’13 - - · 2014-04-03 · actions were undertaken by egs, including advanced talks with the...

’13EuroGeoSurveysA N N U A L R E P O R T

The EuroGeoSurveys Annual Report 2013 refers to information related to the year 2012.

I EGS 2013 Annual Report

Pioneering research for Society’s benefit since 1971

A workforce that includes thousands of geoscientists at the service of European citizens

33 Geological Survey organisations from across Europe


Content Executive Summary 4

EGS in Brief 5

Conversation with Marko Komac 8

Key People 9

Earth moving 14

The shape of our business 21

The taste of Geology 74

Minerals are forever 76

2012 Statistics 84

The EuroGeoSurveys Annual Report 2013 refers to information related to the year 2012.


Executive Summary2012 has been another year of big changes for EGS.

Not only the increasing importance that the EU institutions have been giving to geology over the last years has continued, but also EGS has not stopped to respond, further adapting its strategic approach toward the EU related policies.

A big stimulus was generated by statements of the European Commission, which in February 2012 published the Communication 'Making raw materials available for Europe's future well being: proposal for a European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials' (COM(2012) 82 final), reporting that 'For many years the basic geological exploration and mapping in the EU has been carried out by national geological surveys that have to operate within the constraints of national frameworks and regulations. Today, the full benefits of an appropriate coordination or even integration of some of the activities of the EU’s different 27 geological surveys has not been achieved.

Yet, innovative thinking based on increased networking and cooperation offers a huge potential to move forward. Setting European standards will facilitate the creation of a uniform EU geological knowledge base, and can also lead to a more cost-effective

development and use of required modern technologies, such as satellite-based resource information and advanced 4D computer modelling systems'.

A stimulating internal debate shown strong willingness of the EGS members to cope with those requests, although EuroGeoSurveys recognised that 'there is currently no permanent structure with sustainable funding and capacity to provide the European Union with access to objective and seamless data and knowledge on geology and wider geosciences'. It was however possible to make huge progresses in finding a shared opinion on “how” these requests should be met.

In March 2012 the General Meeting confirmed the mandate of the Secretary General for a second term, guaranteeing a continuation of the on-going management.

On the same occasion and in line with the above, the General Meeting also gave to the President a mandate to set up a Task Force for drafting a White Paper outlining the future Strategy of EGS.

The EGDI-Scope project was then launched in June 2012 with the participation of all the EGS members, as a feasibility study to prepare the development of a European Geological Data Infrastructure (EGDI).

At the same time, and in order to facilitate the achievement of the above goals, other actions were undertaken by EGS, including advanced talks with the European Commission's in-house research body - DG JRC - to sign an agreement of cooperation.

Other relevant milestones of EGS in 2012 have been the submission of the Minerals4EU proposal to set up a European Minerals Intelligence Network, the application to the High Level Steering Group of the European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials (EIP RM), and the finalisation of the agreements required to establish the European Technology Platform on Sustainable Mineral Resources (ETP SMR) as a legal entity.

Finally EGS set up a Task Force on Superficial Deposits. The aim of this task force is to compile and harmonize data about the surface-close parent material for soil development and other processes such as ground water production.


EGS in Brief EuroGeoSurveys (EGS) is a non-profit international organisation working solely for the public interest, which represents 33 national geological surveys in Europe and an overall workforce of several thousand specialists.

The EGS mission is to provide public Earth science knowledge to support the EU’s competitiveness, social well-being, environmental management and international commitments. Therefore our actions underpin European policies and regulations for the benefit of society.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

STRATEGY

The EGS strategy is based on the 3 main pillars:

• A joint research programme with a focus on EU policy level

• Completing, harmonizing, sharing and providing pan-European geological data to address the need for pan-European, interoperable geoscientific information.

• Sharing knowledge, capacities and infrastructure

WE ARE ACTIVE IN :

Marine Geology

• Marine Geology database

• Sedimentological, geochemical, geophysical and paleontological information of the ocean floor and coastal areas.

• Exploration for energy and mineral resources

• Enviromental protection

• Marine geological information as a basis for marine spatial planning

Earth Observation - GeoHazards

• Satellite, airborne and ground-based Earth observation for geoscience

• Mapping, characterising and monitoring areas exposed to geohazards

• Geoscience contributions to EC Global Monitoring for Environment & Security

• Global Earth Observing System of Systems for Disasters, Energy & Geo-resource

Geochemistry

• Distribution of natural backgrounds and anomalies in rocks, sediments, soil and water

• Exploration for energy and mineral resources

• Support to land-use planning and public health policies

GeoEnergy

• Exploration and assessment of fossil energy sources

• Development of renewable geothermal energy

Water Resources

• Characterisation of Groundwater bodies and their recharge area

• Groundwater resources exploration, exploitation, management and protection

• Pollution mitigation and remediation

Mineral Resources

• Exploration, characterisation and exploitation of mineral deposits

• Mineral economics and statistics

• Environmental protection around mining site and post-closure mitigation

1COLLABORATION

Achieving durable collaboration between Surveys

2DISSEMINATE KNOWLEDGE

Establishing a common geological knowledge base (European Geological Service)

3CITIZEN ORIENTATION

Provide knowledge and services to better inform European as well as national policy development,

and to stimulate growth and jobs


Climate change and Carbon Capture and Storage

• Paleoclimates and paleogeography

• Storage of CO2 in geological formations

• Impacts of climate change

Spatial Information - INSPIRE

• Provide with a clear technical strategy to guarantee the adequacy of the developments of its infrastructure in the context of global spatial information infrastructures: INSPIRE, GEOSS, OneGeology…)

• Focus on the global consistency of the way spatial information has to be defined, managed and delivered to provide harmonized services at the European scale.

International Cooperation and Development

• International cooperation with a focus on North America and Africa: European data available for the African Geological Surveys

• Future collaboration with Latin-southern America and Asia

Soil Resources - Superficial Deposits

• Exploration and integration of existing experiences and datasets on the distribution, properties and weathering behavior of exposed rocks and superficial deposits

• Harmonization of existing parent material information, and integration of it towards a European-wide new geological data layer: a soil parent material map of Europe

Cities and Geoheritage

• Engineering geology for safe construction

• Use of subsurface space for infrastructure and storage

• Waste disposal

• Protection of heritage made of natural stone

• Geoparks and geoturism


Conversation with Marko Komac DIRECTOR OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF SLOVENIA - EUROGEOSURVEYS PRESIDENT 2011-2012

Dear reader,

Another year has flown by and you hold in your hands the latest EuroGeoSurveys Annual report - the one that highlights the development of our organisation in 2012.

The year 2012 has been full of challenges, those that were flavoured with a scientific scent, but also with those that were governed by international market and national financial issues. Consequentially in 2012 EGS members have worked extensively, individually and jointly, on answering the needs of the European society and in parallel have been facing new constrains due to the impacts of the financial crisis. Despite these, geology and geoscience that are the primary domains of geological surveys still rank high on the Europe's Agenda for a better tomorrow. Consequentially EuroGeSurveys organisation as a collective voice of national geological surveys in Europe towards the European Commission is of quintessential importance for getting our knowledge used for the benefit of the society. All of this would not be feasible without the expert contributions and devotion of resources from EGS members and without the EGS Secretariat team that is extremely dedicated in its work.

It was a real pleasure to welcome the Geological Survey from Malta (officially Malta Resources Authority) to the EGS at the beginning of 2012. With their membership we have not only grown in numbers but also in expertise. As the cooperation of EU with African countries is high on the EC agenda and as the future role of geological surveys at the EU (or better the continental) scale/level is still in development, in 2012 the International Cooperation and Development Task Force (ICDTF) and the Strategy Task Force (STF) were brought to life each with their specific and important goals. The primary focus of the first was to facilitate the cooperation between EGS and the Organization of African Geological Surveys (OAGS) with tangible results and the focus of the second was to prepare a roadmap for the potential role of EGS and its members within the future EU policies.

The EGS Expert Groups have been extremely active in the geoscientific fields that they provide expertise at. They have allowed EuroGeoSurveys ot efficiently deliver support to the EC officials also through our joint successful projects, such as PanGeo, EGDI-Scope, CO2Stop, EuroGeoSource, I2Mine etc.

EGS has been also working heavily on public outreach. In the geo-domain we have been very active at the most important geoscientific event of 2012 - the 34th IGC, held in Brisbane - at the GEO IX Plenary Meeting, hosted by the Government of Brazil, and at numerous international events held mainly in Europe. EGS has with the help from its members published a book on 28 national dishes, which can easily be analysed and explained through geology of the country from which the dish originates.

All in all, it has been a successful year and I invite you to find more details on what has just been described on the following pages of the EuroGeoSurveys Annual Report for 2012.

Enjoy the reading!

Marko Komac


Expert knowledge at the disposal of all European citizens, institutions, companies, media, universities, …

THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEEis the primary decision-making body. It implements the strategy formulated by the General Assembly of Members and makes proposals for future actions.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

THE SECRETARY GENERALis responsible for the day-to-day operational management and administration of EGS, contacts with the European Commission and other third parties, managing the budget and carrying out the activities agreed by all Members.

Secretary General Luca DemicheliGeological Survey of Italy - ISPRA

PresidentMarko Komac Geological Survey of Slovenia - GeoZS

Vice-PresidentMart J. van Bracht Geological Survey of the Netherlands - TNO

MemberJerzy Nawrocki Polish Geological Institute - National Research Institute - PGI-NRI

Key People WORKING TOGETHER TO REACH OUR GOALS

EXPERT GROUPS

NATIONALDELEGATES

SECRETARY GENERAL

BOARD OF DIRECTORS EXECUTIVE

COMMITTEE

Adil Neziraj Albanian Geological Survey - AGS

Michiel Dusar Geological Survey of Belgium - GSB

Eleni Georgiu-Morrisseau Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environments Geological Survey Department - GSD - Cyprus

Peter Seifert Geological Survey of Austria - GBA

Josip Halamic Geological Survey of Croatia - HGI-CGS

Zdenek Venera Czech Geological Survey - CGS

TreasurerPeter Seifert Geological Survey of Austria - GBA

Velena Buzova Ministry of Environment and Water - Directorate of Subsurface and Underground Resorces - MEET- Bulgaria


Johnny Fredericia Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland - GEUS

Olafur Flovenz Iceland Geological Survey - ISOR

Branislav Zec State Geological Institute of Dionyz Stur - SGUDS - Slovak Republic

Elias Ekdahl Geological Survey of Finland - GTK

Claudio Campobasso Geological Survey of Italy - ISPRA

Mart J. van Bracht Geological Survey of the Netherlands - TNO

Hans-Joachim Kümpel Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe - BGR

Robert Maquil Service Geologique Du Luxembourg - SGL

Jan Magnusson Sveriges Geologiska Undersokning - SGU

Aivar Pajupuu Geological Survey of Estonia - EGK

Koen Verbrugger Geological Survey of Ireland - GSI

Bernardo De Bernardinis President Institute for Environmental Protection and Research - ISPRA - Italy

Marko Komac Geological Survey of Slovenia - GeoZS

Jean-François Rocchi Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières - BRGM

Jouzas Mockevicius Geological Institute of Lithuania - LGT

Morten Smelror Geological Survey of Norway - NGU

Rosa de Vidania Instituto Geológico y Minero de España - IGME

Kostas Papavasileiou Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration - IGME - Greece

Anthony Rizzo Malta Resources Authority - MRA

Stefan Marincea Geological Institute of Romania - GIR

Teresa Ponce de Leão President Laboratorio Nacional de Energia e Geologia - LNEG - Portugal

Olivier LateltinGeological Surveys of Switzerland - SWISSTOPO

Oleg Proskuriakov State Geological and Subsurface Survey of Ukraine - SGSSU

Oleg Petrov A.P. Karpinsky all Russia Geolo-gical Research Institute - VSEGEI

Mário Rui Machado Leite Laboratorio Nacional de Energia e Geologia - LNEG - Portugal

John Ludden British Geological Survey - BGS

Sergiy Goshovskiy Ukrainian State Geological Research Institute - UkrSGRI

Tamas Fancshik Geological and Geophysical Institute of Hungary - MFGI

BOARD OF DIRECTORS (continued)

Jerzy Nawrocki Polish Geological Institute - National Research Institute - PGI-NRI

Key People


NATIONAL DELEGATESThey represent the National contact points of each Geological Survey.

Albania AGS Arben Pambuku

Austria GBA Hans-Georg Krenmayr

Belgium GSB Cecile Baeteman

Bulgaria MOEW Valeri Trendafilov

Croatia HGI-CGS Josip Halamic

Cyprus GSD Zomenia Zomeni

CzechRep CGS Ivana Svojtkova

Denmark GEUS Jens Stockmarr

Finland GTK Mika Räisänen

France BRGM Pierre Nehlig

Germany BGR Birgit Kuhns

Germany State-Hamburg Renate Taugs

Greece IGME Nikolaos Arvanitidis

Hungary MFGI Annamária Nádor

Iceland ISOR Ingibjorg Kaldal

Ireland GSI Patrick O´Connor

Italy ISPRA Luca Guerrieri

Italy Region Emilia-Romagna Michela Grandi

Lithuania LGT Jonas Satkunas

Luxembourg SGL Robert Maquil

Malta MRA Julie Auerbach

Netherlands TNO Tirza Van Haalen

Netherlands TNO Paul Bogaard

Norway NGU Jan Host

Poland PGI-NRI Ilona Smietanska

Portugal LNEG Maria Luísa Duarte

Portugal LNEG Rita Caldeira

Romania GIR Marcel Maruntiu

Russia VSEGEI Oleg Petrov

Slovakia GSSR Alena Klukanova

Slovenia GeoZS Marko Komac

Spain IGME Manuel Regueiro

Spain Region Catalonia IGC Xavier Berastegui

Sweden SGU Lisbeth Hildebrand

Switzerland SWISSTOPO Peter Hayoz

Ukraine UkrSGRI Boris Malyuk

United Kingdom BGS Nick Riley

United Kingdom BGS Vicky Hards

Key People


EXPERT GROUPS CHAIRS

Marine Geology : Henry Vallius Geological Survey of Finland - GTK

Spatial Information (INSPIRE) : François Robida Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières - BRGM

Geochemistry : Clemens Reimann Geological Survey of Norway - NGU

International Cooperation and Development : Marek Graniczny Polish Geological Institute - National Research Institute - PGI-NRI

Water Resources : Hans Peter Broers Geological Survey of the Netherlands - TNO

Earth Observation - GeoHazards : Stuart Marsh British Geological Survey - BGS

Carbon Capture and Storage - EGS.CO2 : Kris Piessens Geological Survey of Belgium - GSB

GeoEnergy : Peter Britze Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland - GEUS

Soil Resources - Superficial deposits : Rainer Baritz Bundesanstalt für Geowissenshaften und Rohstoffe - BGR - BGR

Mineral Resources : Slavko V. Šolar Geological Survey of Slovenia - GeoZS

Key People


Earth moving MAIN GEOLOGICAL EVENTS IN EUROPE

IGME GEOLOGICAL EVENTS 2012 A new method to recreate past flood Since the Biescas 1996 catastrophic tragedy affecting a camping site located on the dejection cone of the Aras torrent located at the Gallego river junction, which caused the death of 87 persons and 183 injured, IGME has been working in helping planners to prevent and avoid this type of disasters.

