Field Trip – 8 October

Here, in Romania, we are deeply concerned about hazards and we do spend a lot of time trying to figure out the mystery of the Vrancea Seismic area. You will notice this during the presentations that will unfold along the 2 days of the technical programme. And we won’t stop after this. Thus, we invite you to join us on a trip in which we are going to talk about hazards from different perspectives.
Our one-day tour is going to take you on a journey that includes a descent down to 208m so you can analyze the internal structure of a salt body. After this, we are going to make a stop along an old and picturesque Wine Road, used since antiquity by Roman merchants.

1. Q: Is it going to be any presentation on the topic “HOW DO I MAKE MY WINE CELLAR EARTHQUAKE RESISTANT?”.
A: No, but we think it would be a great subject of discussing while tasting wine at about 200km far from the Vrancea seismic area and we look forward to hearing your opinion.
2. Q: Can we skip the salt mine part of the tour?
A: We are sure that being in one of the largest salt mines in Europe (converted into a public facility) is going to inspire you in the next paper about salt tectonics.
3. Q: Can we skip the salt mine part of the tour?
A: It was already answered.
Q: …but I am not comfortable going down 200m below earth surface.
A: Oh! Mabey it helps to know that Slanic Salt Mine it’s so big that the descent will be completely done with a mini-bus. And no strong earthquake was recorded with modern equipment nearby. A map with local seismicity would be provided to you.
4. Q: What else can we see on this tour?
A: Effects of hazards triggered by salt mining. Such as land subsidence, sinkholes, formation of saline lakes, landslides, crack on structures, and damaged roads.
Q: Are you serious?
A: Yes, we’ve documented this and we can send you pictures in advance. Moreover we have recently done geophysical measurements in the area, as engineers are still looking to find a solution to stop the landslides triggered by past exploitation works.
5. Q: Who can participate?
A: Everyone with a sense of humor is welcomed, but we do not encourage the ones who have a plane ticket on the same day as the field trip.
6. Q: ……..
A: Sorry we have time only for the first 5 questions, but you can write us anytime or be back at Geoscience 2023!