Apuseni Mountains: karst, low altitude permafrost and the effects of mining on geomorphological landscapes
Duration: 3 days, 2 nights;
Participation fee includes: bus transportation, accommodation, meals, coffee breaks, entrance fees. Costs will be available in September 2024.
Description: During this fieldtrip, the participants will explore some of the most appreciated natural and cultural sites of the Apuseni Mountains, where geomorphology is discovered under various and intriguing landscape features. Apuseni Mountains host the largest karst area of Romania, with many spectacular typical landforms such as gorges, dolines, and caves, among which Scărișoara and Urșilor are of utmost interest. Karst geomorphology and cave deposits of high concern for reconstructing the Quaternary paleoenvironments are key topics of discussion. The largest relict cave glacier of Europe in Scărișoara Ice Cave and the low altitude permafrost at Detunata basalts are rare cold climate features, well-preserved at temperate latitudes in particular geomorphologic contexts. A close-up on the historical anthropogenic geomorphology is planned during the visit of Roșia Montană gold mining area, recently inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Roșia Poieni open pit mine and the former village of Geamăna, drowned under an enormous tailings pond, expose highly dramatic and irreversible landscape changes and draw attention on the geomorphological impact of mining. The Gold Museum in Brad is unique in the world, hosting the most important collection of native gold pieces in Europe, extracted from the porphyry copper deposits of the Apuseni Mountains. We will end our fieldtrip with a brief discussion on the evolution of Mureș and Bega paleovalleys at the Carpathians – Pannonian Basin contact.