It seems fundamental to know the areas of the territory where disasters might happen and their potential frequency and magnitude. Mountain basins lack meteorological and hydrological measuring instruments with data sets long enough to estimate, in a reliable way, when an extraordinary event might take place. In these circumstances it is essential to be able to reconstruct past flood events (paleofloods) to better understand how they will be in the future, in order to be able to prevent the associated damages. Such reconstruction was traditionally made using historical data (usually incomplete in mountain areas) or geomorphologic criteria (ground features and flood deposit), then applying hydraulic models to estimate the flood flows of known paleofloods. The hydraulic models used up to now were quite simple thus imprecise in their results.

The new method is based on a classic model known as “critical depth”, which bases its estimations in sites of the creeks where there were falls or sudden narrowings. The innovation here is that the exact place were such features existed is precisely located by recumbent mathematical calculations, thus allowing to obtain more precise flood flows, depth and speed, which together with the data from past floods (palaeofloods) allows to calculate the potential flood flow in which water sweeps along sand, gravel and rocks (hyper concentrated flows) which are generally responsible for the damages and death toll of these events.

The American Geophysical Union has selected this new method as Research Spotlight. The proposal was published in Water Resources Research.

The estimation of the flood flows of mountain streams will allow to control the flood hazards in this areas.

This method has been applied successfully in the reconstruction of the 17th December 1997 flood in the Cabrera stream of Sierra del Valle in the Gredos mountain range (Navaluenga. Avila. Central Spain).

The drafting team included J.M. Bodoque (Castilla-La Mancha University), M.A. Eguíbar (Valencia Polytechnics University),

A. Díez-Herrero (IGME), I. Gutiérrez (Ferrovial-Agromán) and V.Ruiz-Villanueva (IGME).

Figure 1. 3D diagram with the main elements of the section where the critical depth was located during the 18th December 1997 flood event in the Cabrera stream (Gredos Range).

Figure 2. Accumulation of logs and blocks left by the flash flood of 1997


Earth moving

Seismic crisis in Torreperojil (Jaén). IGME researchers believe the origin of the seismic events in Torreperojil (Jaén, Andalusia) occurred since middle October 2012 are faults located deep in the geological substrate.

The earthquakes are very superficial with focal points between 1 and 5 km deep.

The responsible faults are located below a soft Tertiary overburden 800 m thick and affect the deep substrate composed of Jurassic and Triassic limestone, sandstone and clays.

The swarm of seismic events have epicenters in a small 50 sqkm between the villages of Torreperojil and Sabiote and low Richter magnitudes between 1,5 and 3,6.

This has created a certain alarm among the local inhabitants, but the area has almost negligible historical seismicity thus it is though that big quakes have little probability of occurrence.

IGME has been carrying research in the area ever since 1996 in order to establish the geometry of the geological substrate and the location of the main faults and fractures. Even although the research was more focused in groundwater resources, the information collated is very useful for other fields.

The interpretation has been based in the geological and geophysical logging of a series of deep boreholes drilled in the zone. Recent research carried out together with the University of Granada has included gravimetrical and seismic profiles obtained in several fields campaigns.

At the surface, rocks are affected by NE-SW and ENE-WSW faults sometimes several km long, but in this area such structures are hidden by a 800 m thick layer of soft sediments. The analysis of the substrate point out the existence of faults with the same directions. In particular in the area where the earthquakes have been felt, several deep substrate threads which could be interpreted as faults and could then be the origin of the earthquakes.

New and more detailed research is now being conducted by Rosa Mª Mateos (IGME), Antonio González Ramón (IGME), Carlos Marín Lechado (IGME), Ana Ruiz Constan (IGME) and Jesús Galindo Zaldivar (UG) with the objective of preparing a 3D geological model of the region in order to identify more precisely the geological structures present.

Figure 3. Geological section of the Torreperojil area.


Earth moving

The Fardes River Valley Paleontological Station IGME will build a permanent infrastructure in the Paleontological site of Fonelas P-1 in the province of Granada. As part of the future Fardes River Valley Paleontological Station, IGME has obtained 460.793.51€ from the European Regional Development Fund to built a cover in part of the site (1020 m2) to protect it from climatic and biological agents and to allow permanent paleontological research, outreach and educational activities under it.

Fonelas P-1 is an extraordinary paleontological site of Pleistocene vertebrates (2,0 My), located in the Guadix basin of the province of Granada and is being investigated by IGME since 2001.

Giant hyenas, brown hyenas, sabretoothed cats, giraffes and zebras which lived side by side in this Granada site, are part of the vast fossil hoard unearthed at the ancient hyena den. About 4,000 fossils have been found at this unique location, including gazelles, wolves, wild boar and lynx - some of them were previously unknown to science - and are the remains of carcasses scavenged by giant hyenas (Pachycrocuta brevirostris), which after stripping them of flesh discarded the bones.

The scavenged remains were then rapidly buried, explaining their remarkable preservation. The area appears to have been a crossroads where European animals mixed with species from Africa and Asia. The Fonelas P-1 site is regarded as extremely important, because it dates to a time - the beginning of the Pleistocene Epoch - when early humans are thought to have first left Africa to colonise Europe and Asia. The brown hyena (Hyaena brunnea) is found today only in the deserts of southern Africa and this discovery marks the first time the species has been found outside that region.

Figure 4. Projected cover of the Fardes River Valley Paleontological Station.


LANDSLIDES IN GREECE, YEAR 2012 IGME, the Geological Survey of Greece (which is a part of the National Center of Sustainable Development - EKBAA), has recorded in 2012, thirty seven (37) events of landslides in Greek territory, mainly through the Geohazards Response Team.

A statistical analysis has been carried out for the 37 landslide events and the obtained results are presented below:

• 50% of landslides have been directly linked to heavy and prolonged rainfalls.

• Distribution of landslide types: Rock falls: 15%, submarine landslides (near the coast): 5%, earth slope failures, mass erosion, earth flows etc: 80%.

• 15% of landslides have affected road networks and 85% have affected urban areas.

Earth moving

Figure 1. Landslide inventory map - year 2012

Figure 3. Shore retreat (due to a submarine landslide) in Derveni Beach - Korinthia.

Figure 2. Rock falls in Mirtos Beach Kefalonia.

Figure 4. Landslide in Vevi Lignite Mine (Florina County).


THE 2012 MAY 20TH SEISMIC SEQUENCE IN EMILIA-ROMAGNA REGION (NORTHERN ITALY) In the period May - July 2012, a seismic sequence has affected a wide portion of the Emilia Region (northern Italy), chiefly for the Modena and Ferrara Provinces. The first mainshock occurred on May 20, 2012 (local magnitude 5.9) with epicenter located a few kilometers north of Finale Emilia. A second main shock (local magnitude 5.8) occurred on May 29, 2012, about 12 km west of the first earthquake, with the epicenter near Medolla (Figure 1). The seismic sequence has been characterized by five other ML ≥5 events, and more than 2,300 aftershocks of lower magnitude. The distribution of the aftershocks identifies a WNW-ESE-trending zone ca. 40 km long that is characterized by NNE-SSW nearly pure compression, as indicated by the focal mechanisms. The epicentral area is characterized by the presence of compressional structures of the Apennines that are covered by marine and continental clastic deposits of the Po Plain. The drainage and paleo-drainage pattern of the local rivers (the Po, Secchia, Panaro and Reno rivers) has been strongly influenced by the active tectonics and climate, but also by the human modifications introduced in the last centuries. According to

DISS (Database of Seismogenic Sources, INGV) in the epicentral zone is located a composite seismogenic source named Novi-Poggio Renatico, constituted by the individual sources Mirandola, Canalazzo di Finale Emilia and Concordia (expected max magnitude = 5.9). The available historical evidence indicates that a seismic sequence comparable to the present one, but slightly east of it, occurred in 1570-1574; more than 2,000 shocks were noted, mainly located near Ferrara.

Geological teams of the Geological Survey of Italy (ISPRA) and the Regional Geological, Seismic and Soil Survey of Emilia-Romagna (SGSS) have surveyed the ground effects

induced by the earthquake: more than 500 effects have been recognized, spread over an area of about 700 km2, as mainly liquefaction-type phenomena, ground ruptures, and hydrogeological anomalies (high water-table fluctuations). About 400 effects were located mainly in the eastern and northern sectors, and were induced by the first mainshock (May 20), while more than 100 ground effects have been related to the second main shock that occurred on May 29. The collected data have been progressively added to the EEE Catalog, on-line in the portal (www.eeecatalog.sinanet.apat.it/emilia/earthquake/index.php).

Earth moving

Figure 1. Main shocks of the 2012 Emilia sequence and locations of coseismic effects. Red lines are buried thrusts, many of them judged capable of causing coseismic surface deformation (source: ITHACA).


The zone with the most evident and widespread effects induced by the first mainshock (May 20, 2012) is that around San Carlo, a hamlet that is part of the municipality of Sant'Agostino. Here, large ground cracks and widespread liquefaction affected paved roads, buildings and farmland (Figure 2).

The distribution of these effects, as well as the orientation of the ground cracks, clearly identifies a relatively narrow NE-SW-trending

elongated area, about 6.5 km long, running from San Carlo up to Mirabello (Figure 3).

The ground ruptures were almost continuous, and they damaged all of the constructions above them, especially the houses in San Carlo (which in many cases had to be evacuated) and the industrial plants between San Carlo and Mirabello. Other alignments that were roughly oriented east-west were identified in completely flat areas of the Po flood plain

(e.g., west of Mirabello and west of Bondeno). These alignments cannot be directly explained with the local influence of paleo-drainage. Instead, their origin might be linked to the presence of east-west-trending tectonic discontinuities that characterize the very shallow subsoil of the area. The coseismic reactivation of these tectonic structures might have facilitated the occurrence of sand ejection up to the surface.

In summary, this seismic event has confirmed once again the key-role played by local geological characteristics (geomorphological and stratigraphic conditions) in amplifying the effect of ground motion and consequently the size of the effects in terms of damages (e.g. liquefaction phenomena at San Carlo and Mirabello).

Therefore, it is crucial to identify areas of potential seismic amplification based on the available local geological information, to be included in the future seismic zonation maps, land planning policies and building codes. To this end, geological surveys can play a very important role.

Earth moving

Figure 2. The most common type of coseismic effects were liquefaction type phenomena with ground rupture and sand ejection. Examples at San Carlo (1), Sant’Agostino cemetery (2), Obici (3) and Uccivello (4 and 5).

Figure 3. Liquefaction-type phenomena ground ruptures and water table changes at San Carlo (Sant’Agostino municipality)

1

3

2

4 5


EXPERT GROUP WATER RESOURCES

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Water Resources Expert Group focuses on groundwater management and protection of groundwater resources. Its main activities are the support and advice to DG-ENV, the identification of knowledge gaps for the EU research agenda and the sharing of experiences of member states in implementing EU Directives related to groundwater. The activities in 2012 focused on specific advice on the topic of climate change on groundwater and the 2013 review of the Groundwater Directive.

2. MISSION AND VISION

The focus of the Expert Group on Water Resources is on groundwater management and protection in general, and more specifically related to the groundwater aspects of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the Groundwater Directive (GWD 2006) and the Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) of both directives.

The main activities are:

• Support and advise to DG-ENV on technical and policy-related issues

• Indentify knowledge gaps for the EU research agenda

• Sharing experiences between member organizations in WFD and GWD implementation.

3. SCOPE AND FOCUS

The scope of the expert group on water resources (EGWR) has been related to the groundwater aspects of the water framework directive (WFD, 2000) and on the negotiations of the groundwater directive (2006) and its subsequent implementation through the common implementation strategy (CIS).

Between 2003 and 2006 Eurogeosurveys actively contributed to discussions on the definition of the draft groundwater directive and the implementation of the water framework directive (WFD). Eurogeosurveys representatives were involved in support and advise to DG-ENV on technical and policy-related issues in the expert advisor forum and the EU working group C, which is part of the common implementation strategy of the WFD. Since 2006, after the GWD was enacted, Eurogeosurveys has played an active role in the overall discussions within Working Group C and in the implementation process by leading and participating in drafting groups for Guidances. Moreover, the Expert group

The shape of our business

Figure 1. Issues tackled by the WFD (2000) and GWD (2006).

Figure 2. The GWD and WFD involve an new paradigm in protection of groundwater, with increased emphasis on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and on the mutual influence of groundwater on surface waters.


took initiatives in order to influence the EU research agenda in order to close knowledge gaps that were identified. This resulted in two concept notes on Groundwater research needs under FP7, one in 2007 and one in 2010, which were discussed intensively with EU policy and scientific officers.

In 2008 this lead to to a dedicated Groundwater Systems topic in the second call of FPVII. In 2012 a number of FPVII calls specifically mentions groundwater and asks for outcomes relevant for groundwater management, merely as a result of the Expert Group’s lobby and advice.

4. THE EUROPEAN DIMENSION

The EGWR is very active in the EU Working Group C on Groundwater. Since 2006, when the GWD was enacted, Eurogeosurveys has played an active role in leading drafting groups, writing guidances for the implementation of the GWD, contributing and chairing and co-chairing drafting groups on

• guidance on groundwater status and trend assessment no. 18 (chair/co-chair, 6 EGS members contibuting, guidance endorsed 2009)

• guidance on groundwater monitoring (4 EGS members, endorsed 2007)

• guidance on groundwater aspects of protected areas (4 EGS members, endorsed 2008)

• guidance on direct and indirect inputs to groundwater (2 EGS members, endorsed 2008).

These four Guidances form the heart of the common implementation strategy of the Groundwater Directive.

The work in the period 2009-2012 focused on the preparation of the official review of the GWD in 2013. EGWR members Rob Ward and Ariane Blum (BRGM) have co-chaired this activity which leaded to the EU Document “Recommendations for the review of Annexes of the Groundwater Directive”. Another important WGC activity was chaired by EGWR Chair Hans Peter Broers, who organized two EU workshops on ‘Climate Change Impacts on Groundwater’ in 2011 and 2012.

