Department of Geodynamics and Sedimentology

Research at the Department of Geodynamics and Sedimentology focuses on academic research of ductile/brittle lithospheric and earth surface processes, particularly their application to petroleum geology and seismology in geodynamics, tectonics, sedimentology and stratigraphy. The Department of Geodynamics and Sedimentology consists of several interdisciplinary closely collaborating reasearch groups, e.g. the Sedimentary Geology Group and the Structural Processes Group Vienna. As an integrative technique, special emphasis is given on the quantitative modelling of geodynamic processes.

Department of Lithospheric Research

The Department of Lithospheric Research deals with all aspects of the geological investigation of Earth's lithosphere. Main fields of interest are the petrological, geochemical and geochronological characterisation of plutonic, ophiolitic, and metamorphic rock units of the continental and oceanic crust, respectively. Our investigations are thereby focused on the Alpine orogeny. Other topics of interest are the investigation of geochemical and metasomatic processes in the upper sub-continental mantle in South America and Siberia, the investigation of meteorite impacts on Earth and their influence on the environment, the investigation of meteorites, and the archaeometrical characterisation of artefacts.

Department of Environmental Geosciences

The Department for Environmental Geosciences takes an interdisciplinary approach to the investigation of aquatic and terrestrial processes that control the earth environment. Chemical, physical, biological, and geoscientific concepts and methods are applied to experimental work and field observations to arrive at a molecular scale mechanistic understanding and quantitative modelling of these processes. The Department is well equipped to seize opportunities presented by new developments in areas such as nanogeosciences, molecular biology, isotope geochemistry, environmental chemical analytics, chemical speciation and modern hydrogeology. Our overall goal is to understand processes controlling the environment in the earth history and to apply fundamental insights to the solution of some of the pressing environmental problems of today and tomorrow.