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Rocks & soils

Geology Portal

Themes	Description
Anthropogenic pollution	The most diverse bedrock and rock components have weathered to fertile soils over thousands of years. They constitute the indispensable foundation for the terrestrial ecosystem, for plant growth and higher forms of life. The Swiss Soil Monitoring Network NABO monitors the state and development of soil pollution and is an important instrument in preventative soil protection.
Applications	All of us are confronted daily – often unknowingly – confronted with geology: from the ground on which we live, past the concrete as part of a building’s foundation, to the copper in the mobile telephone, so much has to do with geology.

Themes	Description
Bergregal	The Bergregal (principles of mining law) regulates the property rights for mineral resources. In Switzerland, it is mostly determined by the cantons. Energy and ore resources as well as salt are usually included therein.
Boreholes	Boreholes provide information about the composition of the ground. They also serve a particular purpose: for example, for the production of natural gas or as preparation for construction methods.
Borehole data model	As a result of greater and more diverse utilization of the subsurface, administrative and public circles are increasingly focusing on our knowledge about the subsurface. Borehole data from drilling operations are one of the main sources of the relevant information. Therefore the Swiss Geological Survey, in collaboration with representatives from the federal government, cantons, private sector and universities, developed the “borehole data model" as the first recommendation for structuring basic digital borehole data.

Themes	Description
Construction site	The construction site is to be evaluated, described and investigated in detail for the professional execution of construction projects.
Construction & technology
CO2 sequestration	With CO2 capture and sequestration, carbon dioxide is separated from combustion exhaust gases and subsequently indefinitely stored without using containers, in deep underground rock layers. The technology is currently still in the developmental stage.
Culture	Dimension stone as building material, utensils and carriers of messages are part of our culture: the oldest cultural artifacts are similarly from stone, just as the products of today’s artists or engineers.

Themes	Description
Deep repository	In Switzerland, radioactive waste will in the future be disposed of in deep geological repositories. These are situated located several hundred meters below the surface of the Earth in geologically stable rock layers. Geodata documents the federal governments sectoral plan procedure.
Data viewers	Is the Evolène map sheet already printed? On what type of ground is my house standing? Can I find public borehole data there? You can find the answer to these and other questions in the two data viewers «map.geo.admin.ch» and «swissgeol.ch».
Data models	In general, a model depicts the very complex reality. In order to enable this depiction, the reality must be generalized and idealized.

Themes	Description
Energy supply	Switzerland’s energy supply results largely from the import of fossil fuels. To reduce her CO2 emissions and become more independent on foreign countries, Switzerland must rely on energy efficiency and renewable energies. Geothermal energy could play a decisive role in this process as a geological energy source.
Energy resources	Switzerland has a high per capita consumption of energy resources. Its energy requirements are covered by various sources: fossil fuels such as combustibles and motor fuels make up the largest portion thereof.
Energy
Earthquakes	Earthquakes are caused by stresses in the Earth’s interior which built up by the movement of the Earth’s crustal plates relative to one another. If these stresses become too large then a fracture occurs, whereby the rock masses suddenly jerkily move past each other.
Experience Geology	For more geo-topics among the general public!
Experience	Whether for children or adults: museums, show mines, geoparks or geological trails offer numerous opportunities to be inspired by geology. Here you will find a selection of what is on offer.

Themes	Description
Fundamentals of geology

Themes	Description
Groundwater	Groundwater is an important indigenous resource. It is a central element of the natural water cycle and feeds valuable habitats. An integral groundwater conservation is indispensable for conservation of groundwater resources.
Geothermal energy	Geothermal energy – energy from the earth’s interior – is today already widely used in Switzerland. The potential for the future is enormous.
Geotechnics & engineering geology	Geotechnical engineering combines elements of earth science, construction and mining. Tunneling projects, slope stabilization or site investigations are typical areas of application.
Geological cartography	Geological maps display a multitude of geologically relevant information in a concise manner. They are an important basis for geotechnical and environmental decisions. .
Geophysics	Geophysics deals with all of the Earth’s relevant physical phenomena. It includes various fields and can be subdivided according to research methods and their relevant applications.
Geological hazards
Geology in everyday life
Geology data model	The geology data model forms the foundation for national uniformly structured geological vector data sets.
Geology lexicon	Numerous databases and lexica about geology can be found in the internet and in book form.
Geotopes	Geotopes are natural geoscientific monuments worthy of protection: spatially constrained parts of the geosphere of geological, geomorphological or geo-ecological importance. Depending on whether the formative processes are complete or still in progress, they are then static or active geotopes.
Geological hiking trails	Geotourism develops, promotes and commercializes special geological landscape features. Professionals and lay people can experience and understand developments in earth science on geological trails, in geoparks, show caves, geotopes or at events such as “Erlebnis Geologie”.