The first workshop in Warsaw aimed to bring scientists and policy makers together on this topic and led to a Manifesto on research needs related to this topic which was offered to DG-Research. The second workshop was held in Cyprus and was dedicated to Concrete Recommendations for the 2nd and 3rd cycle of the river basin management plans.

Eurogeosurveys chaired 3 of the 4 breakout groups during that workshop and are now responsible for producing the workshop report with recommendations at the Dublin meeting of EU Working Group C in April 2013. Moreover, Rob Ward has chaired the Ad Hoc activity on Science-Policy Interface for EU Working Group C, which sets the research priorities for the EU in the coming years.


Figure 3. Overview of the position of EU Working Group C in the Common Implementation Strategy for the WFD and GWD


5. ACTIVITY REPORT

ACTIVITIES 2012

Activity When? Who?

Input to the review process of the Groundwater Directive 2011-2012 Rob Ward, Ariane Blum

Reporting of the 2011 workshop on Groundwater Body Delineation, Berlin Spring 2012 Wilhelm Struckmeier et al.

Attending EU Working Group C meetings in Brussels and Limassol, Cyprus April, Oct 2012 Many members

Groundwater protection expertise provided in the USGS study tour on Shale Gas Exploration

May 2012 Rob Ward

Organisation of second EU Workshop ‘Climate Change Impacts on Groundwater’, Limassol, Cyprus. Chair of the Workshop and 3 of the 4 breakout groups

Oct 12th 2012 Hans Peter Broers, Klaus Hinsby, Ronald Kozel, Sophie Vermooten

ACTIVITIES FORESEEN 2013

Activity When? Who?

Video conference Expert Group on Shale Gas Exploration, the EU Blueprint on Safeguarding waters, the research priorities and options for EU wide monitoring of CC impacts

Feb-March 2013 Expert Group

Attending EU Working Group C meetings in Dublin and ? April and Oct 2013 Many members

Reporting on recommendations for dealing with climate change in river basin management plans as input for EU Working Group C

March-April 2013 Hans Peter Broers, Klaus Hinsby, Ronald Kozel, Sophie Vermooten

Input to the new mandate of EU Working Group C Jan-April 2013 Hans Peter Broers, Rob Ward

Expert Group video conference meeting to share experiences in GWD implementation and setting the new EGWR program for 2013 onward

Second half 2013 Expert Group



6. RESULTS AND IMPACTS

• There is a great appreciation by the EU for the support and advice of Eurogeosurveys, which is illustrated by the fact EG Water members chair two of the three EU activities in the WFD Common Implementation Strategy in the field of Groundwater. Much appreciation was received for organizing the Cyprus workshop on Impacts of Climate Change on groundwater. Moreover, the discussion in small breakout groups appeared to be a great way to share experiences in groundwater policy between member states and surveys.

• The DG-Research officials also showed much appreciation for the Eurogeosurveys input for future FP7 calls.

• The 2011 Manifesto of the CC&GW workshop was endorsed by the Working Group C and pleas for specific research on Climate Change Impacts on Groundwater, especially focused on the indirect secondary effects of CC.

• After lobby work of Expert Group members in their member states Groundwater was specifically mentioned in some of the final calls of FPVII, for example the calls on water management and toxic substances and emerging pollutants and will receive attention in future FPVII projects.

7. FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

Future groundwater resources management requires sound knowledge of groundwater systems and the Eurogeosurveys Water Resources Expert Group identified a number of issues that should be addressed in future research programs. The groundwater research needs that we identified are especially related to the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Groundwater Directive (GWD) but also related to EU policy initiatives on ‘Water Scarcity and Droughts’ and ‘Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation’. For example, the second and third River Basin Management Plans for the WFD and GWD are supposed to be fully climate-resilient by 2015.

Moreover, different policy objectives may have contradictory effects; implementing the EU policy on renewable energy by introducing subsurface thermal energy storage, the storage of CO2 for example or the increased exploration of unconventional fossil fuel reservoirs, might have adverse effects on the protection of groundwater systems, which asks for a balanced groundwater management approach.

In its 2010 concept note, Eurogeosurveys highlighted five priority areas for further research in order to scientifically support the implementation of the Water Framework

Directive, the Groundwater Directive: and EU policy initiatives on water scarcity and droughts and climate change adaptation and mitigation. These include:

1. Developing predictive tools and monitoring systems to evaluate the effects of subsurface CO2 storage on groundwater systems and groundwater receptors above storage facilities

2. Develop methodologies to understand, evaluate and predict the impacts of climate change on groundwater resources and interlinked surface waters and ecosystems in order to eventually define climate-robust set of measures

3. Developing tools to facilitate management strategies for multiple uses of groundwater in urban areas. predictive tools and monitoring systems

4. Developing tools for relating response of Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems to the condition of groundwater systems, and to improve assessment of climate change and restoration/protection measures

5. Developing strategies to deal with the impacts of emerging pollutants in groundwater management and protection.



Some of these topics are now included in the European research agenda, also by good work of Rob Ward in the EU Science-Policy Activity (SPI) but many still require attention. In supporting the European Commission in these fields, EGWR members joined the 2012 USGS study tour on Shale gas exploration to cover the topic of groundwater protection. The next Expert Group meeting will discuss the outcomes.

The Working Group C will discuss its 2013-2015 mandate April 2013, and Eurogeosurveys has been pro-actively highlighting important topics and will take the lead in organizing WGC tasks where convenient and feasible.


Country Survey Expert

ALBANIA AGS Arben Pambuku

AUSTRIA GBA Walter Kollmann

GBA Gerhard Schubert

CROATIA HGI_CGS Željka Brkić

CYPRUS GSD Costas Constantinou

CZECH REPUBLIC CZS Renata Kadlecova

DENMARK GEUS Klaus Hinsby

GEUS Heidi Christiansen Barlebo

GEUS Lærke Thorling

GEUS Birgitte Hansen

FINLAND GTK Jarkko Okkonen

GTK Olli Breilin

FRANCE BRGM [email protected]

BRGM Nathalie Dörfliger

BRGM Didier Pennequin

GERMANY BGR Dr. Thomas Himmelsbach

GREECE IGME Mr. Ioannis Lappas

IGME George Zacharioudakis

HUNGARY MAFI Teodora Szocs

IRELAND GSI Taly Hunter

GSI Caoimhe Hickey

GSI Monica Lee


ITALY ISPRA Michele Fratini

ISPRA Lucio Martarelli

ISPRA Fabio Pascarella

LITHUANIA LGT Kestutis Kadunas

MALTA MRA Manuel Sapiano

MALTA MRA Michael Schembri

NORWAY NGU Atle Dagestad

NGU Jan Høst

POLAND PGI Leslaw Skrzypczyk

PGI Piotr

PGI Anna Kuczynska

PORTUGAL LNEG Augusto Marques da Costa

Helena Amaral

SLOVAK REPUBLIC SGUDS Peter Malík

SLOVENIA GEOZS Janko Urbanc

SPAIN IGME Juan de Dios Gómez Gómez

IGME Juan Antonio de la Orden Gomez

IGME Miguel Mejias Moreno

SWEDEN SGU Jenny McCarthy

SWITZERLAND FOEN Ronald Kozel

TNO Paul Bogaard

UK BGS Robert Ward

BGS Denis Peach

BGS John Chilton

8. MEMBER LIST - WATER RESOURCE EXPERT GROUP

Chair : Hans Peter Broers - TNO, The Netherlands


EXPERT GROUP GEOCHEMISTRY

1. INTRODUCTION

The Geochemistry Expert Group has at present 56 official members. In addition, there are 44 associate members from geological survey and non-survey organisations that participate in the GEMAS and URGE projects, which are scheduled to be completed in 2013 and 2015, respectively. The EuroGeoSurveys Geochemistry Expert Group was very active during 2012 with (a) writing Chapters for the Geochemical Mapping of Agricultural grazing land Soil (GEMAS) atlas book, (b) assessing the quality of new GEMAS analytical results, and (c) sampling and analysis of urban soil samples for the Mapping the Chemistry of Urban Areas (URGE).


The mission of the EuroGeoSurveys Geochemistry Expert Group is to provide high quality geochemical data of near-surface materials, to develop harmonised databases for multi-purpose use, to offer independent expert advice to the European Commission, and to supply sound background data to scientists for their research, and to the public, in general, for education and other purposes.

To achieve this mission, systematic geochemical data for the whole of Europe are generated by harmonised methods of sampling of near-surface materials (soil, stream or floodplain sediment, water), sample preparation, chemical analysis, quality control, data processing, and presentation.

The systematic geochemical information is published in the form of geochemical atlases, which are freely available, and can be used for (a) state of the environment reports, (b) mineral exploration, (c) agriculture, (d) forestry, (e) animal husbandry, (f) geomedicine or medical geology, (g) determination of natural background values for environmental risk assessment, etc.

Why are Geochemical Atlases important? The answer is given by Darnley et al. (1995, p.X; www.globalgeochemicalbaselines.eu/files/Blue_Book_GGD_IGCP259.pdf): ‘Everything in and on the earth - mineral, animal and vegetable - is made from one, or generally some combination of, the 86 naturally occurring chemical elements. Everything that is grown, or made, depends upon the availability of the appropriate elements. The existence, quality, and survival of life depend upon the availability of elements in the correct proportions and combinations. Because natural processes and human activities are continuously modifying the chemical composition of our

environment, it is important to determine the present abundance and spatial distribution of the elements across the Earth’s surface in a much more systematic manner than has been attempted hitherto’. Systematic geochemical mapping is considered, therefore, as the best available method to document changes in the levels of chemical elements in materials occurring at or below the Earth’s surface.


The focus of the EuroGeoSurveys Geochemistry Expert Group is the execution of pan-European applied geochemical projects using harmonised procedures of sampling, sample preparation and laboratory analysis. The scope is to bring under the same umbrella applied geochemists from all EGS member institutions, and to act as a forum for the exchange of expertise and to work together in order to deliver good quality professional products and services to European Union countries.

Innovation can include, but is not limited to, the following:

• To incorporate new innovative technologies in applied geochemical investigations, e.g., stable isotopes, Mid-InfraRed spectroscopy (MIR), Mobile Metal Ion analysis (MMI®), etc. in order to improve and expand data



interpretation and, thus, improve the service to end-users.

• To introduce new outreach services for the benefit of end-users.

• To test new ideas in order to improve products and services.

• To develop processes that encourage effective organisational innovation.

• To find new ways of making geochemical data sets more useful to end-users.

• To discover unmet end-user needs.

• To provide European-wide harmonised geochemical data required by EC Directives.


The Table below summarises European Commission (EC) Directives that require European-wide harmonised geochemical background data across political borders. Four EuroGeoSurveys projects fulfil requirements of different EU directives:

(1) FOREGS Geochemical Atlas of Europe (FOREGS atlas); (2) European Ground water Geochemistry (EGG); (3) Geochemistry of Agricultural and Grazing land soil (GEMAS) and (4) Urban Geochemistry (URGE).


Directive Summary Application of geochemical data

EC Water Framework Directive (WFD) (2000/60/EC).

This requires Member States to meet a good ecological status for water quality objectives (except where deviations from the standard are justified); and to identify basic and supplementary measures to deal with point source and diffuse pollution. The directive will be managed on the basis of River Basin Districts (one or more drainage catchments).

Geochemical background data for low order streams produced by the FOREGS European Geochemical Atlas project can provide information about surface water quality for farmers and those who manage land. In addition, the data produced by the EuroGeoSurveys project on European Ground water Geochemistry using bottled water as ‘proxy’ can be used to assess the quality of ground water, but also bottled water with respect to inorganic constituents. Regulatory bodies and administrators can use these data to determine guideline levels for elemental concentrations. Other Directives that can use information from these projects are: 65/65/EEC (26/1/1965); 80/777/EEC (15/7/1980); 80/778/EEC (15/7/1980); 96/70/EC (28/10/1996); 98/83/EC (3/11/1998); 2003/40/EC (16/5/2003); 2008/32/EC (11/3/2008).

EC Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (IPPC) (2008/1/EC), it replaces Directive 96/61/EC

It has been formulated to implement the EC Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (96/61/EC). Its objective is to control pollution from industry.

Geochemical background data can be used by both industry and regulators to assess the impact of polluting industries on the environment. The geochemical background data provide a reference point against which changes can be measured. Data from all four EuroGeoSurveys projects are relevant.

EC Sewage Sludge Directive (86/278/EEC)

This directive seeks to encourage the use of sewage sludge in agriculture, but regulates its use in order to protect the environment from its harmful effects.

Geochemical background data can be used to monitor and model the impact on the environment of sewage sludge. Data from all four EuroGeoSurveys projects are relevant.


Proposed EC Soil Directive

Directive under consideration. The European Union included in the 6th Environmental Action Programme the ‘Thematic Strategy on Soil Protection’ that will lead in the future to an EU soil protection Directive.

Geological Surveys are the only organisations systematically sampling soil from urban areas, and can establish the urban geochemical background in order to assess the impact of human induced pollution. Geological Surveys are, in fact, the only organisations in Europe that have the necessary experience for carrying out continental scale geochemical mapping and monitoring projects. Data from the FOREGS and GEMAS projects are relevant.

EC Mine Waste Directive (2006/21/EC)

This proposed directive is seen as a supplementary measure to the WFD to minimise the adverse effects on the environment, caused by waste from the extractive industries.

Geochemical background data can be used to monitor and model the impact on the environment of mine waste. Data from the FOREGS, EGG and GEMAS projects are relevant.

EC Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC)

This directive is concerned with the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora.

Climatic or anthropogenic changes to the geochemistry of the surface environment that may affect fauna and flora can be monitored using geochemical background data of the surface environment. Data from the FOREGS and GEMAS projects are relevant.

EC Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC)

The Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations of 2002, implement the EC Landfill Directive, which aims to prevent or reduce the negative environmental effects of landfill.

Geochemical data can be used to monitor and model the impact on the environment of landfills. Data from the FOREGS and GEMAS projects are relevant.

INSPIRE Directive (2007/2/EC)

Establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Union for making available relevant, harmonised, and quality geographic information to support formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policies and activities that have a direct or indirect impact on the environment.

Harmonised geochemical background data for the whole of Europe are needed in order to assess impacts on the environment. All four EuroGeoSurveys projects (FOREGS atlas, GEMAS, EGG and URGE) are relevant.

