1. Summer school “Impacts and their Role in the Evolution of Life”, Nördlingen, Germany, 5th to 14th September 2023.
The course will give the participants a thorough introduction to how meteorites, comets and asteroid impacts participate in shaping life on Earth. The following subjects will be covered by the lectures:
– Roles of impacts in the formation of habitable planets
– Physical and chemical properties of comets and meteorites
– Detection and investigation of impact craters by geological methods and remote sensing from space
– Ecological consequences of impacts and the role of impacts in mass extinctions
– Transfer of life through meteorite impacts
– Threat of life on our planet by near-Earth asteroids and comets
– The lecture programme will be complemented by practical exercises concerning:
– Investigations of Suevite formations
– Analysis of pollen indicators impact events.
– Microscopy of impactites
– Outreach work for a conference on “Impacts and their role in the evolution of life” in Nördlingen in autumn 2024
The summer school will be held in Nördlingen, the centre of the Ries crater impact. Lectures will cover a cornucopia of subjects ranging from properties of impactors, physics of impacts, ecological consequences of impacts, and impact geology to impacts on Mars. Exercises will comprise geological field studies at the Ries and the neighbouring Steinheim crater as well as palynological and petrographic microscopy studies. Many leading scientists will teach at the school. Nördlingen is a very nice medieval city situated on the “Romantic Road” with an intact city wall and offers good accommodation and meals. It is easy to reach the international airports from Munich and Frankfurt as well as by train.
The deadline for applications is 15 June 2023. Please check the website:
for further information.
2. Summer school “Volcanism, Plate Tectonics, Hydrothermal vents and life”, Angra do Heroismo, Azores, Portugal, 11 – 21 October 2023
This summer school will focus on which role volcanism, plate tectonics and hydrothermal vents played in the emergence and evolution of life. It will give lecturers of leading scientists on this subject. Moreover, there will be sampling excursions to lava caves and solfatares as well as exercises on genetic characterisation of extremophiles population in those habitats as well as on cultivation of bacteria. Angra is a picturesque city and has plenty of good restaurants and clean and affordable hotels with good services. There are flights to the close Terceira Lajes airport from both Europe mainland, the US and Canada. The summer school will include:
– Lectures by leading scientists in the field covering a cornucopia of different subjects
– Field excursions to geologically interesting sights (volcanic areas, hot springs, lava caves, etc.)
– Exploration of lava caves
– Characterisation of microbes in lava caves and hot springs via Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
– Poster sessions
– Participant-led discussions
The deadline for applications is July 1st, 2023. Please check the website:
for further information.
3. Conference: “Life in the sub-surface: “, Angra do Heroismo, Azores, Portugal, 25 – 27 October 2023
This meeting will focus on the following subjects:
– Characteristics of (potential) sub-surface habitats on Earth and beyond
– Early evolution of subsurface life including its possible role in the emergence of life
– Diversity, metabolism and survival strategies of subsurface life on Earth
– Possibility of extraterrestrial sub-surface life and its detection.
– Gaps in the knowledge about subsurface life
– Subsurface environments and extremophiles on the Azores.
Very proficient speakers have been invited to the workshop. It will be held at the very modern Centro Cultural e de Congressos offering an ideal setting. The location Angra is a picturesque city and has plenty of good restaurants and clean and affordable hotels with good services. The EAI project team “Astrobiology and Art” will organise a multimedia event on the first day. There will be a speleological society “Os Montanheiros” will organise an exhibition of life in Azorean lava caves.
The deadline for registration and abstract submission is July 1st, 2023. Please check the website:
for further information.
