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Most of the Periadriatic Fault System has been active during the Oligocene and Miocene times. Its western part seems to be almost inactive ever since, while the eastern segments show limited seismic activity. We conducted a systematic archaeoseismological survey along the Periadriatic-Sava fault system, assessing buildings and archaeological sites for earthquake damage. Eleven sites, four Roman and seven Medieval, bear evidence of destructive earthquakes which occurred during the past 2000 years. These are (from east to west): Roman Siscia (Sisak) near the Sava fault in Croatia, Roman Celeia (Celje) at the Savinja/Sava faults in Slovenia, Magdalensberg (Roman) just north of the Karavanka fault, Medieval Villach, the Dobratsch landslide and Medieval Arnoldstein at the junction of Mölltal and Gailtal faults, Medieval Millstatt, Sachsenburg. and Roman Teurnia on the Mölltal Fault, Medieval Lienz (all in Austria) and San Candido on the Pustertal fault, as well as Medieval Merano and Tirol (in Italy) adjacent to the North Giudicarie fault zone. Damaged upright walls of Medieval buildings and deformed floors of Roman settlements testify to local intensity up to IX. Ongoing studies of archaeological stratigraphy and construction history allow the dating of one or more seismic events at each site, ranging from the 1st century AD to the 17th century. It is remarkable that the sites, 20 to 70 km apart, along a <400 km long segment of the Periadriatic Fault system, carry evidence for so many high-intensity destructive events, suggesting that the region is tectonically active. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until the structural change in South Tyrolean agriculture in the 1960s, the high pastures were important as essential fodder resources for the subsistence farming of mountain farmers, so it was primarily the farmers who were responsible for negotiating grazing rights. The task of the herder, on the other hand, was essentially to observe these rights strictly. Historically, herders in South Tyrol have played a socially marginal role, their activities focusing exclusively on the summer high pastures. But the current situation is different. Drawing on the example of one particular mountain pasture and one herder, the landscape can be understood as a “total social fact.” This landscape as a whole is able to give us a condensed account of the comprehensive changes over the past fifty years, expressed as the return of scrub, and the new embodied practices of the herder as well as the grazing animals.

Carabid beetles are one of the several taxa useful as model organisms to study and monitor current ecosystems features, as well as environmental changes caused by global changes. Open data about these organisms are scarcely available. To fill this gap, a data table (Darwin Core formatted) was uploaded in GBIF database (https://doi.org/10.15468/rzmp6n). The dataset is the result of a pitfall trapping survey of carabid beetles living along an altitudinal bioclimatic gradient, in the Dolomites mountains within the protected area of the Regional Park "Paneveggio e Pale di S. Martino" (Trento, Italy). Investigated environments ranged from spruce forests to the extreme environments of high altitude, so to collect a dataset as complete as possible on carabid beetles harboured in this area.The dataset included here is part of an initiative aimed at promoting the adoption of a formal structure for datasets on carabid beetles acquired by field surveys and to give open access to these data. This dataset gives the opportunity to test the effects of global change affecting the same area, within long-term surveys on carabid beetles. Furthermore, the availability of open data is intended to promote an ethical approach to ecological research under a social and scientific point of view, the first because it will avoid wasting public funds on repeating the same researches and the second because it will avoid recapturing new organisms in the same (or similar) environments by other researchers.

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A peculiar type of stratabound tungsten mineralization in metacarbonate rocks was discovered and explored at Mallnock (Austria) during the late 1980s. It is the only tungsten occurrence in the Eastern Alps in which scheelite is associated with wolframite (96 mol% ferberite). The tungsten prospect is located in the Austroalpine Drauzug-Gurktal Nappe System recording polyphase low-grade regional metamorphism. Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material yield maximum metamorphic temperatures of 296 ± 27 °C and 258 ± 27 °C, which are assigned to Variscan and Eoalpine metamorphism, respectively. Scheelite and ferberite occur as polyphase stockwork-like mineralization in Fe-rich magnesite in the northern ore zone (Mallnock North), whereas in the western ore zone (Mallnock West), scheelite-quartz veinlets are exclusively hosted in dolomitic marbles. LA-ICP-MS analyses of scheelite and ferberite yield low contents of Mo, Nb, Ta, and rare earth elements, but high contents of Na and Sr. Uranium is particularly high in scheelite (up to 200 µg/g) and makes this mineral a suitable target for U–Pb dating. In situ U–Pb dating of scheelite yielded an early Permian age (294 ± 8 Ma) for Mallnock West and a Middle Triassic age (239 ± 3 Ma) for Mallnock North. A monzodioritic dike close to Mallnock yielded a U–Pb apatite date of 282 ± 9 Ma and supports the polyphase formation of this mineralization. The U–Pb scheelite ages indicate that a model for tungsten metallogeny in the Eastern Alps must also consider remobilization of tungsten by metamorphic fluids. In the Alps, the Permian to Triassic period (ca. 290–225 Ma) is characterized by an overall extensional geodynamic setting related to the breakup of Pangea. Lithospheric thinning caused higher heat flow, low-P metamorphism, and anatexis in the lower crust, which led to enhanced crustal fluid flow in the upper crust. These processes were not only responsible for the formation of metasomatic hydrothermal magnesite and siderite deposits in the Eastern Alps but also for this unique magnesite-ferberite-scheelite mineralization at Mallnock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Carabid beetles are one of the several taxa useful as model organisms to study and monitor current ecosystems features, as well as environmental changes caused by global changes. Open data about these organisms are scarcely available. To fill this gap, a data table (Darwin Core formatted) was uploaded in GBIF database (). The dataset is the result of a pitfall trapping survey of carabid beetles living along an altitudinal bioclimatic gradient, in the Dolomites mountains within the protected area of the Regional Park "Paneveggio e Pale di S. Martino" (Trento, Italy). Investigated environments ranged from spruce forests to the extreme environments of high altitude, so to collect a dataset as complete as possible on carabid beetles harboured in this area. New information: The dataset included here is part of an initiative aimed at promoting the adoption of a formal structure for datasets on carabid beetles acquired by field surveys and to give open access to these data. This dataset gives the opportunity to test the effects of global change affecting the same area, within long-term surveys on carabid beetles. Furthermore, the availability of open data is intended to promote an ethical approach to ecological research under a social and scientific point of view, the first because it will avoid wasting public funds on repeating the same researches and the second because it will avoid recapturing new organisms in the same (or similar) environments by other researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eastern Alps were affected by a profound post‐collisional tectonic reorganisation in Neogene time, featuring indentation by the Adriatic upper plate, rapid uplift and filling of the eastern Molasse Basin, exhumation and eastward orogen‐parallel transport of Paleogene metamorphic units in the orogenic core, and a shift from northward thrust propagation in the European plate to southward propagation in the Adriatic plate. We test the idea that these events were triggered by slab detachment by reconstructing the indentation process. This involves sequentially restoring N‐S and E‐W cross‐sections of the orogenic wedge and correcting for out‐of‐section orogen‐parallel transport with a map‐view reconstruction. We propose two phases of indentation: Initially (23 and 14 Ma), the whole Adriatic crust acted as an indenter. Its northward motion was accommodated by upright folding and orogen‐parallel extensional exhumation in the Tauern Window. This phase was followed (14 Ma to Present) by continued orogen‐parallel transport of the orogenic wedge into the Pannonian Basin and deformation of the leading edge of the Adriatic indenter, forming the Southern Alps fold‐thrust belt. The lower crust of the Southern Alps indented the base of the Venediger Nappes in the Tauern Window, forming a high‐velocity (6.8–7.25 km/s) ridge in map view at 30–45 km depth. By correlating the post‐23 Ma orogenic evolution with presently imaged European slab segments in P‐wave teleseismic tomography, we discern two possible Neogene slab removal events: One from 23 to 19 Ma triggering tectonic reorganisation of the Eastern Alps and its foreland basin, and potentially a second event after 14 Ma. Key Points: The Eastern Alps were first indented by Adriatic lithosphere (23 and 14 Ma), then by Adriatic lower crust as the indenter deformed (14 and 0 Ma)Shortening of the orogenic wedge since 23 Ma requires 135 km of subduction and 90 km of eastward extrusion of orogenic lithosphereSlab detachment at 23 and 20 Ma and possibly after 14 Ma is constrained by areal balancing of crust and mantle [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The Periadriatic Fault system (PAF) ranks among the largest post-collisional structures of the European Alps. Recent geodetic data suggest that a fraction of the Adria–Europe convergence is still being accommodated in the Eastern Alps. However, the historical seismicity records along the easternmost segment of the PAF are ambiguous, and instrumental records indicate that seismotectonic deformation is mostly concentrated in the adjacent Southern Alps and Dinarides. Both electron spin resonance (ESR) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating methods can be used to date coseismic slip (with a combined range covering a few decades to a couple of million years) in slowly deforming fault zones, such as the PAF. Since the saturation doses of the quartz ESR signals are larger than quartz and feldspar OSL, ESR enables establishing a maximum age of the last resetting event of the system, while OSL allows constraining their minimum age when the signal is in saturation. We collected fault gouge samples from three localities along the easternmost segment of the PAF. For ESR, we measured the signals from the Al center in quartz comparing the results from the single aliquot additive dose (SAAD) and single aliquot regenerative (SAR) dose protocols. For OSL, we recorded the infrared stimulated luminescence signal at 50°C (IR50) and post-infrared infrared-stimulated luminescence signal at 225 °C (pIRIR225). Our dating results indicate that the studied segment of the PAF system accommodated seismotectonic deformation during the Quaternary, with a maximum age for the last resetting event of the system ranging from 1075 ± 48 to 552 ± 26 ka (ESR SAR) and minimum ages in the range from 196 ± 12 to 281 ± 16 ka (saturation of pIRIR225). The obtained ages suggest that the studied segment of the PAF could be considered at least as a potentially active fault. Graphical abstract