REACH Regulation (EC 1907/2006) [Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of CHemical substances] - The new law entered into force on 1 June 2007

The aim of REACH is to improve the protection of human health and the environment through the better and earlier identification of the intrinsic properties of chemical substances. There is a need to fill information gaps to ensure that industry is able to assess hazards and risks of the substances, and to identify and implement the risk management measures to protect humans and the environment.

Geochemical data are needed to establish the variable geochemical background across Europe, and the local maximum threshold values, against which any future changes can be monitored.

The EuroGeoSurveys Agricultural and Grazing land soil geochemistry project (GEMAS) fulfils the requirements of this regulation and will be available at the end of 2013. The GEMAS project satisfies other EU international commitments, such as (i) the United Nations Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), and (ii) the OECD Work on Investigation of High Production Volume Chemicals.



5. ACTIVITY REPORT

During 2012, the Geochemistry Group has continued its activities on:

1. Continued work with the FOREGS data

The FOREGS Geochemical Atlas of Europe project is the first pan-European work that provides harmonised data sets for stream water, stream sediment, floodplain sediment and soil. Its results are important, because the variable geochemical background of European surficial natural materials was mapped. The two volumes of the geochemical atlas presenting the results were published in 2005 and 2006; the geochemical atlas texts, data, maps and photographs are freely available from: http://weppi.gtk.fi/publ/foregsatlas/. Many European Union institutions, national and local authorities, and Universities use the produced data. Since, this is an important project additional elements were analysed in China (e.g., boron, chlorine, fluorine) and these have been processed and will be published by the end of 2013.

2. European Ground water Geochemistry project (EGG)

In Europe, ca. 1900 ‘mineral water’ brands are officially registered and bottled for drinking. Bottled water is ground water and is in large

parts of the continent rapidly developing into the main supply of drinking water for the general population. A geochemical atlas presenting the results of the EuroGeoSurveys EGG project was published in August 2010:Reimann, C. and Birke, M. (Editors), 2010. Geochemistry of European Bottled Water. Borntraeger Science Publishers, Stuttgart, 268 pp. (www.schweizerbart.de/publications/detail/artno/001201002#).

This book is the first state of the art overview of the chemistry of ground water from 40 European countries from Portugal to Russia, measured on 1785 bottled water samples, equivalent to 1189 distinct bottled water brands from 1247 wells at 884 locations plus an additional 500 tap water samples acquired in 2008 by the network of EuroGeoSurveys experts all across Europe. In contrast to previously available compilations, all chemical data (contained on the enclosed CD) were measured in a single laboratory, under strict quality control with high internal and external reproducibility, affording a single high quality, internally consistent data set. More than 70 parameters were determined on every sample using state of the art analytical techniques with ultra low detection limits at a single hydrochemical lab facility.

Because of the wide geographical distribution of the water sources across 40 European countries, the bottled mineral, drinking and tap waters characterized herein may be used for obtaining a first estimate of ‘groundwater geochemistry’ at the scale of the European Continent, previously unavailable in this completeness, quality and coverage. The data published here allow for the first time to present a comprehensive internally consistent, overview of the natural distribution and variation of the determined chemical elements and additional parameters of ground water at the European scale.

3. Geochemistry of Agricultural and Grazing land soil (GEMAS)

The GEMAS project is a cooperative project between the Geochemistry Expert Group of EuroGeoSurveys and Eurometaux (http://gemas.geolba.ac.at/). During 2008 and until early 2009, a total of 2108 samples of agricultural and 2023 samples of grazing land soil were collected at a density of 1 site/2500 km2 each from 33 European countries, covering an area of 5,600,000 km2. All samples were analysed for 52 chemical elements following tight external quality control procedures.



The GEMAS project thus provides for the first time fully harmonised data for element concentrations and soil properties known to influence the bioavailability and toxicity of the elements at the continental (European) scale. The provided database fully complies with the requirements of the European REACH Regulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals). It also provides valuable information for other European pieces of legislation related to metals in soil.

The last analytical results were received, and passed quality control, and the following report was written and is freely available from NGU’s website:www.ngu.no/upload/Publikasjoner/Rapporter/2012/2012_051.pdf.

4. Urban Geochemistry project (URGE)

The urban geochemistry book edited by Johnson, C.C., Demetriades, A., Locutura, J. & Ottesen, R.T. (Editors), 2011. Mapping the Chemical Environment of Urban Areas. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK, 618 pp. (http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470747242.html) has essentially given the incentive for the EuroGeoSurveys URGE project.

The book focuses on the increasingly important issues of urban geochemical mapping with key coverage of the distribution and behaviour of chemicals and compounds in the urban environment. Clearly structured throughout, the first part of the book covers general aspects of urban geochemical mapping with an overview of

current practice and reviews of different aspects of the component methodologies. The second part includes case histories from different urban areas around Europe, USA, Africa and Far East.

The URGE project’s objective is to compare the urban geochemistry of several European cities using the same sampling protocol and analytical procedures. It deals with the chemical environment of urban areas, where most of us live and work. Geological Surveys are the only institutions that can map systematically urban areas, and in a harmonised manner to produce comparable data sets across Europe, and have the know-how to distinguish between the natural and urban (anthropogenically modified) geochemical background. Furthermore, legislatively driven demand for geochemical data from the urban environment is now an important requirement in the challenge to produce healthier and cleaner towns and cities. More than 25 members of the group volunteered to sample a city for the project to begin with. Because of financial difficulties in most surveys for the payment of the analytical work to a commercial laboratory the number has been reduced to 12, i.e., Ajka (Hungary), Aschersleben (Germany), Athens (Hellas), Dublin (Ireland), Hämänlinna

Agricultural soil, Norway

Grazing land soil, Cyprus



(Finland), Idrija (Slovenia), Karlstad (Sweden), Kristiansand (Norway), London (UK), Acerra-Marigliano, Napoli (Italy), Prague (Czechia) and Sisak (Croatia).

5. Participation in International projects

Members of the working group are collaborating in a number of EU-funded research projects:1. the ProMine project (Nano-particle

products from new mineral resources in Europe - http://promine.gtk.fi/), which is financed by the 7th Framework programme (2009-2013).

2. GS Soil project (Assessment and strategic development of INSPIRE compliant Geodata-Services for European Soil Data - www.gssoil.eu/), which is a financed by the eContentplus programme (2009-2012).

3. “Norwegian Financial Mechanism” project (Biogeochemistry of the Czech Republic) with the Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening in Pruhonice.


The EuroGeoSurveys Geochemistry Expert Group, since its first mandate in 1985 by the Western European Geological Survey Directors (WEGS), and its subsequent by the Forum of European Geological Surveys Directors (FOREGS), and EuroGeoSurveys has produced an enormous amount of results

that have been published in reports and publications. A list of products from 1989 to 2008 can be viewed at: www.globalgeochemicalbaselines.eu/publications.html.

The EuroGeoSurveys Geochemistry Expert Group publishes original research, reports on innovative practices and case studies, and publishes books and atlases. It also disseminates its work findings and experience through participation in conferences, seminars and workshops. Apart from the dissemination of the FOREGS ‘Geochemical Atlas of Europe’ through a dedicated website hosted by the Geological Survey of Finland (http://weppi.gtk.fi/publ/foregsatlas/), material of the EuroGeoSurveys ‘Geochemical Atlas of Agricultural and Grazing land soil’ (GEMAS) can be accessed from a dedicated website hosted by the Geological Survey of Austria (http://gemas.geolba.ac.at/).

The material produced by the EGS Geochemistry Expert Group had considerable impact not only in Europe, but globally, because the results of the geochemical atlases were produced for the first time in a harmonised manner, beginning from sampling, sample preparation, analysis, quality control and map production. The most significant innovation is the harmonisation of all procedures, and, most importantly,

the analysis of the same suite of samples in the same laboratory, because this is the only way to produce continent-wide harmonised results for decision makers, researchers and the general public.


Future perspectives include (i) the publication of the GEMAS atlas results in a book form by mid-2013, (ii) publication of papers on GEMAS results during 2013, (iv) planning the publication of the second book on urban geochemistry using URGE project results, (v) updating of Geochemical Atlas of Europe and GEMAS websites, and (vi) development of new projects, such as lithogeochemistry of Europe, and update of the FOREGS stream water geochemistry etc.



8. MEMBER LIST - GEOCHEMISTRY EXPERT GROUP

Chair: Clemens Reimann - NGU, Norway


ALBANIA AGS Agim Mazreku

AUSTRIA GBA Sebastian Pfleiderer

GBA Gerhard Hobier

GBA Albert Schedl

BELGIUM GSB Walter De Vos

BULGARIA MOEW Valeri Trendafilov

CROATIA HGI_CGS Josip Halamić

HGI_CGS Ajka Šorša

CYPRUS GSD Andreas Zissimos

CZECH REPUBLIC CZS Michal Ponavic

DENMARK GEUS Vibeke Ernstsen

ESTONIA EGK Valter Petersell

FINLAND GTK Tommi Kauppila

GTK Timo Tarvainen

FRANCE BRGM Ignace Salpeteur

BRGM Philippe Negrel

GERMANY BGR Manfred Birke

GREECE IGME Alecos Demetriades*

IGME Maria Kaminari

HUNGARY MAFI Gyozo Jordan

ICELAND ISOR

IRELAND GSI Pat O'Connor*

GSI Ray Scanlon

ITALY ISPRA Marco Falconi


ISPRA Nicoletta Calace

ISPRA Maurizio Guerra

LITHUANIA LGT VIRGILIJA GREGORAUSKIENE

LUXEMBOURG SGL Robert Maquil

MALTA MRA

NORWAY NGU Jan Høst

NGU Rolf Tore Ottesen

POLAND PGI Anna Pasieczna

PGI Aleksandra Dusza

PGI Aleksander Biel

PORTUGAL LNEG Joao Matos

LNEG Rita Caldeira

LNEG Maria Joao Batista

ROMANIA GIR Adriana Ion

RUSSIAN FEDERATION VSEGEI

SLOVAK REPUBLIC SGUDS Dusan Bodis

SGUDS Daniela Mackovych

SLOVENIA GEOZS Mateja Gosar

SPAIN IGME Juan Locutura

IGME Alejandro Bel-Lan

SWEDEN SGU Madelen Andersson

SGU Anna Ladenberger

SWITZERLAND SWISSTOPO Peter Hayoz

THE NETHERLANDS TNO Jasper Griffionen

UNITED KINGDOM BGS Dee Flight

BGS Andreas Scheib

Chris Johnson

UKRAINE UkrSGRI Boris Maliuk

UkrSGRI Volodymyr Klos

UkrSGRI Marina Vladimirova

* Retired but still active in the Group's work



EXPERT GROUP EARTH OBSERVATION


The Earth Observation Expert Group (EOEG) aims to increase the quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of EGS members' science delivery, by sharing and pooling expertise and research, and to capitalise on European and International Earth Observation (EO) science opportunities within the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and Global Monitoring for Enviornment and Security (Copernicus). Its vision is to ensure that EGS contributes fully to these major initiatives and so becomes the European Centre of Excellence for application of the full range of EO tools and techniques to geological topics and, in the first instance, to geohazards.

Copernicus, a flagship initiative of the European Commision and European Space Agency (ESA), is itself the main European contribution to GEO. EGS members have much to contribute to developing Earth Observation systems, including knowledge of the in-situ compoent, and hence building the Global Earth Observation System of Systems. They also take part in a growing portfolio of FP7 projects linked directly to GEO and Copernicus implementation.

In 2012, activities in EOEG focused on these two major initiatives and the related EGS projects. All EOEG members met at one or more of the main GEO or Copernicus events, including the GEO Plenary in Brazil in November and the International Forum on EO and Geohazards held on Santorini in May.

In GEO, 2012 saw three new projects start on geohazard Supersites in Europe, funded by the EC, and the initiation of two new minerals Tasks with EOEG members involved in driving both of these developments. In Copernicus, a decade of working together in Terrafirma and four spin-off, downstream FP7 projects was marked by the Forum and EOEG members were involved in the development of white papers on the way ahead for geohazards and EO that were published jointly by ESA and GEO. In 2013, we will capitalise on this activity, expand EOEG’s membership and refresh its leadership.


The Mission of the Earth Observation Expert Group (EOEG) is to increase the quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of EGS members' science delivery and to capitalise on European and International Earth Observation (EO) science opportunities.

It will do this by ensuring that members:

• Share their EO expertise and research

• Utilise state-of-the-art in-situ, airborne and satellite EO techniques and datasets

• Pool their EO expertise, experience, resources and facilities

EOEG will pursue specific opportunities related to:

• The Group on Earth Observations (GEO), through the EC FP7 ENVIRONMENT Theme

• Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES, renamed Copernicus in December 2012), through the EC FP7 SPACE Theme

• Other appropriate EO topics

Our vision is that, by fulfilling this mission over 5 years to 2015, EOEG will ensure that EGS:

• Becomes the European centre of excellence for geological applications of Earth Observation

• Plays a significant role in helping GEO create a Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS)



• Takes the lead in validating space-borne and airborne EO with in-situ data

• Delivers geological research and geo-information services in the EC’s Copernicus initiative.

3. SCOPE AND FOCUS

The scope of the EOEG is therefore the full range of EO tools (optical, hyperspectral, thermal, radar) from various platforms (satellite, airborne, in-situ) applied to geological mapping, resource assessment (oil, gas, geothermal energy, minerals and groundwater), waste management (mine pollution, nuclear, CCS, landfills) and geohazard mitigation (earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, subsidence and flooding). At the request of the EGS Executive Committee, EOEG’s initial focus has been on geohazard applications, reflecting the geological focus of EO in GEO (Disasters Societal Benefit Area, Geohazard Community of Practice) and Copernicus (Emergency Response Core Services, Terrafirma, SubCoast, EVOSS, PanGeo, Sentinel 1 SAR mission).

Over time, this is expected to evolve; a second, emerging theme is resources, to support and contribute to the EC Raw Materials Initiative (RMI), underpin AEGOS Phase II, EO-MINERS and related projects and capitalise on the emergence of

geo-resources as a higher profile application area in GEO.


GEO is an inter-governmental initiative with one overarching objective; to build the GEOSS. This observing system includes component systems coming from the geoscience community, including the Global Seismic Network, Global Geodetic Observing System and other satellite, airborne and in-situ observing systems. It is therefore both a duty upon, and in the self-interest of, geological surveys to engage with and contribute to GEO. Thus, along with the IUGS, EGS is a Participating Organisation in GEO. The EOEG Chairman is Co-Chair of GEO’s Implementation Board concerning science and technology, users and capacity building.

