Kiel Visit N° 4

Monika Wiebe (ESR11) | @ CAU Kiel, Germany (4-27 February 2019)

February 2019 brought me back to Kiel – this time for almost four weeks. After my previous three visits (see here, here, and here), I felt almost at home in this charming northern German city. The purpose of another visit was a mixture of the need to get input on seismic analysis, and the desire to get input on my current work progress.

During my stay, I was supervised by Dr. Felix Gross, who helped me with the seismic analysis, and with getting my thoughts organised on how to write a paper. The seismic analysis did not reveal any major results, but having done it myself helped me to better understand the types of data I am dealing with. During meetings with Dr. Gareth Crutchley (GNS Science) and Dr. Morelia Urlaub (GEOMAR) I also got valuable feedback and ideas on how to proceed, which resulted in a new model scenario that I conducted during my stay.

The longer stay also enabled me to see more of Kiel, such as the famous seals in front of the GEOMAR building along the Kieler Förde.

Where?

When?

  • 04. – 27.02.2019

Kiel impressions

The famous Kiel seals (right now under water)
The famous Kiel seals (right now under water)
Old town hall
Old town hall

Annual Meeting of the German Geophysical Society (DGG)

Monika Wiebe (ESR11) | @ TU Braunschweig, Germany (3-7 March 2019)

Shortly after my most recent secondment at Kiel University, I had the chance to attend the Annual Meeting of the DGG – the “Deutsche Geophsikalische Gesellschaft” (German Geophysical Society), not to be confused with the “Deutsche Gartenbauwissenschaftliche Gesellschschaft” (German Horticultural Sciences Society). The DGG brings together geophysicists from academia and industry, in order to connect and share knowledge. A number of students also attended the meeting, some of whom even came as larger groups from their universities.

It was my first time attending such a meeting and presenting my work to national and international researchers in form of a poster. Explaining my project to scientists from very different backgrounds and seeing their interest in my work was a good experience for me.

When you come from the University of Bremen, as I do, geophysics is used almost as a synonym for marine seismics. While my previous studies covered the other geophysical disciplines (like gravimetry, magnetics, etc.), few people at the University of Bremen actually apply them. So it was almost surprising for me to see the number of presentations and posters not focusing on marine seismics. I attended a number of different plenary talks and sessions, from geodynamics to seismology to volcanology, and enjoyed the experience of diving into different topics that I don’t usually come across. For example, I discovered that it is worth checking earthquake records on the basis of historic newspaper articles in order to get a complete and verified earthquake catalogue.

Where?

  • TU Braunschweig

When?

  • 03. – 07.03.2019

Impressions

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Discussing science - the Tuaheni landslide workshop

Monika Wiebe (ESR11) | @ CAU Kiel, Germany (29-30 November 2018)

The Tuaheni landslide complex offshore New Zealand is one of the most (if not the most) studied landslide complex in recent times. In the last five years, it has been the focus of three research cruises involving multi-national teams of scientists – RV Tangaroa cruise Tan1404 in 2014, RV Sonne cruise SO247 in 2016, and JOIDES Resolution cruise JR372 in 2017/18. Multiple types of data and material have been collected during this time, including a 3D P-Cable seismic cube and sediment cores up to 180 m long. Scientists are continuing to process these data in order to get a better understanding for submarine landslides in general, and the Tuaheni landslide in particular. With so much work happening simultaneously but spread over the whole globe, it is challenging to keep track of who is doing what and which results have been produced already. To address this problem, scientists studying the Tuaheni landslide decided to come together during a two-day workshop to discuss their recent findings and ongoing work. As I also work on the Tuaheni landslide, this includes me.

In total 18 participants of six different nationalities travelled to Kiel for the Tuaheni workshop which took place on 29-30 November. I was already familiar with many of the names from paper reading, so it was great to finally be able to associate them with actual people. The first day of the workshop began with introductory talks about the objectives and main outcomes of the three expeditions mentioned above – these have provided the basis for research on the Tuaheni landslide. Then all participants had the chance to present how they have used the data, what they found out, and what they are planning to do in the future. A field trip that had been planned for after lunch on the first day unfortunately had to be cancelled, due to typical rainy November weather in Kiel. Instead, we discussed how to proceed with the workshop and which questions should be addressed in the remaining time. A joint dinner gave us the chance to continue discussions and get to know each other better.

The second day of the workshop was mainly used to work through the topics and questions that had been raised the previous day. We could not solve all of them during the course of that day – naturally – but we managed to come up with some strategies on how best to tackle these open questions. In the end we all agreed that, while we might not have found the big new exciting solution for how the Tuaheni landslide works, the workshop itself was beneficial to all of us. We are planning to meet again next year, when we might be another step closer to unravelling the mysteries of the Tuaheni landslide.

For me, the workshop was part of another secondment to Kiel. I used the days before and after to have more meetings with researchers there to discuss my recent progress and future plans. During my everyday work, I tend to focus on the difficulties and problems that arise. Attending the workshop helped me to see the broader picture and also my own work from a different perspective. I am confident that the contacts I gained and feedback I received will help me in my future progress, and look forward to next year’s workshop.

Where?

When?

  • 29. – 30.11.2018