16th Munich Earth Skience School

www.berghotel-sudelfeld.de

22-27 February 2026.

Pre-registration is now open, click here. Deadline for pre-registration is November 30, 2025.  

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(Image: J. Igel)

ObsPy on the Rocks - Cryoseismology

While our glaciers are under extreme stress, the understanding of their behavior, their properties, their flow characteristics is crucial. The analysis of seismic waves with modern instrumentation like large N arrays, DAS, rotation sensing plays an increasingly important role in giving answers to research questions in glaciology. Wave propagation in ice has some peculiarities compared to rocks. This workshop will provide insight into the state-of-the art of monitoring of ice both with theoretical foundations and practical data applications. Again we will train methodologies using Jupyter Notebooks with Python/ObsPy solutions.

Lecturers: Andreas Fichtner (ETH Zurich), Tom Hudson (ETH Zurich), Cedric Schmelzbach (ETH), Joachim Wassermann (LMU Munich), Thomas Lecocq (ROB, Brussels), Koen van Noten (ROB), Anne Mangeney (IPG Paris), Elisa Mantelli (LMU Munich), and others. 

Topics include:

  • icequakes and icequake source inversion
  • exotic signals on ice
  • interferometry on glaciers (MSNoise)
  • iceberg calving and iceberg loss
  • using wavefield gradients on glaciers, array processing
  • using DAS on glaciers
  • data analysis (Grenzgletscher, Greenland, Alaska permafrost)

Organization and contact: Heiner Igel (LMU Munich) and Thomas Lecocq (ROB Brussels).

A video on a previous winter school in 2019 can be seen here.

Practical information: Lectures, practicals will be given from 8-11 and after 3pm (open end). Between 11am and 3pm (depending on conditions) winter sports facilities can be used (www.sudelfeld.de). More info on the winter sport program can be found here.

Philosophy: This workshop combines the thrill of learning, studying, and practicing seismology and new methodologies, with the thrill of wintersports and being out in nature. Beware that the hotel is isolated in the mountains, no shopping, little to no public transport to anywhere. WLAN is available free of charge at the hotel. Note that we provide half pension only, in the ski area (within walking distance) there are restaurants where lunch is available.

Costs: 850 € (incl. 5 days accommodation and half pension - breakfast and dinner, three coffee breaks per day, conference facilities, tuition, software). Arrival Sunday afternoon, leaving Fri (lunch time). Note that the costs do not cover: lunch, drinks during meals, winter sport facilities. The number of participants is limited to ~40. First come, first serve basis. The area can be reached by train from Munich Airport (terminal station: Bayrischzell). Please note that there are only a few single rooms. You are encouraged to (or might be forced to)  sharing a double room.

Logistics:

Arrival options to the venue are:
1 - Arriving by plane to Munich. You can continue by train to Bayrischzell (change at Munich central, total duration approx. 2hrs). Train schedule at www.reiseauskunft.de
2 - Arriving by train to Munich. Continue to Bayrischzell (approx, 1:15 mins)
3 - On Sunday  there will be two vans departing from Munich (Department of Earth Science, parking lot on the North side in Theresienstr. 41). On sunday we will provide a shuttle service from the train station in Bayrischzell to the hotel from around 15:00. More information shortly before the workshop.