OneGeology is part of a GEO Task on global datasets, providing the global digital geological map layer. In addition to this important European and International positioning effort, GEO has offered a significant opportunity to secure additional research funding for EO and geoscience projects, called through the FP7 Environment Theme, and it is expected that this will continue in Horizon 2020 once that commences.

Copernicus is Europe’s flagship EO Programme, providing a global observing system for the environmental sciences in its own right, and also Europe’s main contribution to GEO. It is a joint initiative of both the European Space Agency and the European Commission designed to develop the European elements of the global Earth observing system. The space agency will deliver new satellite systems, the Sentinels, the first of which measures ground deformation and so will be of critical importance to EGS members.

Copernicus also includes important in-situ observation systems that often fall within the remit of geological surveys, related institutes and their initiatives, such as the European Plate Observing System and EGS’s European Geological Data Infrastructure. The European geological surveys therefore need to engage and contribute to shaping and delivering Copernicus and EGS has been at the forefront of this effort in recent years, both through the provision of advice and via associated EC FP7 and ESA funded projects. Thus Copernicus provides a second strand of EO and geoscience funding, through the FP7 Space Theme and through ESA.

EOEG members now have a strong GEO and Copernicus portfolio that addresses geohazards. This includes co-Chairing GEO’s Geohazard Community of Practice with its



associated Roadmap for implementing GEO’s Disasters Societal Benefit Area.

A growing portfolio of FP7-funded GEO European Projects underpins this involvement (AEGOS and EO-MINERS, led by BRGM). In 2012, this expanded with the award of three new Supersite project s; EO-focused natural laboratories on classic European geohazards in Iceland (volcanic ash), Italy (volcanic hazards) and Turkey (earthquakes). In Copernicus, this activity includes the ESA-funded Terrafirma and a suite of EC-funded projects on geohazards in the coastal zone (SubCoast, led by TNO), landslides (DORIS, with ISPRA and PGI involvement), volcanoes (EVOSS, with BGS involvement) and urban geohazards (PanGEO, for which EGS has federated the geological survey input from the EU27). The latter builds on the OneGeology infrastructure, provided by BRGM, and is of great strategic value to EGS as it builds towards the foreseen European Geological Data Infrastructure.

In terms of a new focus, minerals have emerged as an opportunity within GEO. An EGS member from BRGM is now the Point of Contact for minerals in GEO, for which 2012 was the first year of a new Energy and Geo-resources Task covering minerals. A second Task on the human impacts of mining also has EGS participation. As noted elsewhere, minerals have also risen up the European agenda; there

is string potential for future minerals-related activity in Copernicus, too.

5. ACTIVITY REPORT

EOEG activities in 2012 were focused on GEO and Copernicus within the group’s main projects, including a PanGeo meeting that brought members together from almost all the EU27 surveys in the autumn. There were also significant meetings of GEO that several more active members attended and a major Geohazards and EO Conference in the middle of the year that many brought members together with a wide cross-section of European EO and geohazards actors. A formal meeting of the group was organised at the end of the year and scheduled to take place in February 2013.

Several EOEG members attended the GEO Work Plan Symposium in Geneva in May 2012, which was used to develop activities within the two new Tasks on minerals mentioned above. It was also the first public presentation made as the new Point of Contact for the minerals Tasks by the EOEG member from BRGM. EOEG was also represented at the GEO European Projects Workshop in Rome later that month. The Chairman of EOEG Co-Chaired three meetings of the GEO Institutions and Development Implementation Board during 2012, in May, September and November. Finally, the EGS Secretary General,

the EOEG Chairman and one other EOEG member attended the GEO Plenary in Brazil in November 2012, where further effort was put into developing minerals as a GEO activity. The members present held a side meeting in Brazil with the Japanese survey, to follow up on discussions they had held during the International Geological Congress in Brisbane with the CSIRO and Geoscience Australia. The potential exists to use ASTER data that the Japanese survey have already processed to extend the existing CSIRO-Geoscience Australia mineral maps of Australia on a semi-global basis, within the framework of GEO.

Two of the three GEO-related EC FP7 projects concluded in 2012. AEGOS Phase I was led to a successful conclusion by BRGM, scoping out a system with EGS’ African partners to digitise and publish on-line geological maps for the African continent. Discussions continued on AEGOS Phase II, which will see that system built and populated under African leadership. It is hoped that these will be brought to a successful conclusion in 2013. EGIDA, a project designed to help GEO bring more of the science and technology community into the initiative, finished in December 2012. As well as an excellent set of case studies on national experiences of GEO, including those from EGS members such as the BGS, a range of methods and tools were developed to support scientists over issues such as data



citation and the identification of new observing system infrastructure that could be brought into GEO and contribute to building the GEOSS. The third project, EO-MINERS, continues into 2013. It spent much of 2012 finalising a set of indicators related to mining impacts that can be measured using EO and began to develop products to do this.

Also in May 2012, many EOEG members took part in the ESA-sponsored International Forum on Satellite Earth Observation for Geohazard Risk Management. This major conference held on the Greek Island of Santorini brought together all of the projects that ESA and the EC have funded on geohazards in the context of GMES/Copernicus, including Terrafirma, SubCoast, EVOSS, Doris and PanGeo. It was a follow on to the previous International Geohazard Week held in 2007. EOEG members from the Group’s main projects contributed to a series of white papers for discussion at the conference and these have since been finalised and published as a joint ESA-GEO Book: http://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/EarthObservation/Geohazards/esa-geo-hzrd-2012.pdf

Terrafirma entered its final year after a decade of continuous ESA funding. The project has now produced ground motion products for 100 sites across Europe. Negotiations during the year saw agreement reached to re-use some of these in PanGeo as the basis for

geohazard interpretations. In addition, negotiations are ongoing for EGS to provide a long-term home for these important data on deformation in Europe. PanGeo itself finalised its product specification in 2012 and provided training for the EU27 surveys to each produce their PanGeo products; production began in the second half of the year and is on track to complete in early 2013. Of the other Copernicus projects involving significant numbers of EOEG members, it is worth noting that SubCoast also finalised its product and service offering during 2012, focusing on the new concept of a dynamic DEM that captures past and forecasts future elevation changes in costal settings.

EOEG members pursued other European and national projects using EO data, from which much can be learned. Good use of EO was reported within EOEG in the Danish, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Irish, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Slovenian, Spanish and UK surveys. Presentations on these are a key part of the agenda for the scheduled EOEG meeting early in 2013. A fuller report of members’ EO activities will be produced later in 2013as a supplement to this EOEG Annual Report.


In GEO, 2012 was the year when we achieved a breakthrough for minerals; two new Tasks on that topic came into being in their Work Plan 2012-2015 and an EOEG member from BRGM became the Contact Point for the main minerals Task. This result will have significant future impact because it is expected to open up GEO to other geo-resource topics of interest to the surveys. It has raised the profile of geology in GEO and provides a platform to argue for more geology within the future GEO; a post-2015 Working Group will spend 2013 looking at issues of this nature. 2012 was also the year that saw the first three European Supersites approved and funded by the EC, giving Europe a significant boost in this global natural laboratory initiative under the GEO banner. The coming years will see a significant investment in observing infrastructure at three major European geohazard sites and this will in turn lead to excellent science involving EGS member surveys.

In Copernicus, the major result was achieved by bringing together participants of all the EGS-related projects on geohazards on Santorini and using that meeting to develop white papers on the way forward for EO and geohazards in Europe. The meeting achieved an excellent engagement between the space-based observation community,



especially the space agencies, and the geological surveys and related scientists from research institutes. Effectively summarising a decade of activity in Terrafirma that has also seen four EC FP7 Downstream projects spun off in the past three years, the meeting signposted the next ten years of research effort and has enabled ESA to identify topics for future funding. Since, EGS and its members have been in discussion with ESA over the long-term storage and serving of InSAR-based ground motion data and a number of other topics. The positioning with ESA is such that they now actively seek the views and inputs of EGS and its members. On top of this, projects like PanGeo that involve all EU27 member surveys mean that EO is now used in more EGS member than ever before, something EOEG plans to build on in 2013.

A third area of importance is in-situ data. During 2012, both GEO and Copernicus identified in-situ Earth Observations as one of the major challenges that they face. Unlike space-based observations, in-situ observations are diverse, dispersed and difficult to coordinate. EGS, along with our partners in the European Environment Agency (EEA) and other interested parties, has been instrumental in making the case for this to be addressed more effectively in the future. It was recognised in the GEO Plenary in November 2012 and EGS can be a key player

in helping GEO to meet the challenge in 2013. Copernicus also plans a meeting on in-situ observations early in 2013, led by the EEA, at which EOEG will represent EGS.


The following developments are envisaged within EOEG in 2013:

• In the Short-term, to capitalise on EOEG growth potential, we will appoint a Deputy Chair

• We will also capitalise on PanGeo’s wide participation, to expand the EOEG membership

• In the medium-term we need a new Chairman, because the present one has served 4 years

EOEG Developments with GEO:

• Capitalise on the three new Supersites projects to develop the in-situ elements of GEO

• Pursue opportunities offered by the new Geo-resources Tasks to expand geology in GEO

• Seek to influence Post-2015 Working Group to shape a future for GEO including geology

EOEG Developments with Copernicus:

• Work with ESA to secure the Terrafirma legacy and especially its ground motion data

• Develop new geological opportunities in operational phase of Copernicus e.g. on minerals

• Understand the role of H2020 in supporting Copernicus and position EGS to take advantage.




CZECH REPUBLIC CZS Veronika Kopackova

DENMARK GEUS Karen Hanghøj

GEUS Jorgen Tulstrup

GEUS Signe Bech Andersen

FRANCE BRGM Claudie Carnec

BRGM Stéphane CHEVREL

BRGM Francis BERTRAND

BRGM Guillaume Martelet

GERMANY BGR Birgit Kuhns

BGR Dirk Balzer

BGR Lege, Thomas

BGR Kai Hahne

GREECE IGME Eleftheria Poyiadji

IRELAND GSI Michael Sheehy

ITALY ISPRA Luca Guerrieri

ISPRA valerio comerci

ISPRA Eutizio Vittori

NORWAY NGU Jan Host

NGU John Dehls

POLAND PGI Zbigniew Kowalski

PGI Marek Graniczny

PGI Maria Przylucka


PORTUGAL LNEG Teresa Cunha

LNEG Lídia Quental

SLOVAK REPUBLIC SGUDS Pavel Liščák

SLOVENIA GEOZS Mateja Jemec

GEOZS Marko Komac

SPAIN IGME Manuel Regueiro

IGME Gerardo Herrera

SWEDEN SGU Cecilia Jelinek

THE NETHERLANDS TNO Paul Bogaard

TNO Rob van der Krogt

UINTED KINGDOM BGS Stuart Marsh

BGS Colm Jordan

BGS Luke Bateson

BGS Francesca Cigna

8. MEMBERLIST – EARTH OBSERVATION EXPERT GROUP

Chair: Stuart Marsh , BGS - UK



EXPERT GROUP GEOENERGY


2012 has been the third year with the EuroGeoSurveys’ GeoEnergy Expert Group (EGS GEEG). This Expert Group was generated under the encouragement of the EU DG ENER and was first thought only to be engaged with fossil fuels. Later in 2010 it was decided that the task force also should cover geothermal energy. The GeoEnergy Expert Group consists of 22 representatives from 15 of the EuroGeoSurveys’ member organizations. The EGS GEEG Mission and Vision statements are:

2. VISION

The EGS GEEG wishes to become a leading partner within a European fossil fuel and geothermal information network that will provide expertise to support the geoenergy supply for Europe. Geoenergy information provided by EGS GEEG is based on public available and accessible information and data, which are of globally comparable standards of excellence for science and expertise. The EGS’ geoenergy expertise will be provided for the European Society.

The vision will be carried out collaboratively with other organizations that have GeoEnergy

information and expertise, and with consumers of that information.

3. MISSION

The EGS GEEG shall provide impartial, scientifically robust information to advance the understanding of fossil fuel energy and geothermal energy (geoenergy) resources in Europe, to contribute to plans for a secure energy future, to facilitate evaluation and responsible use of energy resources, and to analyse future geoenergy resources of Europe and possibilities of their sustainable use.

The EGS GEEG research portfolio is responsive to the EU Commission policies and priorities, either established through legislative forms or not, internal strategic planning, important and unanticipated global events, customer surveys and needs, and the guiding principles of objective and impartial science.


The EGS GEEG was generated as a response to a request from EU DG ENER. The request was originally formed as a demand for an impartial mapping and resource evaluation of the EU coal. EGS decided that this request had merit for the generation of a new Task Force - The EuroGeoSurveys Fossil Fuels & Geothermal Energy Task Force. The Task Force has within the last year developed into

an Expert Group - The EGS GEEG. As stated in the vision the Task Force research portfolio will be responsive to the EU Commission policies and priorities, which will follow the guiding principles of objective and impartial science.

5. ACTIVITY REPORT

Since May 2010 EGS GEEG has been a member of the Berlin Forum Indigenous Fossil Fuels Working Group under DG ENER.

USGS Shale Gas Trip

In April, members of the EGS GEEG together with EGS General Secretary, Luca Demicheli, met with USGS, to consolidate the newly signed MOU. In connection with this meeting USGS kindly arranged a field trip to Pennsylvania, where the drilling, fracturing, extraction, and environmental impact of shale gas from the Marchelus Shale were the subject for many fruitful discussions. During the field trip we visited a drilling site, a fracture site, a production site, and a back flow water treatment facility site (fig. 1).

EU Unconventional Plays

In September representatives from the geological surveys from Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Germany and Denmark met in Vilnius to start a pilot study on a study of gas

Fig. 1: USGS - EGS shale gas field trip. Top left - production site,

top right - “umbrellas” from hydro fracturing site, lower right - solids from water treatment facilities site,

and middle - the group at the drilling site.



potential of the Lower Palaeozoic shales in the Baltic Basin together with USGS.

It includes on- and offshore areas in the following countries: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kaliningrad (Russian enclave), Poland and Germany. The main reason for such a corporation is that while the European geological surveys has the data and knowledge on the specific shale stratigraphy, sedimentology, and petrography etc., USGS has built up, through their work in the US, a vast experience in assessing the shale gas potential.

The overall goal with this pilot study is to develop the pilot into a study that covers the entire Europe, financed by the Horizon 2020.

GEEG meetings

The GEEG held two meetings in 2012, one the 17th February at BRGM head office in Paris and one the 9th November at GeoZS office in Ljubljana. The latter was preceded by a field trip to the Velenje Coal Mine and Šoštanj Thermal Power Plant in Slovenia.