Themes	Description
Hydrology	Water shapes the character of landscapes and natural ecosystems. It is a significant basic need for the population and for numerous economic sectors in Switzerland. Hydrological data allow observation of the water balance.
Health	Radon and asbestos represent two health hazards that are associated with geology.

Themes	Description
Industrial minerals	Industrial minerals are minerals or rocks that are important for technical processes and applications in industry. Unlike ores, which are converted into metals by smelting, industrial minerals can be used in their natural state or after minimal beneficiation.

Themes	Description

Themes	Description

Themes	Description
Lookup	Diverse information provided compactly and simply – that is the requirement of the Geology Portal. Experience more e.g., about the geology of Switzerland, data models or software that simplifies the daily routine of geologists.
Learning	Here you will find a range of websites that offer virtual learning platforms or material for schools and teachers.
Look at	Below can be found a selection of web-based image databases, image archives and maps in the field of geology or earth sciences. This collection does not claim to be complete.

Themes	Description
Mines & history of mining	In Switzerland, ores and other mineral resources were already being extracted by mining methods 3500 years ago. There has been no mining activity in this country since 1967 – there is however an interest in its history.
Mineral resources
Metadata	Metadata (“data about data“) refers to structured data that describes an information resource and thus make these easier to find.

Themes	Description
Natural pollution	Pollution is understood to mean the natural or anthropogenic pollution of the living environment by polluting nature with harmful substances such as toxins, microorganisms and radioactive material.

Themes	Description
Ores	Since the Bronze Age, the mining and extraction of naturally occurring ores are of great importance for mankind. In Switzerland however, the mining of ores nowadays can no longer be operated economically.
Overview of geological software	Geologists are dependent on support from numerous software applications for their daily work. Besides the classic Office applications, a multitude of specialized applications enable the useful analysis and representation of geological data sets.

Themes	Description
Planning for the future

Themes	Description
Quaternary geology	The Quaternary is the most recent period in the Earth’s history: the last 2.6 million years. It is marked by the appearance of man as well as repeated glacial/interglacial cycles, which strongly influenced the mountains and their environment.

Themes	Description
Rockfall, landslides, debris flows	Mass movements (gravitational natural hazards) are downslope directed displacements of solid and/or loose rocks as well as soil material. As falling processes, they can occur quickly and suddenly. Landslides on the other hand, are slow, continuous processes.
Rocks & soils	The rocks and soils are an important commodity group for Switzerland. This includes raw materials for the brick-and-tile industry, lime and marl for the binder material industry, gravels and sands as well as dimension stone and rock for construction purposes.
Revision service	Are there any changes, errors or additions that have not yet been included in our maps or geodata? Share your input with us using the geodata viewer at map.swisstopo.admin.ch.
Regulations, guidelines and standards	Geologists are required to perform work according to professional standards that are defined in technical documentation, guidelines, acts and regulations.

Themes	Description
Stratigraphy	As a geological discipline, stratigraphy deals with the spatial location and temporal sequence of rock bodies. By means of stratigraphy, bodies of rock are dated and correlated with each other.
Seismic Atlas	The Swiss Plateau makes up about a third of the surface of Switzerland and consists mainly of the Molasse basin. Slightly more than two thirds of Switzerland’s population lives here. The Seismic Atlas of the Swiss Molasse Basin serves as an important foundation for geological projects.
Shops & downloads	Are you interested in geology-relevant data, topographic or geological maps? Are you looking for an unpublished geological report or a scientific publication? Here you can find the most important suppliers..

Themes	Description
Tectonics / Structural geology	Enormous forces have always been at work inside our Earth. They continuously deform the Earth’s crust and affect its structural composition. Tectonic maps show how Switzerland is geologically constructed.
Tunneling	The rock mass must be described and investigated in detail for the professional project planning and execution of underground structures. Here geologists and engineers must work closely together.

Themes	Description
Underground planning	The deep subsurface is being exploited more and more. In this domain, various experts are working on sustainable concepts that are based on geological knowledge. In addition, they are investigating where there is a need for regulations in order to avoid conflicts in the utilization.

Themes	Description

Themes	Description
Water
Water & ice	Whether fluid or frozen: water can cause a variety of natural hazards
Wine	The system “rock – weathering – soil – vine – wine” is complex: climate and weather influence the quality of a wine – for the character however, the underlying rock, from which the vine obtains nutrients and water, also plays an important role.

