Behrmann, J.

Granet, M.

Heck, B.

Schmid, S.

Ziegler, P.

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EDITORIALJ. H. Behrmann Æ P. A. Ziegler Æ S. M. SchmidB. Heck Æ M. GranetThe EUCOR-URGENT ProjectUpper Rhine Graben: evolution and neotectonicsReceived: 9 May 2005 / Published online: 10 June 2005 Springer-Verlag 2005EUCOR-URGENT is a transnational EnvironmentalEarth System Dynamics Training through ResearchProject that is centred on the Upper Rhine Graben, thehome ground of the EUCOR Universities of Basel,Freiburg im Breisgau, Karlsruhe and Strasbourg. Owingto a vast database, the Upper Rhine Graben oﬀers anatural laboratory for analysing the evolution of a tec-tonically still active intracontinental rift and for assess-ing the impact of on-going slow deformation of theEarth’s crust on large population and industrial con-centrations. These are exposed to elevated seismic haz-ards and rely for their water supply to a large extent ongroundwater contained in the Quaternary ﬁll of theUpper Rhine Graben. These water resources areendangered by anthropogenic pollution.Innovating aspects of the EUCOR-URGENT Pro-ject are the transnational cooperation of all Solid EarthScience disciplines in an eﬀort to: (1) integrate allavailable data and to acquire new ones applying state-of- the-art technologies and numerical modelling, (2)quantify and model dynamic processes controlling thepast and present evolution of the Rhine rift system, (3)quantify on-going deformation and related earthquakehazards, including assessment of the recurrence time ofmajor shocks, (4) quantify the dynamics of the Pliocene-Quaternary groundwater systems and the transfer timeof pollutants within them. The EUCOR-URGENT re-search platform provides a solid base for the trainingand mobility of young researchers at graduate, post-graduate and post-doctoral levels.The URGENT Project was developed during 1997–1998 on the initiative of the Geological-PalaeontologicalInstitute of the University of Basel in close cooperationwith its EUCOR partners at Albert-Ludwigs-Universita¨tof Freiburg im Breisgau, Universita¨t Fridericiana Kar-lsruhe and Universite´ Louis Pasteur of Strasbourg.Following recognition of the URGENT Project as aEUCOR Project by the presidents of the EUCORUniversities, EUCOR-URGENT was launched during asymposium held in Basel in mid-January 1999 for aduration of 5 years, with an option for prolongationinto a second phase. Coordination of the EUCOR-URGENT Project was entrusted to the University ofBasel, with the Coordinator being supported by a Sci-entiﬁc Steering Committee in which the four EUCORUniversities, as well as ETH Zu¨rich (Switzerland), VrijeUniversiteit Amsterdam (The Netherlands), BRGMOrle`ans (France) and LGRB Baden-Wu¨rttemberg(Freiburg, Germany), are represented as main contrib-utors to the Project. As EUCOR-URGENT evolved,additional Universities and National Organisationsjoined the Project, mainly by contributing one or moreresearch or training positions funded by themselves orby their respective National Science Foundations. Bymid-2004, the EUCOR-URGENT network embracedabout 40 Ph.D. students, 20 Post-Docs and 18 seniorresearchers, who were based either at one of the fourEUCOR Universities or at one of the 21 partner Uni-versities or National Organisations.During its initial 5-year phase, EUCOR-URGENTwas instrumental in attracting for its research andtraining activities substantial funding from externalsources, such as via the EU-5th Framework ProgramENTEC (ENvironmental TECtonics: the NorthernAlpine Foreland) and SAFE (Slow moving ActiveFaults in Europe) projects and the EU-INTERREG III‘‘NITRATE’’ and ‘‘Microzonation Greater Basel Area’’projects. Moreover, EUCOR-URGENT was recognisedin 2000 by the European Science Foundation (ESF) asone of its Life and Environmental Sciences Networks,J. H. Behrmann Æ P. A. Ziegler Æ S. M. SchmidB. Heck Æ M. GranetEUCOR-URGENT Project Coordination Centre:Geologisch-Pala¨ontologisches Institut,Universita¨t Basel, Bernoullistr. 