At the 8th European Fossil Fuels Forum in Berlin, 11-12 October 2012, the following paragraph was added to the conclusions of

the general assembly: “The Forum welcomed the willingness of the industry to disclose to the public the contents of fracturing fluids and possibly other data like results from baseline surveys or on fugitive methane emissions.” Thus base line surveys are now a part of the environmental plan for monitoring the impact of shale gas extraction.

Due to the work carried out in the Berlin Forum Indigenous Fossil Fuels Working Group the EGS GEEG is by the DG ENER considered as their independent experts and advisors on geological matters with regards to geoenergy.


EERA shale gas initiative

The main problem for EGS GEEG is the lack of finances on any EU budget and the existence of this group will eventually be dependent on external EU funded research funds. In order to promote fossil fuels with regards to Horizon 2020, EGS GEEG has suggested EERA to promote shale gas as a research activity in Horizon 2020.



AUSTRIA GBA Gerhard Letouze

CZECH REPUBLIC CGS Josef Godany

CGS Karel Martinek

CYPRUS GSD Ioannis Panayides

DENMARK GEUS Peter Britze

GEUS Jens Stockmarr

FRANCE BRGM Didier Bonijoly

BRGM Aurélien Leynet

BRGM Philippe Calcagno

GERMANY BGR Harald Andruleit

BGR Dr. Peter Gerling

GREECE IGME Georges E. Vougioukalakis

IRELAND GSI Taly Hunter

POLAND PGI Marek Jarosinski

PGI Jacek Kasinski

PGI Monika Konieczyńska

ROMANIA IGR Mircea Ticleanu

SLOVENIA GeoZS Miloš Markič

HUNGARY MAFI Annamária Nádor

THE NETHERLANDS TNO Henk Pagnier

UNITED KINGDOM BGS Nick Riley

BGS Michael Stephenson

SWEDEN SGU Mikael Erlström

8. MEMBER LIST - GEOENERGY EXPERT GROUP

Chair: Peter Britze, GEUS- Denmark


EXPERT GROUP INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT TASK FORCE


The need for improving the EuroGeoSurveys capacity to establish stronger ties with Geological Surveys outside Europe was discussed during several institutional meetings in the period 2008-2010, based on assumptions that the growing demand for mineral resources in EU Member States, the bulk of which is located outside Europe, offer opportunities for geological surveys, also due to their high potential to provide substantial information, expertise and advice.

Following several discussions with EC DG ENTR and DG DEVCO officers, and the participation of the EGS Secretary General at the Organisation of African Geological Surveys (OAGS) General Meeting in Alger in May 2010, also the issue of reinforcing the cooperation with OAGS was initially discussed at the 66th EGS Executive Committee meeting in June 2010. Soon the concept evolved into a proposal to make European data on Africa available to OAGS. Therefore EGS elaborated a proposal to unlock geological data on Africa which are held by individual EGS members. This step was aimed at strengthening cooperation with OAGS members and forming a good

platform for future joint actions. As a further step the EGS Executive Committee at its 70th Meeting (27th June 2011, Orléans), and following a proposal of the EGS National Delegates Forum, established the International Cooperation and Development Task Force (ICDTF). The Chairmanship of this task force was assigned to Marek Graniczny (PGI-NRI). At the OAGS General Meeting in Windhoek in September 2011, the EGS Secretary General delivered to OAGS a volume and CD with compilation of geological data held by the Geological Surveys of Europe which could be made available to OAGS members. The meeting made it also possible to discuss a proposal to launch a joint programme to strengthen the OAGS and improve the geological knowledge base in Africa


The mission of the ICDTF is to increase the capacity of EGS and its members to establish stable, permanent and effective relationships with Geological Survey organisations and other relevant stakeholders internationally, as well as to capitalise on international cooperation opportunities.

The ICDTF will allow EGS to become the reference centre of the European Union for implementation of international policies and actions related to geoscientific matters, with the aim to reinforce position of

European geosciences worldwide and to foster development and growth in Europe and in the partner countries.

The ICDTF will strive to make the EGS members and their international partners advancing in their scientific and technical capacity, also through joint research.

3. SCOPE AND FOCUS

In accordance with recommendations of the EGS General Meeting, the ICDTF will do this by ensuring that members share their international cooperation expertise and research, and will acta upon request of the EU institutions as well as by making use of newly opening opportunities. The initial focus will be on the African continent and countries where the EC is looking for assistance in implementation of the Policy Dialogues.

The ICDTF will do this by ensuring that members share their international cooperation expertise and research, and will act both upon request of the EU institutions and for reasons of opportunity as deliberated by the EGS General Meeting. The initial focus will be on the African continent, and the countries with which the EC requires assistance for the implementation of the Policy Dialogues.



The IDCTF aims to act as an effective facilitator of the cooperation between the EGS members and international stakeholders, and gain the status of the geoscientific reference body capable to provide technical support for European policies and decision makers in their relationships with international partners and bodies.


The ICDTF now has 35 members. They represent 19 national geological surveys, that is 54% of the all EGS member states.

5. ACTIVITY REPORT

At the invitation of the Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry (DG ENTR) of the European Commission and as advised by the EGS authorities, a group of representatives of the EGS ICDTF led by Marek Graniczny, the Head of that task force, participated in the EU - AU Conference on Mineral Resources Management under a very meaningful title 'Translating Mineral Resource Wealth into Real Development for Africa' (Brussels, 26.01.2012) and the Expert Session organized one day earlier (Brussels, 25.01.2012) to work out final positions for presentation at that conference

From the point of view of the EGS, the most important was the Session 3 (Geological knowledge & skills) as it was devoted mainly to:

• Finding the ways to facilitate and assist in exploration and assessment of potential mineral resources potential in Africa

• Enhancing cooperation between geological surveys of European and African countries and / or relevant administrative bodies or agencies of these countries.

• Strengthening expertise and potential of African geological surveys and / or relevant administrative bodies or agencies of these countries in the field of supervision of mining operations and with reference to protection of the natural environment, recultivation of mining areas and recycling, reuse and rehabilitation of mine wastes.

At that session Marek Graniczny gave an extensive briefing on the EGS plans to strengthen OAGS members. It was agreed with Luca Demicheli, EGS Secretary General, that the time has come to organize a joint workshop of the EGS Mineral Resources Experts Group and ICDTF to work out the best way to start compiling the Pan-African project in accordance with suggestions and expectations of the European Commission.

Such joint workshop of the EGS MREG and ICDTF was held on 21.03.2012 in Brussels. It was devoted mainly to:

1. Discussion on possibilities to compile the proposal of a big project for Africa on the basis of results and experience gathered from projects hitherto implemented in Africa by the EGS members and taking into account priorities of the African Union and OAGS members as well as the best experience of the EGS MREG

2. Start creating an EGS the working group for implementation of that project

3. Agree “Road Map” for implementation of the project and time schedule of the next meetings, not to say about integration of the two expert groups, so important for proper accomplishment of these serious challenges. Because of significance of the main themes of that workshop, it was attended by five high-rank representatives of the EC DGs as well as Mr. Lhacene Bitam, President of Organization of African Geological Surveys (OAGS) and delegates of 15 geological surveys of European countries. Moreover, Prof. Aberra Mogessie, Chairman of the African Geological Society and some key EGS experts who could not participate in that workshop due to other appointments have submited their ideas, suggestions and proposals in writing.



In the meantime the works were initiated on the development of two documents: Concept paper - Consideration on EU - AU actions needed to increase the African geological knowledge base via enhanced geoscientific mapping (geological cartography, resources mapping, training etc.) and Scoping paper - Geoscientific knowledge and skills at African Geological Surveys a pilot project.

On September 10-11, 2012, the PGI-NRI hosted the EGS leaders and experts of the EGS International Cooperation and Development Task Force (ICDTF) and Mineral Resources Expert Group (MREG) who came to Warsaw to continue works on preparation of the pilot Pan-African project. The two-days meeting was devoted to summarizing hitherto obtained results and establish time table and appoint coordinators for further works. The works on this project have been initiated at the request of the European Commission what makes them a real challenge. The task comprises compilation of main frames of long-term project of cooperation with African Union countries in a wide range of areas: from staff training to strengthen members of the Organisation of African Geological Surveys (OAGS) and joint exploration and development of mineral resources of Africa to environmental and geoheritage protection and geotourism. Importance of the Warsaw meeting was emphasized by participation of representatives

of the EC and Polish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and diplomatic circles and State Mining Authority as well as a letter with congratulations and appreciations for taking this initiative, sent by Deputy Minister of Environment and Chief National Geologist Piotr Woźniak.

The meeting was opened by Prof. Jerzy Nawrocki, PGI-NRI Director and member of EGS Executive Committee, Marko Komac, EGS President, and Luca Demicheli, EGS General Secretary. Subsequently Piotr Ciećwierz (Ministry for Foreign Affairs) gave a concise briefing on main activities of the Polish government in opening economic cooperation with developing countries in Africa and other continents.

The session comprised expert presentations covering very wide range of themes, ranging from analysis of gaps and needs in geological cartography of Africa (Kristine Asch, BGR), information structure of mineral resources (Marc Urvois, BRGM) and economic geology and management of mineral resources (Nikolaos Arvanitidis, IGME-Greece) through assessment of impact of mining and processing of mineral raw materials on environment and human health (Bohdan Kribek, CGS) to case studies as a tool for strengthening cooperation with the OAGS (Stanisław Wołkowicz and Marek Graniczny, PGI-NRI) and dissemination of information about the

project and building and running database of the obtained results (Marko Komac, GeoZS, and Isabel Pino de Juana, EGS Secretariat). There was also the time for presentation of hot subjects as sustainable use of water resources and health (Santiago Martin Alfageme, IGME-Spain) and geotourism and geoheritage protection and promotion and education as seen by Santiago Martin Alfageme and his IGME-Spain team as well as Izabela Ploch and Marek Graniczny of PGI-NRI.

The second day of the meeting started with successive presentations dealing with the scope and range of assistance which should and could be provided by the EGS within the frame of the pilot and long-term projects. The issue which raised a vivid discussion was how to secure appropriate representation of EGS at the coming Pan-African conferences. The same was the case of the Marek Graniczny’s presentation of a concept of Pan-African working meeting to be organized by the EGS as a forum for discussing the main frames of the long-term project with representatives of the African countries, to which it will be addressed.



The last part of the meeting was the Panel Session led by Luca Demicheli and Marek Graniczny together with Marko Komac. The session made it possible to summarize the outcomes of the two-days meeting and appoint leaders responsible for compilation of individual Project Work Packages. It was agreed that compilation of the Project proposal will be coordinated by Marek Graniczny in close cooperation with the EGS Secretariat.

In the end of the year the workshop “Enhancing Africa-Europe Geological Surveys Cooperation” was organized in Niamey, Niger, 11-12 December 2012. OAGS was represented by the President, the host (Niger), the Permanent Secretariat (South Africa), Algeria and Senegal. EGS was represented by the Secretary General and 4 experts from Poland, Denmark, Spain and Germany, including the Chair of the EGS International Cooperation and Development Task Force (ICDTF).

The EGS Secretary general provided the background to the meeting, and an overview on how EGS functions. He also explained that EGS was proposing to jointly develop a 12-month scoping study (Phase 1), with the aim to launch a large and long-term (2014-2020?) project afterwards, based on the outcomes and findings of the scoping study (Phase 2), and to be implemented with

the necessary funding. The document draft project proposal for “Geoscientific knowledge and skill at African Geological Surveys” was presented and discussed in details during the two days of the workshop. The document had been prepared by 15 European experts from 12 geological Surveys for review by and discussion with the African experts.

Six work packages (WPs) of the draft (that is all but WP1 - Coordination), were reviewed and amended according to the input made by the OAGS members. In particular, the following topics were addressed:

• Priority actions to strengthen OAGS

• Gap analysis of geoscience base information and geoscientific mapping

• Gap analysis of mineral resources assessment

• Geohazards and geoheritage

• Methods and tools (infrastructure, laboratories, equipment, facilities)

The debate was very intense, and the text was amended accordingly and in a consistent way for certain Tasks.


Preparation of two documents: Concept paper - “Consideration on EU - AU actions needed to increase the African geological knowledge base via enhanced geoscientific mapping (geological cartography, resources mapping, training etc.)” and Scoping paper - “Geoscientific knowledge and skills at African Geological Surveys a pilot project”


Starting the project as soon as possible and in any event according to the request of the European Commission, if they will decide to provide funding for the scoping study.



8. MEMBER LIST - INTERNATIONAL COOPREATION AND DEVELOPMENT TASK FORCE

Chair: Marek Graniczny - PGI, Poland


BELGIUM GSB Yves Vanbrabant

C.REPUBLIC CGS Bohdan Kribek

CGS Petr Rambousek

CGS Ivana Svojtkova

DENMARK GEUS John Tychsen

FINLAND GTK Esko Korkiakoski

GTK Mika Räisänen

FRANCE BRGM Patrice Christmann

GERMANY BGR Kristine Asch

BGR Birgit Kunhs

BGR Dirk Küster

GREECE IGME Nikos Arvanitidis

ITALY ISPRA Elisa Brustia

ISPRA Luca Guerrieri

LITHUANIA LGT Jonas Satkunas

MALTA MRA Michael Schembri

POLAND PGI Wojciech Brochwicz-Lewiński

PGI Izabela Ploch

PGI Marek Graniczny

PORTUGAL LNEG Luisa Duarte

LNEG Ruben Dias

LNEG Vitor Lisboa

LNEG Rita Caldeira

SPAIN IGME Enrique Diaz Martínez


IGME Manuel Reguerio

IGME Santiago Martin Alfageme

IGME Eusebio Lopera Caballero

SLOVAKIA SGUDS Ludovit.kucharic

SLOVENIA Geo-ZS Marko Komac

SWEDEN SGU Rune Johansson

THE NETHERLANDSTNO The NetherlandsTNO Paul Bogaard

BGS Martin Smith

UK BGS Richard Ellison




EXPERT GROUP MARINE GEOLOGY


The Marine Geology Expert Group includes representatives from 22 of the EuroGeoSurveys member organisations. In addition, associate members from non-EGS member organisations make a valuable contribution to the group’s objectives (see section 8). During 2012, members of the Marine Geology Expert Group (MGEG) have continued to be active in several EC-funded projects, both as groups of EGS members and as individual participants. The main EC-funded project activity has been the preparatory phase of the EMODnet-Geology Project, which ended in July 2012. A proposal was submitted to the EC in September 2012 to provide the marine geological input to the next phase of EMODnet (the European Marine Obervation and Data Network) starting in 2013. Several MGEG members also participated in the Geo-Seas Project, which ends in early 2013. A group of geological surveys continued to contribute to the NAG-TEC Atlas (Northeast Atlantic Geoscience Tectonostratigraphic Atlas) project.