Abstract The Troiseck-Floning and Rosskogel nappes are part of the Austroalpine Unit in the eastern part of the Eastern Alps. The nappes are in tectonic contact and comprise Permian to Mesozoic lower greenschist facies metamorphic metasediments, but only the Troiseck-Floning Nappe consists of a pre-Permian crystalline basement (Troiseck Complex) as well. LA-ICP-MS U–Pb zircon ages, Rb–Sr biotite ages and geochemical data unravel the geological evolution of these tectonic units from Neoproterozoic to Mesozoic times. Detrital U–Pb zircon analyses from siliciclastic metasediments of the Troiseck Complex indicate a late Ediacaran to early Cambrian deposition age of the volcanoclastic sequence. The age distribution correlates with a position along the northeastern Gondwana margin. A late Cambrian crystallization age (502.4 ± 6.8 Ma) of granitic intrusions together with evidence for Late Cambrian/Ordovician magmatism and metamorphism indicate a position at an active plate margin. Polyphase overprinting during the Variscan orogeny is recorded by Late Devonian/early Carboniferous pegmatite dikes (~ 353 Ma) that formed after an early Variscan event, while Pennsylvanian ages of overgrowth rims and inherited grains (~ 320 Ma) are evidence for late Variscan metamorphism. Rhyolitic to andesitic volcanic rocks from the Troiseck-Floning and Rosskogel nappes (271–264 Ma) concomitant with intrusions of porphyric granitoids now transformed to augen gneiss (271 Ma) yield evidence for Permian rift-related magmatism that is widely reported from the Eastern Alps and Western Carpathians. Rb–Sr biotite ages (75–74 Ma) indicate Late Cretaceous cooling below c. 300 °C. This relates to Late Cretaceous exhumation of the Troiseck-Floning Nappe following an Eo-Alpine metamorphic overprint at lower greenschist-facies metamorphic conditions. Based on the similar lithostratigraphy, analogous geological evolution and structure, the Troiseck-Floning Nappe represents the lateral extension of the Seckau Nappe. The new dataset also allows for correlations with other basement complexes that occur in the Western Carpathians.

In the landscape of the Dolomites, within the protected area of the Paneveggio - Pale di S. Martino Park in the Eastern Alps of Italy, a study was conducted to explore the distribution of carabid beetles. To achieve this, pitfall traps were placed along a 1000-m elevation gradient, following the bioclimatic gradient from spruce forests to the resilient pioneer vegetation in the extreme high-altitude environments. The research revealed that both community diversity and biogeographic diversity exhibited a clear correlation with the bioclimatic gradient. As one ascended to higher altitudes, the composition and distribution of carabid beetle communities shifted, reflecting the bioclimatic gradient. The chorological spectrum of the communities showed that Pleistocene paleoclimatic events provided the triggering factors affecting the postglacial recolonization of alpine ecosystems of the Dolomites region. Most of the sampled species displayed specific life strategies that enabled them to thrive in this harsh setting, responding to the selective pressures imposed by ecological factors. An extensive dataset encompassing the diversity of carabid beetles in these high-altitude domains was created. Given that the studied environments are widely distributed along the Italian Eastern Alps, the dataset serves a crucial purpose as it can be used as a reference for other research campaigns conducted in similar environments. Furthermore, it could act as a temporal benchmark for future researches on insects living in extreme environments, e.g. the Dolomites, or for comparing changes in climate that may be detected by future studies in the same geographic area.

