In March 2015, we went on a field campaign in the Kraichgau (Germany) to explore new loess-paleosol-sequences. With us (Bernhard Buhs, Eileen Eckmeier, Thomas Hauck, Arne Kappenberg, Lydia Krauss, Philipp Schulte, Joerg Zens) was a group of students eager to learn about the stuff we do and why we do it. Right after arriving, we started with an excursion on the geographical and geological background and the history of social-economic development based on this background. The next two days, the students worked hard on the two loess-paleosol-sequences and learned a lot about how to interpret the sediments in the field. We made sure that they all got dirty!
The last day, we took the final samples of the sequences. Additionally, we went to a forest near Forchtenberg which was used for fire experiments. Under different aspects a joint task force of archaeologists, ecologists and geographers was using experimental research to reconstruct Neolithic land use in southern Germany here (https://www.wald-feldbau.de/index.htm).
On the way back we were all pretty happy about the outcome of the days but also about getting home.
Students preparing a profile drawing. Photo: Eileen Eckmeier |
Students sampling for micromorphology and sedimentological analyses. Photo: Eileen Eckmeier |