Rationale for TOPO-EUROPE

Continental topography is at the interface of deep Earth, surface and atmospheric processes. Topography influences society, not only as a result of slow landscape changes but also in terms of how it impacts on geohazards and the environment. When sea-, lake- or ground-water levels rise, or land subsides, the risk of flooding increases, directly affecting the sustainability of local ecosystems and human habitats. On the other hand, declining water levels and uplifting land may lead to higher risk of erosion and desertification. In the recent past, catastrophic landslides and rock falls in Europe have caused heavy damage and numerous fatalities. Rapid population growth in river basins, coastal lowlands and mountainous regions and global warming, associated with increasingly frequent exceptional weather events, are likely to exacerbate the risk of flooding and devastating rock failures. Along active deformation zones, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions cause short-term and localized topography changes. These changes may present additional hazards, but at the same time permit us to quantify stress and strain accumulations that are of prime importance for seismic and volcanic hazard assessment. Although natural processes as well as human activities cause geohazards and environmental changes, the relative contribution of these two components is still poorly understood. That topography influences climate has been known since the beginning of civilization, but it is only recently that we have been able to model its effects in regions where good (paleo-) topographic and climatologic data are available.

The present state and behaviour of the Shallow Earth System is a consequence of processes operating on a wide range of time scales. These include the long-term effects of tectonic uplift, subsidence and the development of river systems, residual effects of the ice ages on crustal movement, natural climate and environmental changes over the last millennia and up to the present, and the powerful anthropogenic impacts of the last century. If we are to understand the present state of the Earth System, to predict its future and to engineer our use of it, this spectrum of processes, operating concurrently but on different time scales, needs to be better understood. The challenge to Geosciences is to describe the state of the system, to monitor its changes, to forecast its evolution and, in collaboration with others, to evaluate modes of its sustainable use by human society.

Topography and natural hazards

To gain a better understanding of the interrelation between topography, geohazards and the environment, the temporal evolution of topography needs to be assessed, not only during the recent past but also during the last 10 or so million years. There are, however, some fundamental problems inherent in paleo-topography analysis. Apart from dealing with topography that no longer exists, its dimensions and the timing of events and the underlying dynamic processes that controlled its development, as well as its life cycle, pose major challenges. These cannot be solved by a single sub-discipline but require support by other disciplines. The geographic scope of the TOPO-EUROPE programme demands co-operation on a European scale to avoid a fragmented approach. Mountain ranges (increasing surface topography) and adjacent sedimentary basins (decreasing surface topography) record signals and proxies that tell the story of the topographic life cycle. In this, the sediment source-to-sink relationship (Figure 1) is of key importance. However, signals and proxies are still poorly understood and we have only just started to decipher the few we are aware of. A major challenge is to extract all available information contained in the system and to interpret it in terms of processes. Innovative analytical techniques, improvement of methodologies, back-to-back with innovative data interactive backward and forward modelling, are required to resolve these problems.

Figure 1

Schematic source-to-sink systematics and coupled orogen-basin evolution in the aftermath of continental collision in the Romanian Carpathians

The main challenge in topography-related geological hazard research is to create and verify physical models of hazardous Earth systems that integrate all relevant data, describe hazards as a function of time, and understand them as resulting from the evolution of a non-linear system under which processes acting on various temporal and spatial scales can become catastrophic. In this context, it must be understood that topography plays a prominent role as it results from the interaction of shallow and deep Earth processes, and as such permits – in combination with other parameters – to assess the state of stress and its change through time.

There are obvious relations between geological hazards and topography. Topography is a major factor controlling slope instabilities, which can lead to the development of landslides, both on- and offshore. Uplift of, for example, Fennoscandia and the Romanian Carpathians area has caused increased landslide and rock-fall hazards. The second important parameter for catastrophic earth movements is the internal friction of soil, which in turn depends largely on hydrological conditions and the intensity of precipitation. Regional climate changes associated with the decay of permafrost and/or increasing precipitation tend to cause increased slope instability and corresponding landslide and rock-fall activity.

Earthquakes result from brittle deformation of the crust and mantle and occur in various parts of Europe (Figure 2).