The Troiseck-Floning and Rosskogel nappes are part of the Austroalpine Unit in the eastern part of the Eastern Alps. The nappes are in tectonic contact and comprise Permian to Mesozoic lower greenschist facies metamorphic metasediments, but only the Troiseck-Floning Nappe consists of a pre-Permian crystalline basement (Troiseck Complex) as well. LA-ICP-MS U–Pb zircon ages, Rb–Sr biotite ages and geochemical data unravel the geological evolution of these tectonic units from Neoproterozoic to Mesozoic times. Detrital U–Pb zircon analyses from siliciclastic metasediments of the Troiseck Complex indicate a late Ediacaran to early Cambrian deposition age of the volcanoclastic sequence. The age distribution correlates with a position along the northeastern Gondwana margin. A late Cambrian crystallization age (502.4 ± 6.8 Ma) of granitic intrusions together with evidence for Late Cambrian/Ordovician magmatism and metamorphism indicate a position at an active plate margin. Polyphase overprinting during the Variscan orogeny is recorded by Late Devonian/early Carboniferous pegmatite dikes (~ 353 Ma) that formed after an early Variscan event, while Pennsylvanian ages of overgrowth rims and inherited grains (~ 320 Ma) are evidence for late Variscan metamorphism. Rhyolitic to andesitic volcanic rocks from the Troiseck-Floning and Rosskogel nappes (271–264 Ma) concomitant with intrusions of porphyric granitoids now transformed to augen gneiss (271 Ma) yield evidence for Permian rift-related magmatism that is widely reported from the Eastern Alps and Western Carpathians. Rb–Sr biotite ages (75–74 Ma) indicate Late Cretaceous cooling below c. 300 °C. This relates to Late Cretaceous exhumation of the Troiseck-Floning Nappe following an Eo-Alpine metamorphic overprint at lower greenschist-facies metamorphic conditions. Based on the similar lithostratigraphy, analogous geological evolution and structure, the Troiseck-Floning Nappe represents the lateral extension of the Seckau Nappe. The new dataset also allows for correlations with other basement complexes that occur in the Western Carpathians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Periadriatic Fault system (PAF) ranks among the largest post-collisional structures of the European Alps. Recent geodetic data suggest that a fraction of the Adria–Europe convergence is still being accommodated in the Eastern Alps. However, the historical seismicity records along the easternmost segment of the PAF are ambiguous, and instrumental records indicate that seismotectonic deformation is mostly concentrated in the adjacent Southern Alps and Dinarides. Both electron spin resonance (ESR) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating methods can be used to date coseismic slip (with a combined range covering a few decades to a couple of million years) in slowly deforming fault zones, such as the PAF. Since the saturation doses of the quartz ESR signals are larger than quartz and feldspar OSL, ESR enables establishing a maximum age of the last resetting event of the system, while OSL allows constraining their minimum age when the signal is in saturation. We collected fault gouge samples from three localities along the easternmost segment of the PAF. For ESR, we measured the signals from the Al center in quartz comparing the results from the single aliquot additive dose (SAAD) and single aliquot regenerative (SAR) dose protocols. For OSL, we recorded the infrared stimulated luminescence signal at 50°C (IR50) and post-infrared infrared-stimulated luminescence signal at 225 °C (pIRIR225). Our dating results indicate that the studied segment of the PAF system accommodated seismotectonic deformation during the Quaternary, with a maximum age for the last resetting event of the system ranging from 1075 ± 48 to 552 ± 26 ka (ESR SAR) and minimum ages in the range from 196 ± 12 to 281 ± 16 ka (saturation of pIRIR225). The obtained ages suggest that the studied segment of the PAF could be considered at least as a potentially active fault. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The provenance of the Upper Miocene sandstones from the Sava and Drava depressions of the North Croatian Basin was investigated using petrographic, geochemical, and heavy mineral analyses, including Raman spectroscopy. The study of these sandstones, which represent important oil and gas reservoirs in Croatia, allowed the reconstruction of the Late Miocene source-to-sink model of the Lake Pannon drainage system and the evolution of the southwestern Pannonian Basin. The studied feldspatho-litho-quartzose sandstones consist of a mixture of sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous detritus. Heavy-mineral assemblages are dominated by almandine-rich garnet with apatite, epidote, tourmaline, rutile, zircon, staurolite, and zoisite, indicative of low to medium-grade metamorphic source rocks. Higher concentrations of Ca and Mg than in the Upper Continental Crust standard (UCC) additionally reflect the abundance of limestone and dolostone rock fragments as well as carbonate cement. Geochemical compositional variations between sandstone samples from the Sava and Drava depressions primarily stem from diagenetic processes. CIX and alpha values indicate only minor weathering. Compositional features indicate an orogenic source located in the Eastern Alps and primarily represented by Austroalpine and Penninic nappes. This research offers a novel perspective to distinguish the Upper Miocene reservoirs from other sedimentary units within the basin, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the regional geological dynamics and supporting future exploration projects also related to energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Amber, a fossil tree resin, due to its specific physical properties has a genuine aura that has made it popular both as a gemstone and as a magical-religious amulet to this day. The supra-regional – 'global' in ancient terms – distribution of Baltic succinite is also reflected in the Eastern Alps. The central communication corridor along the Salzach and the Tauern transit in particular features a high density of amber objects during all epochs. The region therefore serves as a model case for investigating temporally variable aspects of the appropriation, use, symbolic significance and dissemination of amber. In addition to very rare Bronze Age objects and more frequent use in the Early Iron Age, the Dürrnberg near Hallein, along with the adjacent salt district at Hallstatt, is one of the main European centres of amber use during the Late Hallstatt and Early La Tène periods. Here, new quantitative and qualitative analyses provide evidence for changing patterns in the fashion of wearing, use and symbolic-magical meaning of amber jewellery. In the later La Tène period, there was a gradual decline in amber use both regionally and in other areas of Europe. This trend continued in the Roman Empire in the area of the municipium Claudium Iuvavum (Salzburg), before a final but short-lived revival of amber jewellery began in the Early Middle Ages. In a diachronic perspective, time-specific patterns in the use and integration of the strange raw material into the indigenous material culture and magic ideas become evident. Amber, however, does not only appear as a 'by-product' of purely economic communication along trans-regional trade and transport relations of the so-called 'Amber Roads'. Rather, qualitative and quantitative analyses show that amber was consciously chosen and rejected as a medium of social communication at different times and that specific meaning was variably attributed. In processes of intentional cultural appropriation, the exotic material thus reveals differentiated decision-making and agency of indigenous communities in Central European pre- and protohistory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the Periadriatic Fault System has been active during the Oligocene and Miocene times. Its western part seems to be almost inactive ever since, while the eastern segments show limited seismic activity. We conducted a systematic archaeoseismological survey along the Periadriatic-Sava fault system, assessing buildings and archaeological sites for earthquake damage. Eleven sites, four Roman and seven Medieval, bear evidence of destructive earthquakes which occurred during the past 2000 years. These are (from east to west): Roman Siscia (Sisak) near the Sava fault in Croatia, Roman Celeia (Celje) at the Savinja/Sava faults in Slovenia, Magdalensberg (Roman) just north of the Karavanka fault, Medieval Villach, the Dobratsch landslide and Medieval Arnoldstein at the junction of Mölltal and Gailtal faults, Medieval Millstatt, Sachsenburg. and Roman Teurnia on the Mölltal Fault, Medieval Lienz (all in Austria) and San Candido on the Pustertal fault, as well as Medieval Merano and Tirol (in Italy) adjacent to the North Giudicarie fault zone. Damaged upright walls of Medieval buildings and deformed floors of Roman settlements testify to local intensity up to IX. Ongoing studies of archaeological stratigraphy and construction history allow the dating of one or more seismic events at each site, ranging from the 1st century AD to the 17th century. It is remarkable that the sites, 20 to 70 km apart, along a

The article provides a comprehensive earthquake catalogue for the eastern Alps from 1977 to 2022, focusing on seismic activity in NE Italy. The National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics manages the Monitoring System for NE Italy, which monitors and researches earthquakes in the region. The catalogue includes earthquake locations and magnitudes, and the article explains the data sources and methods used. It also discusses the reliability of earthquake solutions and the selection process for creating the final catalog. The document is a list of references and citations for scientific papers and reports on earthquake monitoring, location determination, magnitude calculation, and historical analysis in northeastern Italy. These sources are valuable for researchers studying earthquakes in the region. [Extracted from the article]