Themes	Description

Themes	Description

Themes	Description

Themes	Description
3D Geology	3D geological models provide a key solutions approach for infrastructure, urban and landscape planning. Spatial representation offers many advantages.

News
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  Press
  
  Summaries of media communications on the subject of geology
  
  Topic of the month
  
  The Geology Portal regularly presents a new ‘topic of the month’.
  
  Agenda & information
  
  What’s new in the field of geology? Here you will find news on current topics and detailed information on the latest events in the field of geology.
  
  Jobs
  
  On this page you will find the latest job vacancies and internship positions in the Geology sector in Switzerland.
Themes current page
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  Fundamentals of geology
  
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  Water
  
  Geology in everyday life
  
  Mineral resources
  
  Construction & technology
  
  Energy
  
  Planning for the future
Data
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  Data viewers
  
  Is the Evolène map sheet already printed? On what type of ground is my house standing? Can I find public borehole data there? You can find the answer to these and other questions in the two data...
  
  Revision service
  
  Are there any changes, errors or additions that have not yet been included in our maps or geodata? Share your input with us using the geodata viewer at map.swisstopo.admin.ch.
  
  Shops & downloads
  
  Are you interested in geology-relevant data, topographic or geological maps? Are you looking for an unpublished geological report or a scientific publication? Here you can find the most important...
  
  Metadata
  
  Metadata (“data about data“) refers to structured data that describes an information resource and thus make these easier to find.
Network
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  Geology scene
  
  The geology scene works on geology-related tasks.
  
  Conference Geological Subsurface
  
  With an official representation from each canton, the Conference on the Geological Subsurface (CGS) coordinates the exchange of and the access to geological data.
  
  Contacts
  
  The Swiss geology scene consists of a multitude of organizations. Here you will find contact details for the members of the geology scene and an overview of the network of individual organizations.
  
  Political initiatives
  
  Geology also has a political dimension! For example, there is currently no federal law governing the geological subsurface. Nevertheless, this vision has been a topic of animated discussions in both...
Knowledge
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  Lookup
  
  Diverse information provided compactly and simply – that is the requirement of the Geology Portal. Experience more e.g., about the geology of Switzerland, data models or software that simplifies the...
  
  Look at
  
  Below can be found a selection of web-based image databases, image archives and maps in the field of geology or earth sciences. This collection does not claim to be complete.
  
  Learning
  
  Here you will find a range of websites that offer virtual learning platforms or material for schools and teachers.
  
  Experience
  
  Whether for children or adults: museums, show mines, geoparks or geological trails offer numerous opportunities to be inspired by geology. Here you will find a selection of what is on offer.
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Rocks & soils

The rocks and soils are an important commodity group for Switzerland. This includes raw materials for the brick-and-tile industry, lime and marl for the binder material industry, gravels and sands as well as dimension stone and rock for construction purposes.

Crushed stone is an important raw material in Switzerland.

Summary

Rocks and soils are designated as bulk raw materials of the construction industry; in a geological sense they occur as rock (hard or unconsolidated rock) and as mineral mixtures. Examples are:

dimension stone
imestone and marl
sand and gravel
clay
crushed stone
hard ashlar

Rocks and soils belong, together with the industrial minerals, to the non-metallic natural resources. Their application in the tile-and-brick, binder material or construction industry is diverse. At the same time, the requirements for the exploration of deposits, processing, refining and market research are particularly high. Unlike with ores, the utilization potential of a deposit can often only be evaluated by means of a feasibility study including industrial-scale production trials. The majority of the locally needed rock and soil is mined and processed inside Switzerland.

Map showing the rock and soil deposits of central Switzerland utilized in 1995 — Map showing the rock and soil deposits of Central Switzerland utilized in 1995: sandstone (orange), limestone (blue), marlstone and claystone (gray)
© Atlas der Schweiz 2013

Who is who

The Georesources Switzerland Group is the official contact with respect to rock and soil resources in Switzerland. It undertakes investigations of the usable raw materials of our country on behalf of the federal government. In addition, there are various professional associations and societies in this field.

Data

Publications

Contributions to the geology of Switzerland – Geotechnical Series
Reports of the Swiss Geological Survey (new reports on mineral resources: Nr. 11 and 13)
“Geotechnical Maps“

Geodata

Collections

Several extensive collections in the field of Swiss rocks and soils (hand specimens and rock thin sections) are maintained by the Georesources Switzerland Group and can be viewed by prior appointment.

Contact

ETH Zurich Department of Earth Sciences
Georesources Switzerland Group
NO F35
Sonneggstrasse 5
CH-8092 Zurich

Tel.: +41 44 632 37 28

Print contact

Rocks & soils

Cement mineral resources

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Rocks & soils

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