Figure 2

Areas of Western and Central Europe, which are exposed to increased geohazards owing to ongoing vertical crustal movements, demonstrating the societal relevance of neotectonics (after Ref. Reference Cloetingh, Cornu, Ziegler and Beekman24)

Although areas with a high frequency of large magnitude earthquakes are mostly bound to the Alpine–Mediterranean system of orogens, certain parts of the European intraplate domain are also characterized by elevated seismic activity. In areas such as the Rhine Graben, the concentration of population centres and high-value infrastructure can turn moderate hazards into large risks. The currently used ‘third generation’ hazard assessment method can be coined ‘seismotectonic probabilism’. This method largely relies on historical and paleo-seismological earthquake records, and results in maps giving an annual exceedence probability of a certain damage parameter. The challenge to Solid-Earth science researchers lays in developing fourth-generation hazard assessment methods, relying much more on a physical understanding of processes leading to earthquakes and on assessment of the actual state of stress on faults. The state of stress is strongly influenced by surface topography, but also by the topography of lithospheric boundaries (Moho, lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary) (see Figures 3–5). Highly sophisticated models for time-dependent hazard assessment that link several processes, such as mantle dynamics, structure and rheology of the crust and mantle (Figures 6–9), change in topography, mass re-distribution by erosion and sedimentation, and post-seismic relaxation can be established today. Verification of these models requires data on recent deformation (both from GPS and geological reconstruction for the Holocene/Pleistocene) and tectonic stress (e.g. through the World Stress Map project). This can yield substantial new insights into the stress and strain evolution of key seismogenic areas of Europe. This type of modelling may develop into a particularly viable approach for constraining extreme events with high societal impact.

Figure 3

Seismicity map of Europe, reflecting pattern of ongoing crustal deformation. Red dots: earthquake epicentres according to NEIC data centre. Circles with plus symbols: areas of Neogene uplift. Circles with minus symbols: areas of Neogene subsidence. Background elevation image derived from the ETOPO2 data set

Figure 4

Thickness of the European lithosphere as determined by (a) seismic tomography; (b) surface wave tomography; (c) geothermics; (d) magnetotellurics (after Ref. Reference Artemieva, Thybo, Kaban, Gee and Stephenson25)

Figure 5

Tomographic cross-sections through key parts of the European continent (after Ref. Reference Spakman, van der Lee and van der Hilst26). Red and blue colours indicate respectively hot and cold domains in the upper mantle. Note that many regions of Europe are characterized by hot upper mantle overlying subducting cold lithosphere slabs

Figure 6

Depth map of Moho discontinuity (2 km contour interval), constructed by integrating published regional maps (after Ref. Reference Dèzes and Ziegler27). For data sources see http://comp1.geol.unibas.ch/. Dark lines (solid and stippled) show offsets of the Moho discontinuities

Figure 7

Moho depth (km). Abbreviations are as follows: A, Apennines; AB, Alboran Basin; AP, Adriatic Promontory; BC, Betic Cordillera; BS, Black Sea; CH, Carpathians; CM, Cantabrian Mountains; D, Dinarides; EB, Edoras Bank; EL, Elbe Lineament; EEP, East European Platform; FB, Focsani Basin, FI, Faeroe Islands; GB, Gulf of Bothnia; HB, Hatton Bank; IAP, Iberian Abyssal Plain; IS, Iapetus Suture; LVM, Lofoten–Vesterålen margin; MC, Massif Central; NGB, North German Basin; NS, North Sea; OR, Oslo Rift; P, Pyrenees; PB, Pannonian Basin; TS, Tyrrhenian Sea; TTZ, Tesseyre–Tornquist zone; URG, Upper Rhine Graben; VB, Vøring Basin; VT (from Ref. Reference Tesauro, Kaban and Cloetingh28)

Figure 8

From crustal thickness (top left) and thermal structure (top right) to lithospheric strength (bottom left): conceptual make-up of the thermal structure and composition of the lithosphere, adopted for the calculation of 3D strength models

Figure 9

Heterogeneity in thermal structure in Europe’s lithosphere and upper mantle. (a) Heterogeneity in surface heat flow. (b) Heterogeneity in depth (km) to the base of the lithosphere inferred from seismic tomography (from Ref. Reference Hardebol, Beekman, Cloetingh, Tesauro and Ziegler29)

Intraplate seismicity (Figure 10) is still poorly understood and tends to follow episodic intermittency patterns rather than quasi-periodic earthquake activity more characteristic for plate boundaries. TOPO-EUROPE will establish a database that allows for a systematic combination of lithospheric data (e.g. geometry of boundaries, temperature, stress, structure) and recent movements, including topography changes over an area that covers all levels of seismicity, such as highly active plate boundary domains, moderate intraplate activity, and seismic quiescence.

