Environmental data and the Internet: openness and digital data management

In recent years the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) has, for a variety of reasons, worked intensively on implementing Internet technologies. The most important aim has been to provide public and private companies with access to many of the geological databases and maps at the Survey, thus substantially increasing the value of the geological data. In this way GEUS is implementing the intentions of the United Nations Aarhus-convention in respect of access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters (UNEC 1998). Another important objective has been to improve the procedures that deal with data input, registration and quality control of the large amounts of data that GEUS receives from regional authorities, private drilling companies and advisers, as well as that acquired by the activities of its own geological staff. This complies with the Danish Government’s initiatives for making the public sector more efficient through digital data management

European mineral intelligence – collecting, harmonizing and sharing data on European raw materials

The major share of raw materials needed to sustain our present lifestyle and even more importantly, required for the crucial green transition, are sourced outside Europe. The European Commission aims to enhance Europe's resilience and strengthen domestic sourcing. Although Europe has a long tradition of mining and extractive activities, it is acknowledged that there are several challenges to achieve European sourcing of certain raw materials such as the critical raw materials. A basic prerequisite to enable access to domestic raw materials is information on raw material occurrences, current and past mining activities, resources and reserves. The Geological Survey organizations (GSOs) of Europe play a key role in generating, compiling, gathering and storing the most up-to-date information as well as long-term data series on raw materials at national and regional levels. Over the last decade, the GSOs have joined forces and taken essential steps to harmonize and share data on raw materials. The results of this co-operation are illustrated as interactive maps on the European Geological Data Infrastructure (EGDI). This paper describes the data compiled in co-operation between the GSOs, and analyses the strengths and weaknesses of, as well as opportunities for and threats towards, the data

Mapping and understanding Earth: Open access to digital geoscience data and knowledge supports societal needs and UN sustainable development goals

Open access to harmonised digital data describing Earth’s surface and subsurface holds immense value for society. This paper highlights the significance of open access to digital geoscience data ranging from the shallow topsoil or seabed to depths of 5 km. Such data play a pivotal role in facilitating endeavours such as renewable geoenergy solutions, resilient urban planning, supply of critical raw materials, assessment and protection of water resources, mitigation of floods and droughts, identification of suitable locations for carbon capture and storage, development of offshore wind farms, disaster risk reduction, and conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity. EuroGeoSurveys, the Geological Surveys of Europe, have worked diligently for over a decade to ensure open access to harmonised digital European geoscience data and knowledge through the European Geological Data Infrastructure (EGDI). EGDI acts as a data and information resource for providing wide-ranging geoscience data and research, as this paper demonstrates through selected research data and information on four vital natural resources: geoenergy, critical raw materials, water, and soils. Importantly, it incorporates near real-time remote and in-situ monitoring data, thus constituting an invaluable up-to-date database that facilitates informed decision-making, policy implementation, sustainable resource management, the green transition, achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the envisioned future of digital twins in Earth sciences. EGDI and its thematic map viewer are tailored, continuously enhanced, and developed in collaboration with all relevant researchers and stakeholders. Its primary objective is to address societal needs by providing data for sustainable, secure, and integrated management of surface and subsurface resources, effectively establishing a geological service for Europe. We argue that open access to surface and subsurface geoscience data is crucial for an efficient green transition to a net-zero society, enabling integrated and coherent surface and subsurface spatial planning

GeoERA Raw Materials Monograph : the past and the future

ABSTRACT: GeoERA Minerals projects have produced data aimed at supporting Europe’s minerals sector and to assist the European Commission to realise its goals for raw materials. Data has been compiled on mineral occurrences and mineral provinces across Europe, in particular, areas with potential to host Critical Raw Materials. Anecdotal evidence from the minerals sector provides an indication of the likelihood of exploration leading to mine development. For every 1,000 mineral showings examined, only 100 may receive further exploration work and of those 100, only 10 may warrant more detailed sampling either through trenching, drilling or other means and of those 10 only 1 may proceed to an evaluation through a full feasibility study which itself has only 50% chance of being positive. Following this, any project for which a mine proposal is made must undergo a full evaluation and permitting by authorities including full public consultation. The proposal may or may not pass this scrutiny. In terms of a schedule, the generally accepted minimum time frame from discovery to production is 10 years and usually much more, up to 20 years.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Towards a common geological data infrastructure for Europe