One of the most remarkable features of the central Northern Calcareous Alps (Eastern Alps, Austria) is the widespread presence of Upper Triassic deep-water carbonates (the Hallstatt facies) and Permo-Triassic evaporites resting on deep-water Middle Jurassic strata and their underlying Upper Triassic shallow-water carbonate platform successions. The Hallstatt facies and accompanying evaporites have been classically interpreted to originate either from a location south of the time-equivalent carbonate platforms, or to have been deposited in deeper water seaways within the broad platform domain. To date, this dispute has been addressed mostly through the analysis of Triassic and Jurassic facies distribution in map view, which, however, is subject to some degree of ambiguity and subjectivity. In this contribution we present, for the first time, sequentially restored regional cross-sections through the central Northern Calcareous Alps to understand the implications of the contrasting paleogeographic models. We present (a) an interpretation based on a highly allochthonous origin of the Triassic deep-water units and (b) an interpretation based on their relative autochthony in which we incorporate the potential influence of salt tectonics in the central NCA. The restored cross-sections provide a framework within which the alternative scenarios and their paleogeographic implications can be better understood. Through this analysis we propose that salt tectonics in the central NCA can provide a valid explanation for apparent inconsistencies in the relative autochthony scenario and thus constitutes a reasonable alternative to the currently accepted allochthony scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Eastern Alps, the indentation of the Adriatic promontory since the Cenozoic affected the kinematics of separate crustal domains bounded by faults that accommodate lateral extrusion processes and differential shortening. Deciphering the pattern of crustal stresses in the orogen interior is challenging, due to the lack of in situ stress measurements at crustal depths. We define stress regimes and the orientations of the most‐compressive horizontal stress (SHmax) by integrating published results with new data, including stress analysis from fault plane solutions, estimation of crustal anisotropy through the shear wave splitting analysis, paleostress determination from fault slip data, and computation of cumulative seismic displacements. The retrieved regional SHmax are generally consistent with N‐S convergence. In the northern part of the study area, current stress orientations are almost parallel to paleo‐SHmax, suggesting a rather uniform compressional regime since the late Cenozoic. Conversely, sharp deflections and divergence with paleo‐SHmax appear at the western border of the Adriatic promontory across major transpressive and extensional shear zones and in the Southalpine domain, indicating a change in tectonically induced second‐order stresses. A current strike‐slip regime with subordinate orogen‐parallel seismic displacements affects a belt to north of the Periadriatic Lineament and NE‐extension characterizes the Ortles‐Engandine region. Seismic anisotropy locally exhibits fault‐parallel fast axes (Brenner‐Giudicarie fault‐systems, Dinaric and Southalpine thrusts), whereas stress‐induced anisotropy parallel to SHmax characterizes the southern part of the orogen. Cumulative seismic displacements are small compared to geodetic ones, and unravel partitioning of deformation into second‐order transpressive and extensional belts in response to indentation. Key Points: Stress patterns in the Eastern Alps from earthquakes, seismic anisotropy and fault slip dataPartitioning of second‐order stresses and seismic strain into crustal domains in response to collision and lateral extrusionCrustal seismic anisotropy primarily controlled by active stresses, major faults and pervasive fabric in the basement [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fold and thrust belt architecture may be influenced by basement geometry of the downgoing plate. This influence is notoriously difficult to assess due to a common lack of subsurface constraints and low resolution of exhumation estimates in space and time. The Bohemian Spur is a basement high at the transition from the Alps to the Carpathians. It coincides with narrowing of the foreland basin and an orogen‐scale change of strike. Its location in one of the best‐studied orogens in the world makes it an ideal case for understanding how basement topography influences fold and thrust belt tectonics. However, since thermochronological studies were mainly focused on the core of the Alps, timing and amount of exhumation remain poorly constrained in these peripheral parts of the orogen. We present new apatite (U‐Th)/He and fission track data from the wedge above the Bohemian Spur. Thermally reset ages monitor a so far un(der)appreciated phase of prominent Late Oligocene to Miocene cooling, associated with crustal thickening, uplift and erosion during wedge propagation. Pronounced exhumation on the order of 3–4.5 km can be related to basement steps beneath the advancing wedge. The spur acted as a buttress for foreland‐propagating thrusting, pinning deformation and nucleating antiformal stacking and duplexing and thus exhumation above it. We illustrate how along‐ and across‐strike changes of sub‐detachment topography impact wedge propagation and control fold and thrust belt geometries. The buttressing effect accounts for most of the exhumation, while deep‐seated slab dynamics are of subordinate importance for wedge uplift. Key Points: New thermochronology data from the easternmost Eastern Alps capture a Late Oligocene to Miocene cooling and exhumation pulseThe cooling and exhumation pattern is influenced by the downgoing basement buttress of the Bohemian SpurThe buttressing effect more strongly impacts the exhumation pattern of the wedge than the recently proposed Eastern Alpine slab break‐off [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alpine ice core research has long focused on a few suitable drilling sites at high elevation in the Western European Alps, assuming that the counterparts at lower elevation in the eastern sector are unsuitable for paleoenvironmental studies, due to the presence of melting and temperate basal conditions. However, it has been demonstrated that even in the Eastern Alpine range, below 4,000 m a.s.l., cold ice frozen to bedrock can exist. In fact, millennial-old ice has been found at some locations, such as at the Weißseespitze (WSS) summit ice cap (Ӧtztal Alps, 3,499m a.s.l.), where about 6 kyrs appear locked into 10mof ice. In this work, we present a full profile of the stable water isotopes (δ18O, δ²H), major ions (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, NH4+, Cl-, NO3-, SO42-), levoglucosan, and microcharcoal for two parallel ice cores drilled at the Weißseespitze cap. We find that, despite the ongoing ice loss, the chemical and isotopic signatures appear preserved, and may potentially offer an untapped climatic record. This is especially noteworthy considering that chemical signals of other archives at similar locations have been partially or full corrupted by meltwater (i.e., Silvretta glacier, Grand Combin glacier, Ortles glacier). In addition, the impurity concentration near the surface shows no signs of anthropogenic contamination at WSS, which constrains the age at the surface to fall within the pre-industrial age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In slowly deforming tectonic settings (e.g., European Alps), large earthquakes occur too infrequently to be adequately represented in instrumental and historical records. This leads to uncertainties and inaccuracies of seismic hazard estimations. To extend the seismic record, lacustrine paleoseismologists usually resort to the sedimentary archive of large lakes where earthquakes can be recorded as mass-transport deposits and associated turbidites. The imprint of seismic shaking is generally more subtle and poorly understood in small lakes (