Figure 10

Integrated strength map for intraplate Europe (after Ref. 5), showing main structural features (after Refs Reference Dezes, Schmid and Ziegler3, Reference Ziegler30). Colours represent the integrated compressional strength of the total lithosphere. Adopted composition of the upper crust, lower crust and mantle is wet quartzite, diorite and dry olivine, respectively. Rheological rock parameters after Ref. Reference Carter and Tsenn31. The adopted bulk strain-rate is 10⁻¹⁶/s

Europe is exposed to recurrent flooding events that pose major hazards to population and industrial agglomerations. The damaging potential of floods is intrinsically linked to even minor topographic changes that control the depth of inundation. For TOPO-EUROPE it is a challenging task to combine regional climate predictions with changes in sea and river level, and subsidence and uplift data on Holocene topography development to quantify Europe’s future flood hazards.

The main risk-generating factor for human society is the increased exposure and vulnerability of its assets (buildings, infrastructure, and social systems). During the past 150 years, anthropogenic modifications of the planetary environment have, however, also caused changes in the hazard potential. For instance, extraction of large amounts of ground water beneath and near cities modifies surface elevations and thus their inundation potential during floods. At the same time, this impacts on the stability of the subsurface with consequences for ground motions during future earthquakes, the associated liquefaction potential, and landslide hazard. Again, TOPO-EUROPE opens avenues to systematically address these issues on a European scale.

The TOPO-EUROPE network

The TOPO-EUROPE network, which aims at tackling the challenges of continental topography research, was officially launched during a symposium held in October 2005 under the auspices of Academia Europea in the premises of the Klaus Tschira Foundation in Heidelberg, Germany. At the same time, the International Lithosphere Program (ILP) recognized TOPO-EUROPE as one of its Regional Coordinating Committees. As such, ILP, Academia Europaea and the Klaus Tschira Foundation financially supported TOPO-EUROPE network meetings promoting the integration of European communities that were active in the field of continental topography research.

TOPO-EUROPE research focuses on the interplay between active tectonics, topography evolution, and related sea-level changes and drainage pattern development. This demands implementation of an integrated observation and analysis strategy, homing in on large-scale changes in vulnerable areas of Europe. Geoprediction in poly-phase deformed and tectonically active systems requires multidisciplinary efforts and, therefore, the interaction and collaboration of researchers covering a broad field of expertise. Among other eminent scientific disciplines, geology, geomorphology, geophysics, geodesy, hydrology, climatology, as well as various fields of geotechnology will be integrated. TOPO-EUROPE addresses several scientific issues of key relevance, such as the (i) 4D development of Europe’s topography; (ii) source-to-sink relationships to quantify sediment budgets; (iii) quantification of land subsidence in basins and deltas; (iv) quantification of land uplift in orogenic and intraplate domains; (v) quantification of tectonically controlled river evolution; and (vi) effects of climate changes.

Progress in quantitative geo-predictions is mainly expected in the domain of data interactive backward and forward modelling. TOPO-EUROPE aims at acquiring high-resolution multidisciplinary data sets, and at closing the loop between observation, reconstruction and process-oriented modelling. TOPO-EUROPE research focuses on the following four interrelated components: (1) geodetic monitoring of the Earth System; (2) geophysical imaging and high-performance computing of the deep Earth and lithosphere; (3) geological dynamic topography reconstruction; and (4) process modelling and validation.Reference Cloetingh, Ziegler, Bogaard, Andriessen, Artemieva, Bada, Balen, Beekman, Ben-Avraham, Brun, Bunge, Burov, Carbonell, Facenna, Friedrich, Gallart, Green, Heidbach, Jones, Matenco, Mosar, Oncken, Pascal, Peters, Sliaupa, Soesoo, Spakman, Stephenson, Thybo, Torsvik, de Vicente and Wenzel¹ Process modelling and geoprediction require iterative runs of the sequence ‘observation, modelling, process quantification, and optimisation and prediction’. Working together in a concerted effort on common data sets provides the frame for intense cross-fertilization between disciplines and for an optimal dissemination of results.