The Marine Geology Expert Group (MGEG) aims to deliver high-quality information and advice to inform decision-makers responsible for the European seas, and to lead in issues of global importance. The emphasis is placed on cross-cutting issues such as sustainable use of natural resources, climate change, habitat mapping, natural hazards and long-term maintenance of databases.

The underpinning factor of the group’s strategy is the need to establish a system that provides the European Community with the geological knowledge required to inform decisions that affect the marine environment. The group promotes the view that marine geological information and interpretations are a fundamental requirement for all activities that take place in the European seas.

The need to maintain collaboration between the marine departments of the European geological survey organizations is at the centre of achieving our vision. At national level, most, if not all, EU Member States are introducing policies that ensure better integration of marine science. The drivers towards these policies are mainly EU Action Plans and Directives, and it is important that EU Member State Governments develop strategies in the marine environment that are underpinned by cross-border collaboration.

In order to respond to the EC’s demands for geological information in the marine environment, it is important that a high-level of marine geology expertise and information is visible within EuroGeoSurveys, based on full support at national level and active collaboration with other scientific disciplines.

3. SCOPE AND FOCUS

The group recognises the need to establish a long-term strategy that does not depend solely on EC funding, but which fits with the overarching EC strategy towards the use of the marine environment. The group is therefore active in initiatives such as the current scoping phase of the European Geological Data Infrastructure (EGDI) and the EuroGeoSurveys North Atlantic Group.

Although the group focuses on work carried out within the national geological survey organisations, it is essential that it continues to look outwards to develop collaboration between marine geologists and the marine biological, oceanographic/hydrographic and chemistry communities, who together form the main providers of scientific information for the European marine community. The MGEG also consider that it is essential for the group to expand its geographical scope whenever possible, as the issues that affect the European seas are not constrained by national boundaries.




The main environmental challenges for the marine sector have been established in a number of EU policy and strategy documents, most recently in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) of June 2008, which aims to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) in Europe’s seas by 2020. GES involves protecting the marine environment, preventing its deterioration and restoring it where practical, while using marine resources sustainably. The requirements of the MSFD are that each EU Member State had to make an assessment of the current state of their seas by July 2012, that a monitoring programme to measure progress towards GES was established by July 2014, and that a programme of measures to achieve GES was in place by 2016.

Recognising that, in accordance with the MSFD (‘the environmental pillar of the integrated maritime policy’), knowledge is the engine for sustainable growth, the EC published ‘Marine Knowledge 2020: marine data and observation for smart and sustainable growth’ in September 2010. In this document, the Commission outlined the case for a more coordinated approach to marine data collection and assembly and described an action plan to achieve this aim. Central to this approach was the European Marine Observation and Data Network

(EMODnet), which had been established through the maritime policy preparation actions to test the concept of assembling existing bathymetry, geology, physics, chemistry, biology and habitat mapping information for selected areas of the European regional seas.

The key elements of the MSFD and Marine Knowledge 2020 that are relevant to the work of the EuroGeoSurveys MGEG are principally the provision of geological information that identify the distribution and quality of marine habitats and information that allows the integrity of the seabed to be assessed, to safeguard the structure and function of the seafloor ecosystem from human activities. Within EMODnet, the geological parameters that underpin these objectives were identified by the EC as the sea-floor substrate, bedrock lithology and stratigraphy, coastal behaviour, geological events (earthquakes, submarine landslides) and mineral resources.

The "proof of concept" of EMODnet has been tested through the preparatory actions (2009-2012) that have established portals for a number of maritime basins for hydrographic, geological, biological and chemical data as well as functional habitat maps. As well as providing access to marine data of a standard format and known quality, and identifying gaps in coverage, the projects were asked to

identify the main challenges in moving from a preparatory EMODnet Programme to a fully operational system. As the provider of marine geological information during this preparatory phase, the geological surveys of Europe have contributed to these activities.

5. ACTIVITY REPORT

1. EC-funded Projects

1. EMODNET-GEOLOGY

Fourteen EuroGeoSurveys member organisations and associates have taken part in the EMODnet Programme since 2009, completing all of the project deliverables in 2012. The overall objective to assemble fragmented and inaccessible marine data into interoperable, contiguous and publicly available datasets for whole maritime basins wasa achieved where possible for sea-bed sediments, sea-floor geology, boundaries and faults, rates of coastal erosion or accumulation, geological events (submarine slides, earthquakes etc.) and minerals. For the preparatory phase of the programme, information layers were compiled for the Baltic Sea, Greater North Sea and Celtic Sea. The EMODnet-Geology information layers have been delivered through the OneGeology-Europe (1G-E) portal.



In May 2012, a call was issued by DG MARE (Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) under the subject of ‘Knowledge base for growth and innovation in ocean economy: assembly and dissemination of marine data for seabed mapping’. The call invited tenderers to build on what had been achieved under the preparatory actions of the EU’s maritime policy to deliver a marine observation infrastructure that offers the most effective support to the marine and maritime economy whilst supporting envirtonmental protection needs. The geographical scope includes all European ‘sea-basins’ including the Adriatic, Aegean Levantine, Baltic, Black, Celtic, Ionian, Mediterranean, North, Norwegian, Iceland and Barents seas and the Atlantic Ocean coast of Iberia and Macaronesia. The geology ‘lot’ of the call requested the same information as included in the preparatory phase of EMODnet, but at a more detailed compilation scale of 1:250,000.

In response to this call, a group of 37 orga nisations, including 26 EuroGeoSurveys member organisations, submitted a proposal to provide the geological input to EMODnet from 2013-2016. The proposed project will continue to build on the OneGeology-Europe portal. At the time of writing, the indications are that the proposal has been successful. www.emodnet-geology.eu

2. GEO-SEAS

The Geo-Seas Project is implementing an e-infrastructure of 26 marine geological and geophysical data centres, located in 17 European maritime countries (14 of which are EGS Members). Users are enabled to identify, locate and access pan-European, harmonised and federated marine geological and geophysical datasets and derived data products held by the data centres through a single common data portal. The aims of Geo-Seas are aligned with European directives and recent large-scale framework programmes on global and European scales, such as GEOSS and GMES, EMODnet and INSPIRE. Geo-Seas is expanding the existing SeaDataNet marine and ocean data management infrastructure to handle marine geological and geophysical data, data products and services, creating a joint infrastructure covering both oceanographic and marine geoscientific data.

The GeoSeas Project ends in January 2013 and a Final Conference took place in Cork, Ireland from 10-11 October 2012 at which the project outputs were presented to an international audience. The next call for projects that could extend the GeoSeas system will be issued in 2015. In the intervening time, the geological surveys will continue to develop access to national and international data and harmonised

interpreted maps through EMODnet, making use of technologies that provide access to information at source. www.geo-seas.eu

3 OTHER EC-FUNDED PROJECTS

Members of the MGEG have participated in a range of EC-funded projects. These include:

• BLAST - Bringing Land and Sea Together. BGS (UK). www.blast-project.eu. The final BLAST Project Conference was organised by the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh on 17-18 September 2012.

• PERGAMON. IGME (Spain), GEUS (Denmark), BGR (Germany), www.cost-pergamon.eu/index.html

• FINMARINET. GTK (Finland). http://en.gtk.fi/research2/program/seafloor/finmarinet.html. The FINMARINET results will be published at a Final Conference in Helsinki in April 2013.

• EMODnet-Hydrography. LNEG (Portugal), GSI (Ireland). www.emodnet-hydrography.eu

• Sub-COAST. TNO (Netherlands), BGS (UK), GEUS (Denmark), PGI (Poland), LGT (Lithuania). www.subcoast.eu/index.html



2 Industry/survey partnerships

NAG-TEC: NORTHEAST ATLANTIC GEOSCIENCE TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHIC ATLAS

As part of the Northeast Atlantic Geoscience (NAG) initiative, several of the European geological surveys have initiated a project to develop a new tectonostratigraphic atlas of the North Atlantic region from the Bight Fracture to Svalbard and the western Barents margin, including the continental margins areas along Greenland, Norway, the UK, and Ireland. The Atlas project grew out of several workshops, which realised that there is currently no systemic compilation of tectonostratigraphic information over the entire region; local nomenclature differences hamper regional correlations to identify commonalities and differences between areas; and large areas with sparse data make it difficult to decide which data gaps are most important in terms of large-scale understanding and setting regional exploration priorities.

The new Atlas will provide: quantitative analysis of key basin parameters; regional correlations of key stratigraphic units, unconformities, and geologic formations; an understanding of the connectivity and similarities between known prospective regions and unexplored areas;

comprehensive analysis of conjugate margin pairs.

EGS members from Denmark (Project Co-ordinator), the UK, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Iceland and Ireland participate in the project in collaboration with Jarðfeingi (formed by the merger of the Faroese Geological Survey and the Petroleum Administration in 2005). The project is co-funded by industry and survey partners. http://nagtec.org/home.seam

3 Annual meeting 2012

The annual meeting of the MGEG was held in Stockholm, Sweden on 21-22 November 2012. The meeting was hosted by the Geological Survey of Sweden and was attended by 23 members from 16 countries.

4 National Marine Geology Programmes

Each of the MGEG members continue to pursue a wide range of activities at national level. The group compiles a detailed report each year giving a comprehensive list of MGEG partners’ activities. Copies of the reports are available from the MGEG Secretary ([email protected]).

5 Marine Observation and Data Expert Group

Three staff from the MGEG members currently serve on the European Commission’s (DG MARE) Marine Observation and Data Expert Group (MODEG) as mandated by EuroGeoSurveys. MODEG’s mission is to provide the EC with the scientific, technical and operational expertise it needs to ensure that EMODnet best meets the needs of its future users. This is an influential group that helps to provide direct advice to the EC on their requirements for geological information and knowledge.


The marine departments of the EuroGeoSurveys members and collaborating organizations continue to address the need for integrated marine environmental mapping at a national level to provide geological and other datasets that can address the issues raised in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and other EC initiatives. Mapping the sea-floor using high-resolution multibeam echosounder (MBES) technology supplemented by other acoustic methods (sub-seabed profiling) and groundtruthing (sampling/coring and photography) has become the preferred method for marine surveying in most European countries.



Such data can be shared with other disciplines (e.g. biologists, oceanographers, fisheries scientists, mineral resource managers, flood risk managers, coastal authorities and government decision makers) to derive maximum benefit to national and the EU economies.

The geological survey organizations of Europe are well placed to deliver on all aspects of marine research from data acquisition, using the techniques mentioned above, through data processing and archiving to interpretations and data delivery using up-to-date approaches such as web-mapping services and mobile applications. Most geological surveys are also involved in contributing to policy development by responding to national government and EU consultations on policies that address the requirements of the MSFD. For example, the marine departments of the geological surveys have responded individually and collectively to the EC Maritime Affairs consultation Green Paper on Marine Knowledge 2020: from seabed mapping to ocean forecasting. The geological surveys are already contributing to the EC’s Marine Knowledge 2020 objectives through participation as the geological information providers to the EMODnet Programme.

The expected impacts of the activities described above range from the cost

efficiency and innovation of integrating and sharing science and technologies to addressing topics of key European socio-economic interests such as wealth creation and health (e.g. natural resources and bio-technology/pharmaceuticals), environmental (climate change) and social impacts (protection from natural hazards: earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes).

Reducing the costs of collecting and sharing marine information to help private industry compete in the global economy, improve the quality of decision-making at all levels and strengthening marine scientific research has been determined to be worth €300 million per year to the European

Economy (source: European Marine Observation and Data Network Impact Assessment Commission Staff Working Document, Brussels, 8.9.2010 SEC(2010) 998 final).


The research priorities for national surveys vary depending on government priorities, however the common research issues that have been identified in many 5-10 year strategic plans are those that relate to the security of energy supplies (hydrocarbons and renewable energy), raw materials (mineral and aggregate resources) and the protection of the amenity

value of the marine environment for food (e.g. habitat mapping for fisheries and aquaculture), health (pollution), cultural value (archaeology) and recreation (coastal landscapes/boating). Broadly, the research challenges can be categorized as coastal and shelf geological and habitat models; deep-water geological and habitat models; Quaternary geology (important to infrastructure projects such as cable/pipeline routes); submarine hazards; sediment mobility and 4D monitoring/modelling; and heritage and archaeology. There is also a need for continued development of marine technologies and to take advantage of new products and data delivery mechanisms (e.g. machine to machine enquiries and mobile applications).

The coastal zone is a priority for many maritime countries as it is often an area where there are data gaps. In this environmentally sensitive area where land and sea interact, any sea-level changes will affect conservation, urbanisation, tourism, resource management and have potential impact on e.g. water resources in places where seawater interacts with groundwater. The need for integrated geological research and maps across the land/sea boundary is critical, and the use of information from technologies such as laser (LIDAR), radar and satellite imagery can provide a rapid method of filling our knowledge gaps and providing a means to establish long-term monitoring of geological processes.



A range of projects are needed to address the key issues affecting the marine environment of Europe. As the marine sector benefits from multidisciplinary collaboration, most projects at both national and international level are collaborations between marine organisations from all sectors of activity such as public/government bodies, industry and academia. Examples of such projects include the Norwegian MAREANO Programme, the Irish INFOMAR Programme, the UK’s Marine Environmental Mapping Programme (MAREMAP), the Finnish Inventory Programme for the Underwater Marine Environment (VELMU) project and several more.

At a European level, the main focus of the marine departments of the geological surveys is, as described above, the full phase of the EMODnet Programme. The next phase of EMODnet will expand into all of the European regional seas and the EGS-led successful bid to continue providing geological information to the EMODnet Programme will ensure funding until 2016. The outlook for further continuation of the EMODnet Programme is promising.

At a global scale, several national geological surveys or their parent funding bodies are participants in the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), the world’s largest geosciences programme funded by 25 countries.

Europe participates in IODP through the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD), which includes 18 countries (including Canada). The next phase of IODP (to be renamed the International Ocean Discovery Program) starts in October 2013 and is planned to continue until 2023. ECORD provides geoscientists from all member countries the opportunity to participate in global research using the program’s three drilling platforms (the US drillship JOIDES Resolution; the Japanese vessel Chikyu and the European-led Mission-Specific Platforms). Developing from ECORD are a number of initiatives, such as the Distributed European Infrastructure for Subseafloor Sampling and Monitoring (DEISM), a topic proposal for integrating and opening existing national research infrastructures that could include the European geological surveys. As the pressures on funding large-scale international programs such as IODP increase, the advantages of becoming part of a European infrastructure are obvious.