Geology does not respect national borders. Hence, in order to get geological overviews of Europe, input from geological surveys in more than 35 countries is required. European policy makers have several times been forced to rely on the US Geological Survey to provide e.g. resource estimates from the European continent, but for obvious reasons there is a wish to base European decision making on European knowledge. Consequently, the European Commission and the European Parliament have formulated a request for the establishment of a ‘Geological Service for Europe’. In its strategy towards 2020, EuroGeoSurveys (EGS) addresses the creation of such a service through three pillars. EGS is an umbrella organisation through which national geological survey organisations of 36 European countries cooperate, referred to below as national surveys. The three pillars are designed to integrate input from all national surveys into a system that can swiftly act on urgent needs for knowledge-based decision support. The three pillars relate to joint research, data integration and sharing of facilities (Fig. 1). Whilst the third pillar has only recently been dealt with, the two first have already advanced through a number of recent initiatives. Having been a key player in numerous EU projects for many years, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) has attained a central role in the implementation of these two pillars of the strategy, both as coordinator of the European Geological Data Infrastructure (EGDI, www.europe-geology.eu) and as one of the biggest players in the so-called GeoERA programme. GEUS participates in ten projects and is a partner in the secretariat and the coordinator of the GeoERA Information Platform. The present paper outlines the main steps towards the current situation and provides a background for GEUS’ role in this

Interactive web analysis and presentation of computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy data

In the following we describe the result of the Titan Project, an interactive web application (Titan) developed at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) together with DuPont Titanium Technologies. The main aim of Titan is to make computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy (CCSEM) data, generated at GEUS, available via the internet. In brief, CCSEM is a method automatically to detect particles with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and based on computer-controlled imagery to measure the chemistry and grain morphology of each particle in a given sample (Knudsen et al. 2005; Bernstein et al. 2008); Keulen et al. 2008. Titan makes data available on-line so that the user can interact with the data sets and analyse them using a web browser. In addition to CCSEM data, Titan contains a global database of titanium deposits and various reports. The web application is customised, such that the functionality and amount of data available for a given user depend on the privileges of that user

Towards a national 3D geological model of Denmark

As part of its strategy, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) is to develop a national, digital 3D geological model of Denmark that can act as a publicly accessible database representing the current, overall interpretation of the subsurface geology. A national model should be under constant development, focusing on meeting the current demands from society. The constant improvements in computer capacity and software capabilities have led to a growing demand for advanced geological models and 3D maps that meet the current technical standards (Berg et al. 2011). As a consequence, the users expect solutions to still more complicated and sophisticated problems related to the subsurface. GEUS has a long tradition of making 2D maps of subsurface layer boundaries and near-surface geology (Fredericia & Gravesen 2014), but in the change from 2D to 3D and when combining data in new ways, new geological knowledge is gained and new challenges of both technical and organisational character will arise. The purpose of this paper is to present the strategy for the national 3D geological model of Denmark and the planned activities for the years ahead. The paper will also reflect on some of the challenges related to making and maintaining a nationwide 3D model. Initially, the model will only include the Danish onshore areas, with the Danish offshore areas and Greenland to be added later using a similar general setup

Geological Services towards a Sustainable Use and Management of the Subsurface: A Geoethical Imperative

A Geological Service for Europe provides users with tailored and transnational consistent information on subsurface resources, capacities and processes within their surrounding environment. Such information underpins the responsible management of subsurface space and its resources, which is often administered by different authorities. National and regional geological surveys have come together to develop much-needed innovations and improvements that will integrate information and knowledge across different geological and geographical settings in Europe. This cooperative framework aims to meet societal challenges and protect valuable resources for future generations while ensuring that geoethical principles are honored

Mapping and understanding Earth : Open access to digital geoscience data and knowledge supports societal needs and UN sustainable development goals

Open access to harmonised digital data describing Earth 's surface and subsurface holds immense value for society. This paper highlights the significance of open access to digital geoscience data ranging from the shallow topsoil or seabed to depths of 5 km. Such data play a pivotal role in facilitating endeavours such as renewable geoenergy solutions, resilient urban planning, supply of critical raw materials, assessment and protection of water resources, mitigation of floods and droughts, identification of suitable locations for carbon capture and storage, development of offshore wind farms, disaster risk reduction, and conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity. EuroGeoSurveys, the Geological Surveys of Europe, have worked diligently for over a decade to ensure open access to harmonised digital European geoscience data and knowledge through the European Geological Data Infrastructure (EGDI). EGDI acts as a data and information resource for providing wide-ranging geoscience data and research, as this paper demonstrates through selected research data and information on four vital natural resources: geoenergy, critical raw materials, water, and soils. Importantly, it incorporates near realtime remote and in-situ monitoring data, thus constituting an invaluable up -to -date database that facilitates informed decision-making, policy implementation, sustainable resource management, the green transition, achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the envisioned future of digital twins in Earth sciences. EGDI and its thematic map viewer are tailored, continuously enhanced, and developed in collaboration with all relevant researchers and stakeholders. Its primary objective is to address societal needs by providing data for sustainable, secure, and integrated management of surface and subsurface resources, effectively establishing a geological service for Europe. We argue that open access to surface and subsurface geoscience data is crucial for an efficient green transition to a net -zero society, enabling integrated and coherent surface and subsurface spatial planning