The TOPO-EUROPE network serves as a vehicle to (i) advance the understanding of processes controlling topography development and related geohazards; (ii) promote Europe as leader in the field of continental topography research; (iii) provide working opportunities for high-level researchers; (iv) counteract the brain drain to areas outside Europe.

Based on a strong international network of collaborating institutes TOPO-EUROPE is able to tackle outstanding questions pertaining to lithospheric, surface and climate-related processes controlling on-going topography evolution and inherent natural hazards in a variety of geodynamic settings.

The Natural Laboratory Concept: from orogen through platform to continental margin

The TOPO-EUROPE network provides a discussion forum for a multidisciplinary research programme, which operates in a feedback mode between advancement of new numerical modelling concepts and their validation by geological, geophysical and geodetic datasets from selected, well-documented regions covering a wide range of geodynamic settings, the so-called natural laboratories. Each of these natural laboratories is optimally suited to address in a specific geodynamic setting the coupling between tectonic (endogenic) and surface (exogenic) processes and the resulting effects on topography development and inherent geo-hazards.

The TOPO-EUROPE natural laboratories include the post-collisional evolution of the Alps/Carpathians-Pannonian Basin system, the very active Apennines-Tyrrhenian and Aegean-Anatolian system of orogens and back-arc basins, the Caucasus-Levant area of the Arabia-Europe collision zone, the meta-stable Phanerozoic West and Central European Platform, the stable Precambrian East-European Platform, the seismically active Scandinavian passive margin, and the Iberian Peninsula that is rimmed to the North and South by young orogens and to the West and East by passive continental margins (see Table 1). These areas comprise some of the best-documented orogens, sedimentary basins and continental margins worldwide. As such, they are key areas for the development of a new generation of models for ongoing lithospheric deformation and its effects on continental topography development, both on regional and local scales. As these TOPO-EUROPE projects advance, additional natural laboratories may be selected depending on their merits.

Table 1

Examples of TOPO-EUROPE natural laboratories, focussing on specific aspects of European topographic evolution

Integration of data sets and data handling is vital for efficient transmission of findings through the observation, modelling, process quantification, optimization and prediction chain. In TOPO-EUROPE this can be achieved via a number of connected implementation steps centred on three key cells, namely: (1) creation of new think-tanks for the development and implementation of new conceptual approaches and testing of their viability against the multidisciplinary data sets acquired in the natural laboratories; (2) creation of new Earth System teams working jointly on unexplored interfaces between existing research activities; and (3) building of information technology cells to optimize integrated data handling, interdisciplinary modelling and software integration.

TOPO – West and Central European Platform (TOPO-WECEP)

The meta-stable Phanerozoic West and Central European Platform (WECEP) forms the foreland of the Alpine-Carpathian and Pyrenean orogens and provides a natural laboratory for analysing the response of an intraplate domain to collision-related and Atlantic ridge-push forces and to thermal instabilities in the sub-lithospheric mantle.Reference Cloetingh and Cornu² During the Cenozoic, the West and Central Platform underwent a polyphase evolution, involving the development of the European Cenozoic Rift System (ECRIS), inversion of Mesozoic tensional basin and upthrusting of basement blocks, lithospheric folding controlling uplift of the Vosges-Black Forest arch and the Armorican Massif, as well as subsidence of the North Sea Basin, and thermal doming of the Rhenish Massif and the Massif Central.Reference Dezes, Schmid and Ziegler^3, Reference Ziegler and Dezes⁴ These deformations had severe repercussions on the development of the topography and drainage systems, particularly during the last 20 million years.

Seismicity and stress indicator data, combined with geodetic and geomorphologic observations, demonstrate that the WECEP is presently deforming at strain rates of up to 1 mm/yr.Reference Cloetingh, Ziegler, Beekman, Andriessen, Matenco, Bada, Garcia-Castellanos, Hardebol, Dezes and Sokoutis⁵ This has major implications for the assessment of its natural hazards and environmental degradation. The TOPO-WECEP Project addresses the relationship between deeper lithospheric processes controlling neotectonics, and surface processes that affect the WECEP, with a special emphasis on tectonically induced topography. The objective is to quantify the contribution of Alpine collisional and Atlantic ridge push stresses, as well as of the loads exerted by convective asthenospheric instabilities to the ongoing intraplate deformation of the WECEP, and to assess their impact on the evolution of the topography and drainage systems and related natural hazards.

