4th Alexander von Humboldt international conference - The Andes: challenge for geosciences

It is the aim of this interdisciplinary and international EGU Humboldt Conference to bring researchers from diverse specializations together and thus catalyze more comprehensive interdisciplinary research towards a better understanding of the complexity of the Andes system.

Compared to other major mountain ranges, the Andes are not well studied and their geophysical characteristics poorly documented and understood. Although research has been carried out by various teams, from South America, Europe, and North America, on diverse topics and in different areas, an overall understanding of the Andes as a complex system is still lacking.

This lack assumes utmost importance given the fact that the Andes and surrounding low-lands are prone to major natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides, avalanches, flooding and flash-floods, whose prediction and mitigation strategies require a comprehensive understanding of the entire system. A better assessment of the risks that result from a variety of processes is highly relevant for a more sustainable management of the resources in the Andes.