Via GeoAlpina - an international project of IYPE (Invited)

Mountainous areas show geological features in a very conspicuous, frequently even in a spectacular way. Because of the general perception of the beauty of mountains many mountainous regions are well developed in terms of touristic infrastructure and accessibility. Therefore, mountains are a key area to bring earth sciences closer to people. In many mountain chains all over the world (e.g., Alps, Pyrenees, Andes, Rocky Mountains, Himalayas) far-ranging walking and hiking trails are developed to serve a broad spectrum of activists. To supply this audience with basic information about geological phenomena and processes along such trails the project “Via Geo...” was born as an international activity within the International Year of Planet Earth. This approach may and should be applied in different parts of the world. The Alps have been selected to act in a pilot project with six Alpine nations participating in “Via GeoAlpina”: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, and Switzerland. This is due to the fact that a wealth of well maintained trails and touristic infrastructure exists all over the Alps. Some of these are included in the project “Via Alpina” bridging the entire mountain system from the Adriatic Sea at Trieste (Italy) to Monte Carlo (Monaco) in the Western Mediterranean. The idea of Via GeoAlpina is to point at geological attractions along the trails of Via Alpina or in their vicinity and to offer simple but clear-cut information on these features. Various earth science fields will be covered, such as geology, geophysics, paleontology, mineralogy, hydrogeology, pedology, climatology, and geomorphology. In addition, particular topics on applied earth science aspects, e.g, mineral recourses and geological hazards, which are of particular importance for society, will be addressed. This information is primarily web-based and trail descriptions can be accessed and downloaded from the Via GeoAlpina website (http://www.viageoalpina.org). In 2009 every country inaugurated Via GeoAlpina on a national base with a particular opening event in the presence of local authorities and local and national media. These events were accompanied by the distribution of flyers, by offering guided tours and by installation of explanatory panels at particular field-sites. These activities, however, will be followed by even more actions in the future. These follow-ups should attract local and regional authorities at state, county or village level and will ideally be financed by private entrepreneurs and local administrations.