Current Projects


Active tectonics and recent dynamics of micro-displacements along major fault systems of the Eastern Alps registered in caves (SPELEOTECT)

This study aims on providing the first comprehensive and detailed assessment of the Quaternary tectonic activity and recent dynamics of micro-displacements along major fault systems of the Eastern Alps registered in caves.

Numerical modelling of restless caldera volcanoes

Crevassing, Thrusting and Folding in Alpine Glaciers: Quantitative Field Analysis and Mechanical Modelling

The aim of this project is to bridge the gap between Structural Geology and Glaciology and to gain insights into the geometry and mechanical genesis of common glacier structures by means of detailed field studies on Austria’s largest glacier and state-of-the-art computer simulations.


Fold-and-Thrust Structures in the Northern Calcareous Alps: Quantitative Analysis at the Alpine Front

The Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA) represent a fold-and-thrust belt that has undergone polyphase deformation at the northern front of the Eastern Alps. This project is focused on the development of fold-and-thrust structures in the foothills of the central NCA, where the lowermost tectonic units were thrust on the foreland basin.

Alpine Stress: Active Tectonics and Recent Stress at the Front of the Eastern Alps

This project focuses on the analysis of the current geodynamics in the northern Eastern Alps and their foreland by investigating recent stresses and active deformation at the leading edge of the Alpine fold-thrust belt.


Rheology of eclogites: Comparison of high pressure-temperature deformation experiments and natural examples

In this project we will study the rheological behaviour and microstructural evolution of eclogites composed of omphacite and garnet in varying fractions and in different strain, strain rate, pressure and temperature conditions.


Low-grade metamorphic units in the Eastern Alps: An important tectonic transition zone

A large share of the exposed crust in the Eastern Alps consists of LGM units in tectonic key positions at top and bottom of the Eo-Alpine extrusion wedge. Understanding the processes occurring there has a major impact on our comprehension of the evolution of the whole orogen, however, no modern P-T-t-D data is known for this part so far.

FFG Bridge 2021: Evaporite tectonics and paleogeography in the Alps of the Salzkammergut (ETAPAS)

The objective of ETAPAS is to revisit the geology of the Salzkammergut and the Northern Calcareous Alps under the light of our modern understanding of salt tectonics and to develop an integrated geological model to account for the geological observations accumulated in the region over the last decades.


Discrimination of Induced and Natural Fractures in Deep Boreholes (DINaF)

The DINAF project focuses on the analysis of rock fractures detected in boreholes and on the development of discrimination criteria of fracture types for numerous subsurface applications.