32, CH,4056 Basel, SwitzerlandJ. H. Behrmann (&)Geologisches Institut, Albert-Ludwigs-Universita¨t Freiburg,Albertstrasse 23 b, 79104 Freiburg, GermanyE-mail: jan.behrmann@geologie.uni-freiburg.deInt J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) (2005) 94: 505–506DOI 10.1007/s00531-005-0513-0and thus was provided with funding of its annualworkshops during 2000–2003. These workshops servedthe coordination of activities of the diﬀerent projectcomponents.The EUCOR-URGENT Project is structured intofour discipline-related Themes, each of which is com-posed of a number of sub-projects. Theme 1 addressesNeotectonics and Seismic Hazard, and includes the fol-lowing sub-projects: (1) geodetic quantiﬁcation of uplift,subsidence and lateral displacement rates, (2) seismicityand seismic hazard zonation, (3) present- and palaeo-stress ﬁelds, and (4) geomorphologic record ofPlio-Quaternary deformation, surface and subsurfaceevidence for recent deformation and evaluation of therecurrence time of major earthquakes based on palaeo-seismicity records. Theme 2 concerns itself with thehydrosystems of the Upper Rhine Graben, with sub-projects addressing (1) the correlation and sequencestratigraphy of Plio-Quaternary alluvial systems, (2)their hydrological framework, (3) their sedimentology,(4) geochemical and isotopic groundwater characteris-tics, and (4) the development of hydrogeological models.Theme 3 addresses the structure and evolution of theUpper Rhine Graben, with sub-projects concerned with(1) a reassessment of its structural conﬁguration, neo-tectonic deformation and related fault re-activation andearthquake activity, (2) the evolution of the crust andlithosphere and their present conﬁguration, (3) the evo-lution of the sedimentary basin and development of re-gional palaeogeographic–palaeotectonic maps based ona revised chronostratigraphy of the basin ﬁll, (4) thedistribution of magmatic activity in time and space, andprocesses of magma generation, and (5) analysis of thetiming and magnitude of rift shoulder uplifts, based onﬁssion track data. Theme 4 is dedicated to multi-scaledynamic modelling of the past and present deformationof the Upper Rhine Graben, involving (1) its 3D pa-linspastic pre-rift reconstruction, (2) quantitative 1D, 2Dand 3D subsidence and uplift modelling, (3) modelling ofthe role of lithospheric and crustal rheology on riftdynamics under changing stress regimes, and (4) model-ling of seismic hazard zonation.Towards the end of the initial 5-year period of theEUCOR-URGENT Project, its progress was reviewedduring an open symposium held in September 29 toOctober 1, 2003, at the University of Basel. This SpecialIssue of the International Journal of Earth Sciencescontains a selection of papers that were presented duringthis symposium. Papers published here cover parts of allfour main research themes of the Project. This way wehope to be able to oﬀer a balanced overview of results,keeping in mind that numerous other research papers onthe EUCOR-URGENT related topics have already beenpublished, and additional technical contributions andsyntheses are still to appear.At the end of the 2003 Basel symposium it was agreedthat the EUCOR-URGENT Project warrants extensioninto a second 5-year phase during which training aspectsought to be formalised. To this end, a EUCOR training-through-research Environmental Earth System Dynam-ics (ESDY) Doctoral School, based on the ‘‘co-tutelle dethe`ses’’ system, is currently under development.For further information on EUCOR-URGENT, anda comprehensive Project-related publication list, readersof this special issue of International Journal of EarthSciences are referred to the Project web site at http://www.unibas.ch/eucor-urgent, and to the past and pres-ent Coordinators, and Project and Data Base Managers:– Peter A. Ziegler, Project Coordinator 1999-2003(paziegler@magnet.ch)– Stefan M. Schmid, Project Coordinator 2004(stefan.schmid@unibas.ch)– Jan H. Behrmann, Project Coordinator 2005(jan.behrmann@geologie.uni-freiburg.de)– Pierre De`zes, Project and Data Base Manager(pierre.dezes@unibas.ch)506

The EUCOR-URGENT Project: Upper Rhine Graben: evolution and neotectonics

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The EUCOR-URGENT Project: Upper Rhine Graben: evolution and neotectonics

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