Fourth EGU Alexander von Humboldt International Conference

First Circular
September 2007
European Geosciences Union
Fourth EGU Alexander von Humboldt International Conference
The Andes: Challenge for Geosciences
Santiago de Chile
November 24-28, 2008
Scope
The Andes, one of the major mountain ranges on Earth, constitute a unique Geosciences
laboratory hosting natural phenomena and processes on virtually all geosciences sub-disciplines
(Solid-earth geophysics, tectonics, volcanology, economic geology, geomorphology, soil
sciences, meteorology/climatology, hydrology, glaciology and geobotany). Moreover, there are
not only many scientific issues specific to each sub-discipline, but also several cross-cutting
themes of tremendous scientific interest and practical relevance, such as the climategeomorphology
interactions over different timescales.
Extending from the northern tropics of Venezuela (about 10°N) all the way to Tierra del Fuego
(about 53°S), with heights ranging over 5000 m at tropical/subtropical latitudes, the Andes
provide a formidable barrier for the tropospheric flow. The Andes not only act as a “climatic wall”,
with dry conditions to the west and moist conditions to the east at tropical/subtropical latitudes
(the pattern reverts in midlatitudes), but they also foster tropical-extratropical interactions.
Furthermore, the Andes comprise all major climate and thus vegetation zones, from tropical to ice
climates to absolute desert, both over their north-south extent as well as in the vertical direction.
Due to their origin related to an active convergent-plate margin that causes uplifting and
volcanism, the Andes show extreme complexity, with strong gradients in geology and
morphological structure. The Andean orogeny involves tectonic and geodynamic processes that
generate intense deformation and faulting, active subduction zone seismicity, magmatism and
associated ore deposits.
Humans depend on the Andes through renewable (e.g. water) and non-renewable (e.g. minerals)
resources that support from local communities to national economies. In particular, water
resources are under immense pressure from increasing population growth, and they could be
severely diminished in the near future in the context of global warming. Dramatic retreats of
glaciers are already observed in many Andean areas.
Compared to other major mountain ranges, the Andes are not well studied and their geophysical
characteristics poorly documented and understood. Although research has been carried out by
various teams, from South America, Europe, and North America, on diverse topics and in
different areas, an overall understanding of the Andes as a complex system is still lacking.
This lack assumes utmost importance given the fact that the Andes and surrounding low-lands
are prone to major natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides,
avalanches, flooding and flash-floods, whose prediction and mitigation strategies require a
comprehensive understanding of the entire system. A better assessment of the risks that result
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from a variety of processes is highly relevant for a more sustainable management of the
resources in the Andes.
Aim of the Conference
It is the aim of this interdisciplinary and international EGU Humboldt Conference to bring
researchers from diverse specializations together and thus catalyze more comprehensive
interdisciplinary research towards a better understanding of the complexity of the Andes
system.
Scientists from all geosciences fields carrying out research related to the Andes are
invited to contribute to this interdisciplinary conference.
Topics (To be introduced by invited Keynote Speakers)
Contributions from all fields of the Geosciences are welcome. In particular the conference will
focus on the following topics:
• Cryosphere and hydrology
• Climate, Climate Variability and Climate Change
• Tectonics and Geodynamics
Interdisciplinary themes include, but are not restricted to:
• Climate-Tectonics-Surface Processes
• Water resources in future climate scenarios
• Impact of subduction on tectonics, volcanism and atmospheric chemistry
• Sustainable, environmentally friendly utilization of natural resources
• Coping with incomplete data in geosciences
• Risk in the geosciences
Conference language: English
Scientific Program Committee
Peter Fabian, EGU, Germany; Co-Chairman
René Garreaud, Universidad de Chile; Co-Chairman
Patricio Aceituno, Universidad de Chile
Guenter Bloeschl, Austria
Joerg Bendix, Germany
Christoph Schneider, Germany
Ricardo Villalba, Argentina
Francoise Vimeux, France
Mario Pardo, Universidad de Chile
James McPhee, Universidad de Chile
Andrés Rivera, Chile
Reynaldo Charrier, Universidad de Chile
German Poveda, Colombia
Victor Ramos, Argentina
Robert Tilling, USA
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Venue
The 4 th EGU Alexander von Humboldt International Conference will be held at the Facultad de
Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas of the Universidad de Chile (http://www.fcfm.uchile.cl), located
near downtown in Santiago, Chile.
Local Organizing Committee
René Garreaud and team, Universidad de Chile
Conference Fee
US$ 250 (limited financial support for young scientists will be made available)
Conference Proceedings
It is planned to publish the contributions to this conference in a special volume of the EGU
Journal Advances in Geosciences (http://www.egu.eu/adgeo/adgeo.html)
Please express your interest by e-mail:
Yes, I plan to present a paper on the following subject:
Yes, I plan to present a paper on the following subject:
Name:
E-Mail:
Institution:
Alternatively, you are kindly asked to use the following link and express your interest by filling-out
an online form:
https://www.copernicus.org/site/redsys/classicform.phpform=form_avh08_circular
The Second Circular containing detailed information, including logistics, will be mailed during
January 2008. Those who will have expressed their interest by then will automatically receive it.
October, 2007
Peter Fabian (EGU)
peter.fabian@wzw.tum.de
René Garreaud (Universidad de Chile)
rgarreau@dgf.uchile.cl
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Previous EGU Humboldt Conferences
http://www.egu.eu/info/alexander_von_humboldt_international_conferences.html
1st Alexander von Humboldt International Conference on The El Niño phenomenon and its global
impact. Guayaquil, Ecuador, 16 – 20 May 2005
2nd Alexander von Humboldt International Conference on The Role of Geophysics in Natural
Disaster Prevention. Lima, Peru. 05 – 09 March 2007
3rd Alexander von Humboldt International Conference on The East Asian Monsoon: Past,
Present and Future. Beijing, China. 27 – 30 August 2007
Please post this Circular and/or make it available to other colleagues who
might be interested in this conference.
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