Eiszeit: 50 MegaJahre Klimawandel

Climate change brought about the geological richness of the Leipzig Bay — and men turned it into a unique lakeland:
50 to 60 Million years ago lignite formation started in a warm and humid climate, and 2 Million years ago the climate started to change towards a regime of alternating ice ages and interglacial warm periods. In the cold periods the coal was covered with sediments, and 8 Thousand years ago, at the start of the current warm period, the latest sediment turned into very fertile alluvial soil.
Humans are settling in this area since 400 Thousand years. Initially they hunted big game in the ice age tundra, later they became farmers on the fertile ground. In modern times, during the Anthropocene, they dissheveled the ground and destroyed the landscape in opencast mines. Subsequenly, upon renaturation of the post-mine landscapes they created a unique lake landscape.

On our bike tour we will explore the traces of these changes:
How climate history is reflected in sediment stratification, and how human interference impacts the climate.

The tour will start with an introduction and a guided tour in the Geologic-Paleontological Collection of Leipzig University, and it will end after a guided tour and a picknick at the Bergbau-Technik-Park. The return trip can be taken by S-Bahn from the stop Markkleeberg-Gaschwitz.

Booking

You can register for the tour on our booking platform.

• De
• Guided Tour
• Bike Tour
• 2025