Until the structural change in South Tyrolean agriculture in the 1960s, the high pastures were important as essential fodder resources for the subsistence farming of mountain farmers, so it was primarily the farmers who were responsible for negotiating grazing rights. The task of the herder, on the other hand, was essentially to observe these rights strictly. Historically, herders in South Tyrol have played a socially marginal role, their activities focusing exclusively on the summer high pastures. But the current situation is different. Drawing on the example of one particular mountain pasture and one herder, the landscape can be understood as a "total social fact." This landscape as a whole is able to give us a condensed account of the comprehensive changes over the past fifty years, expressed as the return of scrub, and the new embodied practices of the herder as well as the grazing animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alpine ice core research has long focused on a few suitable drilling sites at high elevation in the Western European Alps, assuming that the counterparts at lower elevation in the eastern sector are unsuitable for paleoenvironmental studies, due to the presence of melting and temperate basal conditions. However, it has been demonstrated that even in the Eastern Alpine range, below 4,000 m a.s.l., cold ice frozen to bedrock can exist. In fact, millennial-old ice has been found at some locations, such as at the Weißseespitze (WSS) summit ice cap (Ötztal Alps, 3,499 m a.s.l.), where about 6 kyrs appear locked into 10 m of ice. In this work, we present a full profile of the stable water isotopes (S18O, S2H), major ions (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, NH4+, Cl-, NO3-, SO42-), levoglucosan, and microcharcoal for two parallel ice cores drilled at the Weißseespitze cap. We find that, despite the ongoing ice loss, the chemical and isotopic signatures appear preserved, and may potentially offer an untapped climatic record. This is especially noteworthy considering that chemical signals of other archives at similar locations have been partially or full corrupted by meltwater (i.e., Silvretta glacier, Grand Combin glacier, Ortles glacier). In addition, the impurity concentration near the surface shows no signs of anthropogenic contamination at WSS, which constrains the age at the surface to fall within the pre-industrial age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fossil salt sheet emplaced in the Jurassic in submarine conditions is described in the Eastern Alps of Austria, providing unique insights into the emplacement of similar submarine structures and their potential control on depositional systems. The salt sheet is a plug‐fed extrusion emplaced due to squeezing of a salt diapir under compression. The preserved mylonitic shear fabric in the evaporites indicates radial, south‐directed emplacement of the salt sheet. Tectono‐sedimentary relationships record the evolution of the salt structure, from initial diapiric growth, to salt sheet extrusion and posterior collapse. Syn‐extrusion sediments record the variable bathymetry of the extruding salt sheet, with reefal carbonates building up on the crestal bulge while their deeper water equivalents accumulated on the extruding salt lobe. This is the first description of a salt allochthon still linked to its source diapir in the Eastern Alps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contrasting views exist in regard of the evolution of metamorphic rocks in the southeastern Pohorje Mountains (Mts), located in the southeastern Eastern Alps. Major debated points are whether micaschists have experienced ultrahigh‐pressure metamorphism in the Late Cretaceous (Eo‐Alpine) and whether they were continuously exhumed or experienced a multiple subduction–exhumation process from that time on. Therefore, we studied micaschist sample 18Slo39 with two generations of garnet and phengitic muscovite from this area. Our detailed study of this rock included petrographic observations, chemical analyses of minerals with the electron microprobe, pseudosection modelling, conventional geothermometry, and monazite in‐situ U‐Th‐Pb dating using laser‐ablation inductively coupled plasma (ICP) mass spectrometry. The following results were obtained: The studied micaschist was subject to a peak pressure of 1.31 ± 0.14 GPa at 603 ± 26°C in Eo‐Alpine times: 90.62 ± 2.78 (2σ) Ma (Stage I). Contact metamorphism at pressure–temperature conditions of 0.66 ± 0.10 GPa and 577 ± 23°C was induced by the intrusion of the Pohorje pluton (Stage III). We determined an early Miocene age of 18.33 ± 0.43 (2σ) Ma for this intrusion. Based on this study and the previously reported data for a micaschist (16Slo12) taken in the vicinity of sample 18Slo39, a geodynamic model is proposed for the region of the Pohorje Mts considering Eo‐Alpine subduction of oceanic crust and European continental crust, of which the micaschist was part of. Another high‐pressure event in the Eocene (Stage II) was the result of intracontinental subduction because of transpression by the Periadriatic fault system that separates the Eastern Alps from the Southern Alps. This type of subduction gave rise to magma generation and ascent to form the Pohorje pluton, which caused contact metamorphism in its vicinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alpine ice core research has long focused on a few suitable drilling sites at high elevation in the Western European Alps, assuming that the counterparts at lower elevation in the eastern sector are unsuitable for paleoenvironmental studies, due to the presence of melting and temperate basal conditions. However, it has been demonstrated that even in the Eastern Alpine range, below 4,000 m a.s.l., cold ice frozen to bedrock can exist. In fact, millennial-old ice has been found at some locations, such as at the Weißseespitze (WSS) summit ice cap (Ӧtztal Alps, 3,499 m a.s.l.), where about 6 kyrs appear locked into 10 m of ice. In this work, we present a full profile of the stable water isotopes (δ18O, δ2H), major ions (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, NH4+, Cl−, NO3−, SO42−), levoglucosan, and microcharcoal for two parallel ice cores drilled at the Weißseespitze cap. We find that, despite the ongoing ice loss, the chemical and isotopic signatures appear preserved, and may potentially offer an untapped climatic record. This is especially noteworthy considering that chemical signals of other archives at similar locations have been partially or full corrupted by meltwater (i.e., Silvretta glacier, Grand Combin glacier, Ortles glacier). In addition, the impurity concentration near the surface shows no signs of anthropogenic contamination at WSS, which constrains the age at the surface to fall within the pre-industrial age.

Austroalpine nappes in the Eastern European Alps have preserved the record of orogenies in the Cretaceous and Cenozoic but their cooling and exhumation history remains poorly constrained. Here we use low‐temperature thermochronology and thermokinematic modeling to unravel the exhumation history of the Austroalpine nappes in the Gurktal Alps. Our data reveal marked differences between the exhumation of units located at different positions within the nappe stack and relative to the Adriatic indenter. Units located at a high structural level and farther away from the indenter cooled through the zircon fission track closure temperature in the Late Cretaceous and have resided at depths of ≤5–6 km since the Oligocene, as indicated by apatite fission track ages of 35–30 Ma. Thermokinematic modeling constrained that these units experienced enhanced exhumation (∼0.60 km/Ma) between ∼99 and ∼83 Ma due to syn‐ to late‐orogenic Late Cretaceous extension. After a phase of slow exhumation (∼0.02 km/Ma), the exhumation rate increased to ∼0.16 km/Ma at ∼34 Ma due to the onset of the Europe‐Adria collision. In contrast, zircon fission track ages from units at a lower structural level and near the indenter indicate cooling during the Eocene; apatite fission track ages cluster at ∼15 Ma. These units were rapidly exhumed (∼0.76 km/Ma) from ∼44 to ∼39 Ma during an Eocene phase of shortening prior to the Europe‐Adria collision. After slow exhumation (∼0.13 km/Ma) between ∼39 and ∼18 Ma, the exhumation rate increased to ∼0.27 km/Ma in the wake of Miocene escape tectonics in the Eastern Alps. Key Points: Austroalpine nappes in the Gurktal Alps east of the Tauern Window experienced alternating phases of enhanced and slow exhumationNappes at higher structural levels were exhumed during Late‐Cretaceous extension and have been at upper‐crustal levels since thenThe Radenthein and Millstatt Complexes experienced enhanced exhumation during the Middle Eocene and since the Early Miocene [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The St. Mauritius mineral spring has been used since the late Bronze Age times (1410/1411 BC), as dated on the wooden headworks using radiocarbon and tree ring (dendrochronology) methods. It became eminent during the late Middle Ages epoch of curative treatments. The water is renowned for its high iron content and high amounts of dissolved and gaseous CO2. This special character of the Mauritius spring made it attractive to be analyzed by esteemed chemists over more than two centuries. By these analyses transferred in coherent units, a comparison of the chemical composition of this Mauritius mineral spring during the entire interval from 1788 to 2022 became possible. It reveals that the chemical composition of the Mauritius mineral spring water has largely remained stable and apart from some minor changes in water quality caused by alterations to the spring capture headworks since that time. These capture remediation actions were aimed to maintain the original composition of the Mauritius mineral spring water, which since its first utilization is threatened by the prevailing mixing processes with the shallow, low mineralized groundwater. The mineral water can be characterized as being an acidic calcium–sodium–magnesium–bicarbonate-type water, rich in iron, with a total mineralization of about 1.8 g/l. The spring discharge with a temperature of about 4–6 °C and contains about 2500 mg/l of free gaseous carbon dioxide. This high concentration of free outgassing of CO2 is due to the emission of this gas from a great depth from the Engadine Fault Line which crosses the spring discharge area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An issue information is presented which discusses article on sevevral topics including post-collisional reorganisation of the Eastern Alps including Adriatic indentation, crustal uplift, and the impact of slab detachment, through detailed structural and seismic tomography analysis.

Geological modeling commonly results in a single prescribed geometric representation of the subsurface with no consideration of uncertainties. Accounting for uncertainties is of particular importance in the triangle zone at the leading edge of deformation of the foreland fold-thrust belt of the European Alps, the Subalpine Molasse. Here, interpretations of the complex structures are limited to 2D and are based almost exclusively on subsurface data, lacking the constraint of surface data.Implicit modeling can be used to create automated 3D model realizations considering parameter uncertainty. In this sense, multiple possible models can be assessed within the uncertainty range assigned. As implicit modeling often yields artifacts or geologically unfeasible scenarios, the concept of geological topology can be used to constrain the modeling outputs, so that only models without artifacts are considered into the final model ensemble.Two experiments are designed to test out this workflow. The methodology is first tested using a very simple synthetic model, and later applied to a portion of the Subalpine Molasse, where different 2-D subsurface geometries have been proposed. For the first time, a 3D implicit model ensemble incorporating a full assessment of uncertainties is built in this area. Results show that it is feasible to use topological information for posterior model constraint, even in models of high structural complexity. To eliminate all non-meaningful models, however, it is necessary to use more than one topological constraint. A comparison of the prior and posterior model ensembles shows a correlation between model parameters and a shift in parameter probability density curves in the synthetic model experiment, and a decrease in entropy for both experiments. A topological constraint should thus be applied routinely when building a stochastic implicit model ensemble.

