290044 SE Seminar in Physical Geography (2025S)

Aim:
Students will receive the following competences:
- they know the rules of good scientific praxis and can implement them.
- they will recognize and understand the inherent interrelationships in the environmental systems and can teach them to others.
- they will be able to transfer this knowledge to other environmental questions.

Content:
In this seminar, current landscape dynamics in the Alpine region will be discussed. We will cover processes such as glacier retreat, permafrost changes, and the associated phenomena like sediment transport, the dynamics of high-mountain lakes, as well as the interactions between vegetation and geomorphological processes. Additionally, we will explore the use of modern technologies, such as satellite and drone-based remote sensing methods. Another focus will be on the impacts of human activities, including tourism and land use, conflicts over resource management, and the adaptation strategies of alpine communities to climate-induced landscape changes.

In the first sessions, we will talk about the broader context of the topic, repeat the basics of good scientific praxis and develop your research questions, which you will present with PowerPoint. Discussions and exercises will consolidate the knowledge.

Method:
Seminar with presentations, discussions, and exercises.