Articles by Wolfgang Fritz

Nachterstedt Landslide in Eastern Germany
Failures

Nachterstedt Landslide in Eastern Germany, Three People Believed Missing

July 21, 2009 Wolfgang Fritz Comments Off on Nachterstedt Landslide in Eastern Germany, Three People Believed Missing

Nachterstedt Landslide in Eastern GermanyA massive landslide in the little town of Nachterstedt in Eastern Germany early on Saturday morning local time caused two houses to vanish into a nearby lake. Three people are believed to have been in the buildings at the time of the slide. Rescue efforts are still on going and had to be halted during the night but were resumed the next morning. Helicopters with infrared cameras and dogs were used to find the missing people, but with no success so far. Approximately 60 residents of nearby buildings had to be evacuated and put up in emergency shelters. (Photo by Spiegel Online) [Editor] More after the break. [/Editor] 

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Project Related

The Most Important Fridge On Earth

February 26, 2008 Wolfgang Fritz 1

Today, Tuesday, February 26, 2008, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is scheduled to start operating on the remote island of Spitsbergen, Norway in the Svalbard Archipelago.  The location is only about 1000km (625 miles) from the North Pole.  The Global Seed Vault will house duplicates of seeds from known species of plants from all over the world in case a natural or other disaster destroys the original species. [Editor] Read on for more details. Photo by Mari Tefre/Svalbard Global Seed Vault [/Editor]

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Regional

German town sinking after drilling operations

February 25, 2008 Wolfgang Fritz 2

The historic town of Staufen in southwestern Germany on the western edge of the Black Forest is experiencing some rather unexpected downward movement these days. Several buildings, some of them historic, are experiencing cracking and distress and are still sinking at a rate of approximately 1mm per week. Investigations are underway, but everything seems to point towards drilling operations for geothermal energy which were conducted last fall. [Editor] More after the break…[/Editor]

 

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Geologic Hazards

Landslide at Traunsee Lake in Austria

December 4, 2007 Wolfgang Fritz Comments Off on Landslide at Traunsee Lake in Austria

The people living on the eastern bank of the Traunsee (map on following page) in Austria are able to observe geology in motion these days. About one million tons of soil and rock are moving in a slow landslide toward the lake, throwing over trees (picture at left) and threatening to take parts of a village with them. More… 

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