Anthropocene is a widely used term, a symbol that denotes the rising anthropogenic influence on the Earth System, especially on geological processes and strata. Potential Anthropocene geological units are thin but distinct and globally widespread, changes are long-lived or irreversible.

The key hypothesis of the project is the Anthropocene surge, the accelerating and propagating wave of human influence on the environments and urban geology. The main research question is how the Anthropocene evolved in the urban environments of Vienna, what anthropogenic markers can be identified and how can we develop a more tangible and imaginable access to those changes on an outreach level.

Study Area

Vienna is a prominent place to carry out this study given that the first geological city map recognizing anthropogenic strata was published by the famous Austrian geologist Eduard Suess in 1862. The topic of the Anthropocene is clearly multidisciplinary, involving Earth Sciences, Archaeology, Geography, Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts.

Process

Anthropogenic deposits have to be characterized and dated by their sedimentological features but also by artefacts ('technofossils'). 3D models of the anthropogenic strata will thus benefit from archaeological data. On the other hand, geochemical methods will provide further characterization of archaeological sites. All those data will then be implemented into a common GIS-system and for the first time into 3D models of the ground of Vienna, and its evolution in time.