

The course focused on essential field skills, including:

• using a geological compass
• outcrop description and interpretation
• field sketching and drawing
• field notebook documentation
• identification of different rock types

A key component of the course was also field safety and responsible work in real field conditions.

The course was led by Prof. Dr. Derya Gürer and Jochen Olbert (M.Sc.