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Cooperations

 

For all investigations in the remote areas of the Central and Southern Andes the SFB maintains close contacts and partnerships at national and international levels, in particular with colleagues and institutions in the Andean host countries Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. In a project that consists of strong interdisciplinary research including field work conducted often under extreme climatic and logistical conditions, cooperation in the host countries is essential for achieving successful studies because these are not feasible by individual SFB members or groups. Longstanding personal relationships of SFB members have built up over the last 15 years, legal and institutional frameworks are in place, and bilateral agreements play an important role.

 

Infrastructure and organization

Part of the success in realizing research goals of the SFB 267 results from collaborations with scientists in Europe, North and South America. Together with our wide range of experimental and computational facilities and a geophysical data base nearing completion, such collaborations have established the SFB 267 as part of an international network for research at active continental margins. The international character of these collaborations is indicated by the fact that scientists of different nationalities are typically working in the subprojects of the SFB at any time.

Our fruitful collaboration with colleagues and institutions in South America and elsewhere developed in five main fields over the duration of SFB 267:

  1. information and participation,
  2. exchange of knowledge and data,
  3. mutual data processing and interpretation of field and laboratory experiments and publications,
  4. exchange of scientists, particularly young scientists,
  5. support of academic institutions in South America with regard to guidance and information on their own SFB-related proposals and equipment.

 

This list reflects the joint efforts of the SFB and its partners and demonstrates the spirit in which long-term beneficial goals can be pursued by the cooperating institutions.

For the first time the SFB projects F4 (Götze et al.), G1 (Franz and Sobolev), G2 (Handy et al.), G6 (Strecker et al.) and G7 (Scheuber and Heubeck) have proposed funding for our South American partners which may help us to conduct either limited field experiments in the Andes or laboratory work in the institutions of our counterparts.

 

Information policy

Experiences of nearly 15 years intensive research in South America show that "information" is one of the most crucial prerequisites of successful work. This is not only true for the official governmental authorities, embassies, institutions and funding agencies (e.g. CONICET of Argentina, CONICYT in Chile), but also for the presence at national congresses, workshops and even thematically specialized meetings. This is why all subprojects of the current proposal list their individual contacts in chapter 3.6.1. Many of these colleagues were closely involved in planning and developing the work plan or will contribute their personal experience. As part of this information concept the SFB chairman, co-chairmen and scientific secretary made several business trips to start new and deepen older partnerships and to present SFB results at both conferences and internal workshops.

Regarding the item "information" in the above-mentioned task list (no. 5) again we are planning to distribute an extended abstract booklet (folleto de resumenes) which will inform about the general goals of our research project and particular projects as well. It will be also accessible through the SFB´s homepage:

noch leer

which has become a meta-information system over the last three years, providing information on the data catalogue, subprojects, new members, publications, meetings, and planned field activities which always enables our partners to participate in SFB matters.

 

Visiting scientists

The visiting scientists' program of the SFB makes it possible to host a significant number of senior scientists at the Universities of Berlin, Potsdam and at the GeoForschungsZentrum, from countries such as the ABC countries (Argentina, Bolivia and Chile), England, Russia, USA etc. Such visits, which have generally been extraordinarily productive in terms of research achievements, have also been made possible by generous funding from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the DAAD, for example, as well as the SFB's own funds.

 

In particular the SFB hosts young scientists (e.g. at the postdoctoral level; see also chapter 1.4.1) for periods that range from one week to several years. As well as developing interdisciplinary research among earth scientists from different institutions, one of the main aims of such networks is to provide valuable practical training for young scientists by immersing them into active and qualified research groups inside (during the course of field campaigns in the Andes) and outside their home country. Several proponents are offering seminars and lectures at South American universities (e.g. subproject F4 in Concepción and Buenos Aires (http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~sschmidt/BsAs2000/index.htm), or G1 in Salta. These lectures not only provide evidence for "know-how transfer" between partners but also train students for participation in SFB field campaigns.

 

We seek to continue and extend this personal exchange under the umbrella of bi-national contracts by the DFG and both CONICYT (Chile) and CONICET (Argentina) as well as by the programs of other institutions such as DAAD, A. v. Humboldt Foundation, Feodor-Lynen-Program and Volkswagen Foundation. Through education, training, and exchange with the community, the SFB is making a lasting contribution to the development of science in the region.

 

Current and proposed projects with both national and international cooperation and relevance to the SFB

Investigations of subduction-related processes and mountain building are among the most important geoscientific research topics. One reason for this focus and increasing international attention is the concentration along active continental margins of specific types of natural disasters, which endanger a major part of South America´s population. Because of this overall importance, major projects are planned and supported by many international organizations and national programs. The contributions to these efforts by researchers of the SFB are manifold and on different levels:


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Stand: 08.11.2006