Rationale

During the last decade, and under the auspices of the World Stress Map project and the Origin of Sedimentary Basins Task Force, both sponsored by the International Lithosphere Program (ILP), new databases were developed for the present-day stress field and ongoing vertical crustal motions of the WECEP. On the basis of these, close links could be established between the stress field, the Neogene to Quaternary intraplate deformation, and the distribution of seismic activity and topography (Figure 11). The present-day stress field of the WECEPReference Muller, Wehrle, Zeyen and Fuchs⁶ was successfully modelled by taking Alpine collisional coupling and Atlantic ridge-push forces into account.Reference Golke, Cloetingh and Coblentz^7–Reference Guimera, Mas and Alonso⁹ Furthermore, acquisition of high-quality tomographic dataReference Goes, Govers and Vacher¹⁰ permitted imaging of the thermal structure of the sub-lithospheric mantle beneath the WECEP, revealing that, in the ECRIS area, low-velocity anomalies occur immediately above the 410 km discontinuity. These are interpreted as mantle plume heads from which secondary ‘baby-plumes’ intermittently welled up,Reference Ziegler and Dezes^4, Reference Dezes, Schmid and Ziegler¹¹ as currently evident beneath the Massif CentralReference Granet, Stoll, Dorel, Achauer, Poupinet and Fuchs¹² and the Rhenish Massif.Reference Ritter, Jordan, Christensen and Achauer¹³

Figure 11

Spatial comparison of crustal seismicity and integrated crustal strength. Earthquake epicentres from the NEIC data centre (NEIC, 2004), queried for magnitude >2 and focal depths <35 km

There is increasing evidence that the WECEP lithosphere responded to the build-up of intraplate compressional stresses during the latest Cretaceous and Paleogene by reactivation of pre-existing crustal discontinuities controlling basin inversion and upthrusting of basement blocks. By contrast, during the Neogene, it partly responded by lithospheric folding,Reference Cloetingh, Beekman, Ziegler, Van Wees, Sokutis, Johnson, Doré, Gatliff, Holdsworth, Lundin and Ritchie^14, Reference Cloetingh, Burov and Poliakov¹⁵ as evidenced by the Plio-Pleistocene subsidence acceleration of the North Sea Basin and contemporaneous uplift of the Fennoscandian Shield.Reference Cloetingh and Burov^16, Reference vanWees and Cloetingh¹⁷ In this context, it is noteworthy that studies on mechanical properties of Europe’s lithosphere reveal a direct link between its thermo-tectonic age and bulk strength, whereas inferences from P- and S-wave tomography and thermo-mechanical modelling point to pronounced weakening of the lithosphere in the area of the Massif Central and Rhenish Massif, owing to high upper mantle temperaturesReference Cloetingh, Ziegler, Beekman, Andriessen, Matenco, Bada, Garcia-Castellanos, Hardebol, Dezes and Sokoutis⁵ (see also Figure 12). Uplift of the Rhenish Massif by as much as 250 m during the last 0.8 million yearsReference Houtgast and van Balen^18, Reference Meyer and Stets¹⁹ can be attributed to the load of an impinging baby-plume and related thermal thinning of the lithosphere.Reference Ziegler and Dezes^4, Reference Garcia-Castellanos, Cloetingh and Van Balen²⁰

Figure 12

Seismicity (red dots) of the Rhine rift system (courtesy EUCOR-URGENT)

The evolution of ECRIS, and particularly the progressive uplift of the Massif Central, the Vosges Black Forest Arch and the Rhenish and Bohemian Massifs during the last 20 million years had severe repercussions on the development of the WECEP drainage system.Reference Ziegler and Dezes^4, Reference Sissingh and Van de Graaff²¹ Parts of this drainage system are prone to repeated catastrophic flooding (e.g. Northern Germany and Poland), and thus are highly susceptible to neotectonic deformations (see Fig. 13).Reference Stackebrandt²²

Figure 13

Rheological cross-sections across the main elements of ECRIS. (E) Roer Valley and Hessian Grabens; (C) central part of the URG; (A) Bresse Graben

