Furthermore, the Anthropocene, coined by the natural sciences, opens discussions in a transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary way. In that, it fosters interdisciplinary research and reunites more and more specialized scientific disciplines and defines a space for transdisciplinary projects involving both natural sciences and humanities. As a founding member and deputy head of the interdisciplinary Vienna Anthropocene Network (VAN) I explore new perspectives on nature, culture, society, and technology that the Anthropocene urgently solicits. The VAN furthermore aim to convey an understanding of the significance of the Anthropocene to a wider audience of policy makers, teachers, journalists and the public at large.

My recent projects on the Anthropocene investigate the urban anthropogenic strata of the city of Vienna, together with Katrin Hornek, Kira Lappé, Maria Meszar and Veronika Koukal.

This project (The Anthropocene Surge. Evolution, Expansion and Depth of Vienna’s urban Environment) is funded by WWTF ( Vienna Science and Technology Fund ESR17-040) and builds on a close cooperation with artists like Katrin Hornek (University of Applied Arts Vienna), Vienna Municipal Department MA29 and Vienna Urban Archaeology. The main methods are sedimentology and geochemistry, i.e. trace metal enrichment of urban anthropogenic strata, and stratigraphic methods. Recently, the bomb test spike was identified in an excavation in the city of Vienna.