Situla Art is an Iron Age artisanal tradition dated to c. 660/650–275 BC, corresponding to the Hallstatt C2 to the La Tène B2 phases. It is characterised by striking sheet-bronze objects with embossed and/or incised decoration in Orientalising taste with animals, plants and/or human figures generally distributed in friezes. Situla Art is documented between the Apennines and the eastern Alps, and Este is suggested as its key centre. This paper provides a long overdue literature review, a working definition for Situla Art and an updated catalogue with 306 objects. It also (re-)investigates the influences which may have led to the emergence of Situla Art, its development and decline. Hats and earrings depicted in Situla Art are investigated to highlight their identity valencies, and to provide socio-political insights on the Iron Age elite who used Situla Art as a non-linguistic symbol-based system to acquire, exhibit and legitimate power over time in the area of its distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pivotal aim of this research is to identify new entrants to mountain farming, their routes into practicing and resulting environmental impacts. Following an actor-network approach, this multi-regional case study was conducted in two remote regions of the Western Austrian Alps and in a bordering Alpine region in South Tyrol (Italy). All data was generated using semi-structured interviews on site and official agricultural statistics.

Abstract The study, dedicated to Beautiful Pietàs conserved in South Tyrol (Northern Italy), aims to establish, for the first time, a connection between Austroalpine raw materials and the high-fired gypsum mortars constituting the Gothic figure groups in question. The origin and chronology of this stylistically and qualitatively differing ensemble have been subject of art historical debate for nearly a century. The discourse is dominated by three main hypotheses: itinerary of an Austrian artist versus itinerary of the work of art created in an artist’s workshop in Austria versus itinerary of the stylistic vocabulary via graphical or three-dimensional models. The comparison of the δ34S values and the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of the gypsum mortars and Austroalpine sulphate deposits (in a compilation of own reference samples and literature data) points to the exploitation of sediments in the Salzkammergut and possibly also in the evaporite district of the Eastern Calcareous Alps, thus evidencing the import of the sculptures and not the activities of local South Tyrolean or itinerant artists. Two geochronological units are distinguishable: The Pietà in the Church St. Martin in Göflan can be assigned to Upper Permian raw material, whereas the metrologically consistent sculptures in the Church of Our Lady of the Benedictine Abbey Marienberg and in the Chapel St. Ann in Mölten correlate with deposits of the Early Triassic (or the Lower-Middle Triassic transition). The medieval gypsum mortars also differ in their mineralogical characteristics, i.e. in their geologically related minor components, as in the first case, characterised by a significant proportion of primary anhydrite, natural carbonate impurities mainly consist of calcite (partly converted to lime-lump-like aggregates), whereas in the second group dolomite (or rather its hydration products after pyrometamorphic decomposition) predominates, accompanied by celestine, quartz and potassium feldspar. The Pietà in the Cathedral Maria Himmelfahrt in Bozen turned out to be made of Breitenbrunn calcareous sandstone (Leitha Mountains, Burgenland, Austria), which is why the sample is not considered in the geochemical analysis. Graphical Abstract

The Bressanone (Brixen) pluton, cropping out at the culmination of the Southalpine indenter between the North Giudicarie and the Pustertal-Gailtal faults, is mainly composed of Permian granodiorite to granite, with minor gabbros and diorites in its southern part. New U–Pb SHRIMP zircon ages reveal two distinct crystallization episodes at 289.7 ± 3.2 and 280 ± 2.2 Ma, respectively. The pluton is affected by a hydrothermal potassic to sodic + Cu metasomatic alteration, which has long been ascribed to a late phase of the Permian magmatism. In contrast with this hypothesis, we report new 39Ar–40Ar data for different generations of metasomatic K-feldspar, which indicate formation ages between 35.3 ± 0.3 and 27.8 ± 0.5 Ma. This interval overlaps with the ages of the widespread 'Periadriatic' calc-alkaline magmatism, which extends from the Western to the Eastern Alps straddling the Periadriatic Fault System. The observed hydrothermalism has geochemical characteristics compatible with those of the coeval calc-alkaline Periadriatic magmatism. These data altogether suggest the release of fluids from a hidden intrusion during the main stage of the Alpine orogenic magmatism. Our results provide the first evidence of Oligocene magmatic activity in the Southern Alps east of the Giudicarie Line, bridging the gap between the western-central and eastern Alpine magmatic plutons. A fairly continuous Oligocene magmatic belt straddling the Periadriatic Fault System is consistent with a triggering of the magmatism by slab steepening or slab break-off, either of which are considered to be an essential driver for the Miocene lithospheric rearrangement in the Eastern Alps. Our finding is particularly relevant given that the outcropping area of the Bressanone pluton is centred above the imaged subducting lithosphere gap that separates the Western-Central and the Eastern Alps, hence at a location where mantle upwelling should have been easier although no relevant magmatism was found to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluid and solid inclusions in magmatic garnet from Permian pegmatites of the Koralpe Mountains were investigated. On the basis of MnO/(MnO + FeO) ratios, different degrees of melt fractionation during garnet growth were linked with fluid inclusion densities and chemistries. It is shown that garnet indicating low-melt fractionation trends contained primary CO2 ± N2-rich fluid inclusions of the highest densities, up to 1.15 g/cm3, compared to garnet samples of increased fractionation trends comprising CO2-N2-rich fluid inclusions with lower densities up to 0.85 g/cm3. This fluid composition is interpreted as a part of an unmixed CO2 ± N2-H2O-rich fluid that was present during garnet crystallization. Variabilities in the nitrogen composition up to 40.83 mol% resulted from different degrees of partial melting of mica and plagioclase from the metapelitic host rock. Densities, fluid chemistries, and mineral chemical data enabled a continuous upward trend for garnet crystallization during anatexis from lower (ca. 25 km) up to middle crustal levels (12–15 km). Resulting amphibolite/granulite facies conditions of 7.6 kbar/700 °C for garnet crystallization in spodumene-free pegmatites were significantly higher than previously suggested for pegmatite formation in the Koralpe Mountains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Recent studies revealed that the calc-alkaline metagranitoids of the Seckau Complex comprise both (1) a Late Cambrian to Early Ordovician and (2) a Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous (early Variscan) intrusive complex. The older rocks of the Hochreichart Plutonic Suite reflect I to S-type affinity and are peraluminous and characterized by a general decrease in TiO2, Al2O3, MgO, CaO, P2O5, FeOt and MnO with increasing SiO2. Chondrite-normalized rare earth element (REE) plots display a slight enrichment in light rare earth elements (LREE) relative to heavy rare earth elements (HREE) as well as negative Eu anomalies ((Eu/Eu*)N = 0.15- 0.77). The whole-rock initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios calculated back to the time of emplacement (~ 496 Ma) vary between 0.7056 to 0.7061. The early Variscan rocks of the Hintertal Plutonic Suite can be subdivided into (a) the meta- to peraluminous granodioritic suite of the Pletzen Pluton and (b) the peraluminous granitic suite of the Griessstein Pluton. The Pletzen Pluton shows typical magmatic fractionation trends for most of the major oxides and trace elements plotted against SiO2. On a chondrite-normalized diagram, metagranitoids are strongly enriched in LREE and show no significant negative Eu anomaly. Metagranitoids of the Griessstein Pluton have a more peraluminous character and similar major and trace element fractionation trends compared to the Pletzen Pluton. However, the contents in SiO2, major and trace elements clearly point towards a more evolved melt with generally lower TiO2, Al2O3, MgO and CaO values and higher K2O content. Metagranitoids of the Griessstein Pluton are additionally characterized by a slight negative Eu anomaly of about 0.81 on a chondrite-normalized REE plot. Initial 87Sr/86Sr values calculated back to the time of emplacement (~ 353 Ma) of the Pletzen Pluton and the Griessstein Pluton vary between 0.7051—0.7061 and 0.7054—0.7063, respectively, and suggest the same magmatic source for both units. Application of rhyolite-MELTS modelling to the Hintertal Plutonic Suite revealed that the Griessstein Pluton formed by fractional crystallization (~ 30%) from the more primitive Pletzen Pluton. Our geochemical data from the Hochreichart Suite granitoids suggest the existence of a Late Cambrian to Early Ordovician active margin with its remnants now exposed in the Seckau Complex. The early Variscan grainitoids of the Seckau Complex are inferred as part of a magmatic arc along the southern Bohemian active continental margin that was related to the subduction of differently termed oceanic domains (Galicia-Moldanubian Ocean or Paleotethys), prior to the final collision of Gondwana and Laurussia. The general paleogeographic position of the Seckau Complex during the Variscan orogeny is considered to be south to southeast of the Bohemian Massif, adjacent to the eastern Hohe Tauern, the Schladming Tauern, and the Western Carpathians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The constant monitoring of active landslides, particularly those located in the proximity of populated areas or touristic places, is crucial for early warning and risk-management purposes. The commonly used techniques deploy expensive instrumentation that can be hardly afforded, especially by small mountain communities in which landslide events often occur repeatedly. In recent years, the scientific community, as well as the private sector, have devoted growing effort to reducing the costs of monitoring systems. In this work, we present a monitoring network based on single-frequency Global Positioning System (GPS) sensors that have been activated to monitor an active landslide in the Carnic Alps, North-Eastern Italy. The system, which was composed of 12 single-frequency GPS stations, one seismometric station coupled with a single-frequency GPS instrument for real-time monitoring, and one permanent dual-frequency GPS station located in a stable area, provided daily reports of the landslide motion to the local authorities and administration. We show that this system is a valuable, flexible, and cost-effective tool for quick landslide characterization, and has high potential to be used as a landslide early warning system in case of emergency situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Karst aquifers are highly vulnerable to contamination due to quick water flow through conduits. Their high heterogeneity and the poorly known infiltration effect of the vadose zone make quantification of recharge processes difficult. This study characterizes the water flow and storage in the upper vadose zone with almost four years monitoring of a permanent stream in a vadose shaft (Furtowischacht). Its small catchment of 4,500 m² is located in a former glaciated high Alpine environment (Hochschwab, Austria). High discharge fluctuations between 0.002 and 19 l/s, relatively high hydrograph recession coefficients, and transit velocities between 0.0015 and 2.4 m/s estimated with salt tracer experiments indicate a highly dynamic discharge behavior. A fast point infiltration through open karren and dolines could be observed for rainfall events and indicates a highly karstified network with a rapid water transmission. Snowmelt periods show only a slower flow component and diffuse infiltration. However, condensation within the conduit system is likely superimposed to this signal. A lumped-parameter rainfall-runoff model is used to simulate the discharge with a dual porosity approach. It indicates a low storage volume, which is in accordance with the estimated storage of 22 m³ (or 5 mm), deduced from the recession analyses. In contrary, the physicochemical parameters argue for some storage capability: 1) After an increase of discharge, electric conductivity reacts with an average delay of 50 min; 2) Partly a piston flow can be recognized. These amounts of water may be stored in the partial soil cover alone and therefore the presence of a hydrologically significant epikarst layer is unclear.

