Conclusion of the “Environmental Protection in the Three-Country Corner” Field Trip Series in the Spring Semester of 2018 at iTN

On the occasion of the HSZG’s Dies Academicus, the Institute for Process Development, Peat and Natural Materials Research at HSZG, as part of the TESEUS project, organized a hydrogeological field trip in collaboration with the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Charles University in Prague (KU) in the Podloučky Nature Reserve, near Turnov, in the Czech Republic.

During this field exercise, participants had the opportunity to determine hydraulic parameters such as permeability and storage capacity in an aquifer using a pumping test.

The participants—students from Charles University in Prague and the HSZG—had the opportunity to get hands-on experience and conduct the investigations under the guidance of Charles University staff. To do this, a specific amount of water was pumped out of a well; the drop in the water table was recorded using a plumb line and a probe; following the field exercises, the students were able to evaluate the measured values themselves.

Furthermore, using a tracer method with a sodium chloride solution, the participants determined flow rates at various cross-sections of water bodies. Here, too, the students subsequently evaluated the results.

The hydrogeological field trip on Dies Academicus concluded the iTN’s series of field trips for the summer semester of 2018.

Other topics covered in this series included:

Ø Function and operation of lysimeters

Ø Flood protection measures in the border triangle

Ø Challenges and design of post-mining landscapes

Ø Natural conditions and nature conservation in the Jizera Mountains

Additional field trips on these topics were organized with students majoring in Ecology and Environmental Protection in collaboration with Prof. Reiner Schulz of HSZG and the Technical University of Liberec.

April 4, 2018: Lysimeter workshop at the iTN in Zittau, including a tour of the weighable lysimeter at ZÖF Zittau and the iTN’s lysimeter facility at the Bautzen/Nadelwitz landfill

April 5, 2018: Field trip with a tour of the Neisse flood protection facilities, led by Mr. Sebastian Fritze of LTV Saxony

April 5, 2018: Field trip with a tour of the “Berzdorfer See” open-pit mine pit, a former lignite mine, led by members of the “Oberlausitzer Bergleute” association

June 1, 2018: Field trip to the Jizerské hory Landscape Conservation Area, Iser Mountains, Czech Republic, led by administrative staff.

We would like to thank everyone who helped organize these events and made them possible through their specialized expertise.

Thank you very much—Děkuji mnohokrát!

These events were held as part of the TESEUS project, which is funded by the SN-CZ 2014–2020 program—an EU initiative to promote cross-border cooperation between the Free State of Saxony and the Czech Republic. The main objective of the TESEUS project is to bring together different fields of study at various universities in order to create the conditions for improved use of regional environmental resources.