In the context of the EUCOR-URGENT Project, assessment of crustal and lithospheric controls on the neotectonic deformation of the Alpine foreland was the focus of the European HPRN ENTEC program that integrated geological, geophysical, geodetic, geomorphologic, and geotechnological approaches.Reference Cloetingh and Cornu²³ Results of this pioneering program show that monitoring of the subsurface by 3D seismics, combined with satellite-based geodetic monitoring of horizontal and vertical crustal motions, permits us to extend the record of neotectonic activity and related topography development into the domain of 100,000 to a few million years, thus building up a large database for validation of process modelling. This approach will be further refined by TOPO-WECEP that addresses such specific areas and their inherent neotectonic phenomena as:

• • neotectonics of the Rhine-Rhône rift system,

• • subsidence of the North German-Polish Basin and vulnerability of its coastal areas,

• • seismicity and neotectonic deformation of the Armorican Massif,

• • neotectonic uplift of the Bohemian Massif,

• • neotectonics of the British Isles and their shelves.

Specific TOPO-WECEP projects

The TOPO-WECEP Project was launched in March 2008 during a EUCOR-URGENT symposium held at Mt. St. Odile near Strasbourg and is coordinated by J.-D. Van Wees (TNO-NITG Utrecht) and A. Lankreijer (VU University Amsterdam). For further information on TOPO-WECEP and a description of its sub-project go to: http://www.topo-wecep.eu.

Investment required

The modern Earth System approach requires a comprehensive integration of existing databases, with the capacity for expanding them to allow for storage and exchange of new data collected during the growth of the TOPO-EUROPE program. Unification and coupling of existing modelling techniques is required to achieve full integration of what are currently discipline-oriented approaches and to expand them to ‘next generation’ 3D applications. Furthermore, for the quantification of Earth processes, flexible data exchange is required for ‘feedback loops’ at the interface between databases and modelling tools. Consequently, major investments in Information Technology are called for to expand existing computer hardware and software facilities.

Significant added value will also be realized by developing a Centre for integrated Solid Earth interpretation, validation and modelling as the ‘backbone’ for Coupled Deep Earth and Surface Processes. Such a development will bring together multidisciplinary researches and a hitherto non-existent array of integrated hardware and software, dedicated to ‘streamlined’ and consistent analysis of large 3D data sets.

Training young scientists in such a multidisciplinary research environment is an investment in the future research capacity of European Earth Sciences.

Funding of TOPO-EUROPE activities

In early 2008, the European Science Foundation (ESF) recognized TOPO-EUROPE as one of its large-scale European collaborative research initiatives (EUROCORES). In response to the ESF call for proposals, 42 outline proposals were submitted, of which 22 were invited to submit full proposals. After international peer-review the following ten collaborative research projects (CRPs) were selected for funding by the ESF EUROCORES TOPO-EUROPE, amounting to a total of €13.5 million, covering about 60 PhD and post-doc positions (http://www.esf.org/activities/eurocores/programmes/topo-europe.html):

ESF support has significantly strengthened the TOPO-EUROPE network. Nevertheless, it must be realized that the ESF EUROCORES financial support does not cover all research domains that the TOPO-EUROPE Project addresses, including its thematic issues and natural laboratories, as described by Cloetingh et al.Reference Cloetingh, Ziegler, Bogaard, Andriessen, Artemieva, Bada, Balen, Beekman, Ben-Avraham, Brun, Bunge, Burov, Carbonell, Facenna, Friedrich, Gallart, Green, Heidbach, Jones, Matenco, Mosar, Oncken, Pascal, Peters, Sliaupa, Soesoo, Spakman, Stephenson, Thybo, Torsvik, de Vicente and Wenzel¹ Correspondingly, these research domains will only indirectly benefit from EUROCORES funding and will have to seek financial support from other sources such as National Science Foundations, Research Councils or Ministries. Moreover Universities, National Academies and Geological Surveys can strengthen the TOPO-EUROPE network by contributing existing research positions. In this respect it ought to be kept in mind that financing by the ESF EUROCORES is just one vehicle to advance the TOPO-EUROPE Project. For example the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education supports the TOPO-IBERIA Project with €4.5 million, which also benefits from the ESF EUROCORES PYRTEC Project. The next phase of research on coupled Deep Earth and surface processes will be the topic of the forthcoming TOPO-EUROPE meeting jointly organized by Academia Europaea, ESF and ILP in the Villa Bosch of the Klaus Tschira Foundation in Heidelberg, 15–17 October 2009.