Extracting information about past tectonic or climatic environmental changes from sedimentary records is a key objective of provenance research. Interpreting the imprint of such changes remains challenging as signals might be altered in the sediment-routing system. We investigate the sedimentary provenance of the Oligocene/Miocene Upper Austrian Northern Alpine Foreland Basin and its response to the tectonically driven exhumation of the Tauern Window metamorphic dome (28 ± 1 Ma) in the Eastern European Alps by using the unprecedented combination of Nd isotopic composition of bulk-rock clay-sized samples and partly previously published multi-proxy (Nd isotopic composition, trace-element geochemistry, U-Pb dating) sand-sized apatite single-grain analysis. The basin offers an excellent opportunity to investigate environmental signal propagation into the sedimentary record because comprehensive stratigraphic and seismic datasets can be combined with present research results. The bulk-rock clay-sized fraction εNd values of well-cutting samples from one well on the northern basin slope remained stable at ∼−9.7 from 27 to 19 Ma but increased after 19 Ma to ∼−9.1. In contrast, apatite single-grain distributions, which were extracted from 22 drill-core samples, changed significantly around 23.3 Ma from apatites dominantly from low-grade (

High‐ and ultrahigh‐pressure rocks occur in the Austroalpine Nappes in a ~400 km long belt from the Texel Complex in the west to the Sieggraben Unit in the east. Garnet growth during pressure increase was dated using Lu‐Hf chronometry. The results range between c. 100 and 90 Ma, indicating a short‐lived period of subduction. Combined with already published data, our estimates of metamorphic conditions indicate a field gradient with increasing pressure and temperature from the northwest to the southeast, where the rocks experienced ultrahigh‐pressure metamorphism. The P‐T conditions of the eclogites generally lie on the 'warm' side of the global range of subduction‐zone metamorphic conditions. The oldest Cretaceous eclogites (c. 100 Ma) are found in the Saualpe‐Koralpe area derived from widespread gabbros formed during Permian to Triassic rifting. In the Texel Complex garnets showing two growth phases yielded a Variscan‐Eoalpine mixed age indicating re‐subduction of Variscan eclogite‐bearing continental crust during the Eoalpine orogeny. Jurassic blueschist‐facies metamorphism at Meliata in the Western Carpathians and Cretaceous eclogite‐facies metamorphism in the Austroalpine are separated by a time gap of c. 50 Ma and therefore do not represent a transition from oceanic to continental subduction but rather separate events. Thus, we propose that subduction initiation was intracontinental at the site of a Permian rift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study, dedicated to Beautiful Pietàs conserved in South Tyrol (Northern Italy), aims to establish, for the first time, a connection between Austroalpine raw materials and the high-fired gypsum mortars constituting the Gothic figure groups in question. The origin and chronology of this stylistically and qualitatively differing ensemble have been subject of art historical debate for nearly a century. The discourse is dominated by three main hypotheses: itinerary of an Austrian artist versus itinerary of the work of art created in an artist's workshop in Austria versus itinerary of the stylistic vocabulary via graphical or three-dimensional models. The comparison of the δ34S values and the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of the gypsum mortars and Austroalpine sulphate deposits (in a compilation of own reference samples and literature data) points to the exploitation of sediments in the Salzkammergut and possibly also in the evaporite district of the Eastern Calcareous Alps, thus evidencing the import of the sculptures and not the activities of local South Tyrolean or itinerant artists. Two geochronological units are distinguishable: The Pietà in the Church St. Martin in Göflan can be assigned to Upper Permian raw material, whereas the metrologically consistent sculptures in the Church of Our Lady of the Benedictine Abbey Marienberg and in the Chapel St. Ann in Mölten correlate with deposits of the Early Triassic (or the Lower-Middle Triassic transition). The medieval gypsum mortars also differ in their mineralogical characteristics, i.e. in their geologically related minor components, as in the first case, characterised by a significant proportion of primary anhydrite, natural carbonate impurities mainly consist of calcite (partly converted to lime-lump-like aggregates), whereas in the second group dolomite (or rather its hydration products after pyrometamorphic decomposition) predominates, accompanied by celestine, quartz and potassium feldspar. The Pietà in the Cathedral Maria Himmelfahrt in Bozen turned out to be made of Breitenbrunn calcareous sandstone (Leitha Mountains, Burgenland, Austria), which is why the sample is not considered in the geochemical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article addresses the question of family and farm in the eastern Alpine area in the pre-statistical period in the case of Slovenia. In particular, it questions the prevalence of the 'Bauer-type' family, in which the farm is indivisible, the male farm head has a pronounced autocratic power, while his siblings and other family members are relegated to a subordinate role. Since family and kinship history research in early modern rural Slovenia doesn't offer sufficiently solid foundations, the division of farms is investigated as a signal of the absence of the 'Bauer' model and instead of the presence of a partible succession system. The figures on farm division in different areas in the long run are integrated by information on inheritance and dowry practices, taken from the literature and archival sources. Furthermore, by identifying the actors on the peasant land market, who were entitled to sell and purchase farms and plots, family and gender-related aspects of land-ownership rights are disclosed. The research combines scholarly literature with archive sources to present regional overviews and case studies, on which it reconstructs a wholly original and comprehensive insight into family, farm and land market in Slovenia. The resulting picture is more complex than the simple extension of the 'Bauer' family-type would suggest, somehow resembling the composite situation of Tyrol, and it reverses the existing interpretation in Slovenian literature. In fact, farm divisibility seems to prevail, although indivisibility was present. Partible succession was the rule, both in the case of divisible and indivisible farms. The prevailing customary law among peasants was partible inheritance, preferably to males, combined with a dowry system and the separation of property between spouses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the tectonic evolution of the Wetterstein and Mieming mountains in the western Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA) of the European Eastern Alps. In-sequence NW-directed stacking of thrust sheets in this thin-skinned foreland thrust belt lasted from the Hauterivian to the Cenomanian. In the more internal NCA major E-striking intracontinental transform faults dissected the thrust belt at the Albian–Cenomanian boundary that facilitated ascent of mantle melts feeding basanitic dykes and sills. Afterwards, the NCA basement was subducted, and the NCA were transported piggy-back across the tectonically deeper Penninic units. This process was accompanied by renewed Late Cretaceous NW-directed thrusting, and folding of thrusts. During Paleogene collision, N(NE)-directed out-of-sequence thrusts developed that offset the in-sequence thrust. We use this latter observation to revise the existing tectonic subdivision of the western NCA, in which these out-of-sequence thrusts had been used to delimit nappes, locally with young-on-old contacts at the base. We define new units that represent thrust sheets having exclusively old-on-young contacts at their base. Two large thrust sheets build the western NCA: (1) the tectonically deeper Tannheim thrust sheet and (2) the tectonically higher Karwendel thrust sheet. West of the Wetterstein and Mieming mountains, the Imst part of the Karwendel thrust sheet is stacked by an out-of-sequence thrust onto the main body of the Karwendel thrust sheet, which is, in its southeastern part, in lateral contact with the latter across a tear fault. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ötztal Nappe in the Eastern Alps is a thrust sheet of Variscan metamorphic basement rocks and their Mesozoic sediment cover. It has been argued that the main part of the Ötztal Nappe and its southeastern part, the Texel Complex, belong to two different Austroalpine nappe systems and are separated by a major tectonic contact. Different locations have been proposed for this boundary. We use microprobe mapping of garnet and structural field geology to test the hypothesis of such a tectonic separation. The Pre-Mesozoic rocks in the area include several lithotectonic units: Ötztal Complex s.str., Texel Complex, Laas Complex, Schneeberg Complex, and Schneeberg Frame Zone. With the exception of the Schneeberg Complex which contains only single-phased (Eoalpine, i.e. Late Cretaceous) garnet, all these units have two-phased garnet with Variscan cores and Eoalpine rims. The Schneeberg Complex represents Paleozoic sediments with only low-grade (sub-garnet-grade) Variscan metamorphism which was thrust over the other units and their Mesozoic cover (Brenner Mesozoic) during an early stage of the Eoalpine orogeny, before the peak of Eoalpine metamorphism and garnet growth. Folding of the thrust later modified the structural setting so that the Schneeberg Thrust was locally inverted and the Schneeberg Complex came to lie under the Ötztal Complex s.str. The hypothesized Ötztal/Texel boundaries of earlier authors either cut across undisturbed lithological layering or are unsupported by any structural evidence. Our results support the existence of one coherent Ötztal Nappe, including the Texel Complex, and showing a southeastward increase of Eoalpine metamorphism which resulted from southeastward subduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Karstic caves are created by water eroding and corroding rocks that can be dissolved. Since both the spring areas of caves (normally at the valley bottom) as well as the recharge is controlled by superficial processes, the morphology of the cave bears strong links to these influences. Lowering of local base levels promotes the development of horizontal phreatic cave passages at progressively lower elevations, resulting in the formation of multi-level karst systems. Upon the next lowering of base level, these upper systems become fossilized, and sediment trapped within them may remain preserved for millions of years. Dating these sediments gives clues regarding the time when the passages were last active, and thus may yield age information for old valley floors. The present paper presents cosmogenic nuclide datings of twelve samples from eight caves in the central part of the Northern Calcareous Alps of Austria. Besides three samples that gave no results, most of the obtained ages are at the Mio-Pliocene boundary or within the Pliocene, as was expected before sampling. No multi-level caves could be sampled at different elevations, thus, the obtained valley deepening rates are averages between the age of sediment deposition and the present-day valley floor. However, the valley deepening rates of 0.12 to 0.21 km/Ma are in accordance to previous findings and corroborate a comparatively slow evolution of base level lowering in the Eastern Alps compared to the fast (Late Quaternary) evolution in the Central and Western Alps.

One of the best preserved Early Pliensbachian radiolarian assemblages from the Western Tethys is described from the grey marly limestone exposed at Mount Rettenstein in the Northern Calcareous Alps, south of the Dachstein Massif. Fourty-five genera and 71 species are documented and illustrated here. Four species are newly described: Tozerium filzmoosense Cifer sp. nov., Loupanus pliensbachicus Cifer sp. nov., Thurstonia? robusta Cifer sp. nov., and Ares rettensteinensis Cifer sp. nov. Radiolarian age is in accordance with ammonoid data from the overlying red marly limestone, which was assigned to the upper part of the Lower Pliensbachian. The best equivalent for the radiolarian-bearing lithology is the Dürrnberg Formation, characteristic of the open-marine Hallstatt facies zone. Previously published radiolarian data from the Dürrnberg Formation were re-evaluated and the originally proposed age assignments revised. At two localities, the published Hettangian–Sinemurian age was emended to the early Early Pliensbachian that is in accordance with the age of radiolarians from Mount Rettenstein. We compared the studied fauna from Mount Rettenstein also with two other rich radiolarian assemblages, one from another locality in the Dürrnberg Formation and one from the Gümüslü Allochthon in Turkey, which were assigned to the late Early Pliensbachian and are somewhat younger than the assemblages studied herein.

This document is a corrigendum for an article titled "Preservation of chemical and isotopic Signatures within the Weißseespitze millennial old ice cap (Eastern Alps), despite the ongoing ice loss." The correction addresses errors in the names of laboratories mentioned in the article. The Laboratory of Palynology and Paleoecology of CNR-IGAG is the correct name for the laboratory involved in microfossils extraction and preparation, and the Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences is the correct name for the laboratory where microscopy slides were analyzed. The authors apologize for the errors and state that they do not affect the scientific conclusions of the article. [Extracted from the article]