8. MEMBER LIST - MARINE GEOLOGY EXPERT GROUP

The Chair and Secretary of the MGEG thank all of the group members for their participation in the compilation of this report.The following list includes current nominated representatives* and member organisations of the MGEG; additional contributors to the Annual Report are also shown for some organisations.

Chair: Henry Vallius - GTK, Finland

Non-EGS associated organisations (EMODnet-Geology participants in 2012)

Country Surveys Expert

ALBANIA AGS Arben Pambuku*

BELGIUM MUMM/GSB Vera Van Lancker*

BULGARIA MOEW Emanuil Kozhuharov*

CROATIA HGI_CGS Slobodan Miko*

CYPRUS CGS Zomenia Zomeni

DENMARK GEUS Jørgen Leth*

GEUS Jørn Bo Jensen

ESTONIA GSE Sten Suuroja*

FINLAND GTK Aarno Kotilainen*

FRANCE BRGM Pol Guennoc*

BRGM Fabien Paquet

GERMANY BGR Lutz Reinhardt*

GREECE IGME Irene Zananiri*

IRELAND GSI Koen Verbruggen*

ITALY ISPRA Andrea Fiorentino*

ISPRA Silvana D’Angelo*

MALTA MRA Julie Auerbach*

THE NETHERLANDS TNO Sytze van Heteren*

NORWAY NGU Reidulv Bøe*

NGU Terje Thorsnes

POLAND PGI Szymon Uscinowic*

PGI Dorota Kaulbarsz

PORTUGAL LNEG Gabriela Carrara*

SPAIN IGME Constantin Costea*

VSEGEI VSEGEI Daria Ryabchuk*

SPAIN IGME Teresa Medialdea Cela*

IGME Luis Somoza

SWEDEN SGU Johan Nyberg*

SGU Ingemar Cato

SGU Ola Halberg

UK BGS Alan Stevenson*

BGS Robert Gatliff*


Country Surveys Expert

GERMANY BSH Manfred Zeiler

BSH Maria Lambers-Huesmann

LATVIA LEGMC Inara Nulle

LEGMC Tatjana Sadrina

LEGMC Baiba Brikmane

Algimantas Grigelis

Leonora Zivile Gelumba



EXPERT GROUP MINERAL RESOURCES


Year 2012 was a time of many and different opportunities, challenges and potential targets. The fast progress on Mineral Resources developments, in relation to the RMI implementation and EIP proceedings necessitated solid engagement and commitments, active involvement and big efforts from all MREG members. There was also a year of change in the MREG chairmanship position around September this year with Nikos Arvanitidis succeeding Slavko Solar. All main areas of activity over 2012 were scanned within the scope lines of the EGS MREG to provide the present zipped version containing,

EU agenda priorities

• Raw Materials Initiative (RMI) – EIP, Knowledge Innovation Communities (KIC)

• ETP SMR; Executive Secretary, Steering Committee

• EU minerals projects (past & ongoing)

Work related focus

• Mineral Intelligence Network for Europe-Mineral4EU proposal submission

• Promotion and coordination of EU projects and calls related to minerals among all members of EGS.

• Member of Advisory Boards – AEGOS, EuroGeoSource, EURARE

EGS Strategy issues

• ART 185/ERA-NET+

• European Geological Data Infrastructure – EGDI



• Mineral Intelligence Network for Europe-Mineral4EU proposal submission

International co-operation and representation

• Workshop on potential for cooperation between Greenland and the EU in the area of Raw Materials on Greenland

• High-Level Conference EU-Africa Partnership on Raw Materials in Brussels

• Meeting of EuroGeoSurveys International Cooperation and Development Taskforce (ICDTF) and Mineral Resources Expert Group (MREG), 10 September 2012 in Warsaw

• US-EU workshop on "Informed policy-making through improved availability and quality of raw materials data" 12-14 September in Brussels

• Meeting on mining activities cooperation with Greenland,12-14 September in Brussels

• World Bank and African Development Forum (‘ADF’) pre-event on ‘Geological Mapping and Mineral Inventory in Africa’ on 22nd October, 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

• EU-RU industrial policy dialogue mining and metals sub-group meeting in St Petersburg, 25 October 2012

• Raw Materials & Tourism 2012, Cyprus Presidency Conference, 30-31 October in Limassol

• 2nd Senegalese International Mining Conference and Exhibition, 6 – 8 November 2012 in Dakar.


The mission of the EuroGeoSurveys Mineral Resources Expert group (EGS MREG) is to provide the best available mineral expertise and information based on the knowledge base of member geological surveys, for policy, industry, society, communication and education purposes on European and international levels. EuroGeoSurveys Mineral Resources Expert group (EGS MREG) aims to become the leading partner within a European mineral information network, or other form of cooperation, that will be provide tools and expertise to enhance resource efficiency, secure minerals supply and support sustainable minerals development for Europe. Mineral information provided by EGS MREG is based on globally comparable standards of excellence for science and expertise and these standards will be maintained.

Vision will be carried out collaboratively with other organizations that have mineral information and expertise, and with consumers of that information.

3. SCOPE AND FOCUS

Minerals related topics returned to the political and research agenda at the European level since the Communication “Raw Materials Initiative (RMI)”, the related WG reports on Best Practices and Criticality with respect to non-energy minerals industry, the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on raw materials, the Europe 2020 Strategic targets towards resource efficiency, as well as several European Research Program (e.g. FP7) calls for minerals related projects. This trend is set to continue across Europe and there should be more synergy among minerals teams of EGS members and other relevant stakeholders to create a critical mass. This development, which started with the RMI communication, creates a historic opportunity to establish the Mineral Intelligence on an EU level that would be built on existing national /member states capacities and other international ones. The current EGS MREG Position Statement on the RMI implementation already includes a dynamic action plan, that it is a solid base, but should be further analyzed, elaborated and specified for concrete efforts to be initiated and fulfilled.



Major focus should be aimed at active involvement and/or partnership to European and International mineral resources related projects and fora, participation into policy-making and implementation processes of EU Directives and Initiatives on mineral raw materials and engagement into relevant institutional, public and stakeholder bodies.


Minerals and metals are essential inputs to the EU economy. Without the numerous functions they provide modern life would simply come to a stop. Many industries are directly or indirectly dependent from a steady, reliable, supply of minerals and metals. Europe is already highly dependant on mineral resources imports, essentially for metallic minerals and for certain industrial minerals. Global competition for access to these resources is going to significantly grow in the coming decades, and Europe is not yet properly prepared to face this competition. This weakness is likely to threaten the viability of downstream European industries and the overall EU competitiveness. Preliminary studies conclude that Europe has over 2-3 times more metal resources available in the currently known greenfields and brownfields projects than has been historically produced. The challenge is to use these resources with the best available technical know-how and environmental standards and to assist the

developing world, on which the EU will remain dependent for part of its minerals and metals supplies, in strengthening their geological/ environmental data/ information infrastructure and their human/ institutional capacities. A holistic EU strategy on sustainable minerals and metals supply and the competitiveness of the related industries, with a balanced approach to economic, environmental and social matters is called upon in view of the current challenges faced by the EU. Having those developments in mind the MREG is aiming at,

• Raising public awareness on the vital need of minerals and metals to the European Society

• Integration of geology, mineral resources competences in the various advisory bodies; advising the EU in various domains such as competitiveness, sustainable development or research;

• Better integration of geological knowledge and data in EU policymaking;

• Fostering better knowledge of European mineral resources, of the geological constraints of their worldwide distribution, the technical constraints for their exploitation and the sustainability consequences of their use;

• Development of a European Minerals Statistics and Information capacity on a par with the global capacity.

5. ACTIVITY REPORT

1. EU funded mineral resources related projects/studies (past, ongoing & new proposals)

• EU Flagship projects with thorough NGSO participation in partnership and leading roles.

- Ended; AEGOS, SARMa

- Ongoing; Promine (www.promine.gtk.fi), EuroGeoSource (www.eo-miners.eu), EO-MINERS (www.eo-miners.eu), Polinares (www.polinares.eu), ERA-MIN (www.era-min-eu.org), EURARE (Kick-off meeting at 11-12 February 2013)

• DG Enterprise tenders

- Study by TNO – 10 EIP pilot plants selected to demonstrate innovative technologies applied at various stages of minerals value chain

- Study, led by BGS and many other NGSO in the consortium, on Structured Statistical Information on the Quality and Quantity of the EU Raw Materials Deposits (600.000 euro)



• Project proposals of strategic importance for EGS

- European Geological Data Infrastructure (EGDI) proposal preparation is in full progress. This makes a strategic choice for EGS aiming at going under the so called “Integrating Activities” funding scheme expected to be part of the next Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon 2020. Earth Resources datasets make a significant thematic topic of the EGDI and the MREG is part of the Stakeholders Forum put in place. The overall concept of the EGDI-scope and stakeholders’ feedbacks were discussed during an EGDI workshop held on 14th November, 2012 in Brussels.

- Minerals Intelligence Network for Europe- Minerals4EU- proposal was submitted on 4th December, 2012, under the call (published in mid July 2012) “NMP.2013.4.1-3 European Intelligence Network on the Supply of Raw Materials”. This proposal is based on the EMINENT concept that has been successfully developed and promoted through years by the MREG to end up with the above call jointly elaborated by DG Research and DG Enterprise. This call is actually tailored to challenge and address the objectives of EMINENT. The Minerals4EU proposal has direct relations to the Raw

Materials Statistics study tendered by DG Enterprise, and is strategically and operationally linked to EGDI and ART 185.

2. ART 185/ERA-NET+

• ART 185 and the outcomes of ERA-NET+ project, to be initially funded and conducted under HORIZON 2020, make the framework conditioned for the new EGS strategy. The MREG has been actively involved to the meetings in Bologna, Vienna and Bratislava and has contributed to,

- The questionnaire providing inputs in relation to the upcoming Strategy, as far as the mineral resources issues concern

- The submission of the Minerals4EU which, if selected and successfully carried out, will have a direct impact to the ART 185 related strategy.

3. Monitoring and exploiting ongoing projects with EGS/NGSO involvement

• NGSO have a leading role, either as coordinators or partners, in several mineral resources related projects co-funded by the EU, going on under FP7, ERA-NET, cohesion or structural funding schemes, like for example ProMine, EuroGeoSource, EO-MINERS, ERA-MIN, SNAP-SEE(Sustainable Aggregates Planning in South East Europe) etc.

- The ProMine and EuroGeoSource projects have already created GIS-structured and INSPIRE compliant pan-European databases and relevant map products, of primary and secondary mineral resources. These developments and achievements will be exploited to make valuable background and state-of the art information for the EGS MREG strategy oriented project planning like, Minerals4EU, EGDI and ERA-NET+.

- The ERA-MIN project has made a substantial progress and is planning to come up with the first pilot call for project proposals in various thematic fields of the minerals value chain. There will an opportunity for NGSO to take part.

- The goal of the EURARE project is (i) to characterize the potential REE resources in Europe; and (ii) to research, develop, optimize and demonstrate technologies for the efficient and economically viable exploitation of currently available European REE deposits with minimum consequences to the environment. There are 7 NGSO involved to enhance the knowledge on European REE resources and mineral processing. The kick-off meeting has been scheduled for the beginning of February.



• EGS and MREG was invited and in fact accepted, to join the Advisory Groups of the EuroGeoSource and EURARE projects.

4. International cooperation within emerging EU partnerships on minerals

• High-Level Conference EU-Africa Partnership on Raw Materials held in Brussels on the 26th January, 2012. This conference which was attended by some 250 delegates from government, civil society and industry across 22 African countries, explored how to implement the raw materials aspects of the Joint Africa-EU Strategy Action Plan. Geological knowledge and skills was one of the main findings mainly in terms of improving the cooperation between the European and African geological surveys. EGS, and the chair and members of MREG attended the event, by Luca Demicheli joining and participating to the session 3 panel discussion on Geological knowledge and skills. During and upon this conference the links between EGS and OAGS were further strengthened, and EGS representatives were invited to a number of African meetings and workshops. Also, International Cooperation and Development Task Force (ICDTF) and the MREG, got jointly, on behalf of EGS, to prepare and submit a proposal for a scoping study on EU-African cooperation on geoscientific issues.

• The potential for cooperation between Greenland and the EU in the area of Raw Materials, including mining activities, was considered in a couple of meetings in Greenland and Brussels, respectively. To improve access of EU industry to raw materials at an affordable price, the European Commission wishes to intensify cooperation with Greenland benefitting both sides, such as joint infrastructures and investments or capacity building in exploration and exploitation of raw materials. A letter of intent on co-operation in this area was signed in Nuuk (Greenland), on 13th June 2012, by Vice President Antonio Tajani and Commissioner for Development Co-operation Andris Piebalgs on behalf of the European Commission, and Prime Minister Kuupik Kleist on behalf of Greenland. EGS and the MREG were represented by Luca Demicheli, Slavko Solar and colleagues from GEUS. A follow up was organized in Brussels, on 14th September 2012, this time focused on mining activities cooperation. EGS and the MREG were represented by Luca Demicheli, Nikos Arvanitidis, Slavko Solar (on behalf of DG Enterprise) and Karen Hanghøj (on behalf of GEUS). A paper, including an action plan on possible cooperation items, entitled, “Critical Raw Materials/REE in Europe and Greenland: Challenges for high potential of discoveries and good exploration targets” was also presented.

It was making clear it is of common interest that any project putting in place a “European Intelligence Network on Mineral Resources” should even include (through GEUS) the mineral resources of Greenland. It was also discussed and is still under investigation to involve Greenlandic partners (mainly BMP), through GEUS into the EURARE consortium.

• The US-EU workshop on mineral raw materials took place in Brussels on 13th September 2012. EGS and the MREG were represented by Luca Demicheli, Slavko Solar, Nikos Arvanitidis and on behalf of SGU, Lisbeth Hildebrand. A presentation was given on EGS and the MREG vision and mission with respect to mineral resources. Also a written version on proposed cooperation activities between USGS and EGS on Critical Raw Materials was provided the same day contributing to the following up US-EU discussions. It should also be mentioned that EuroGeoSurveys was present at the meeting on request of the European Commission to provide technical assistance on geological topics, and to facilitate the interactions and discussion with the USA. The Commission invited EGS because of our competence and good relationships with USGS. During the preparation of the meeting we had a very pleasant and constructive consultation with our USGS colleagues. EGS was requested by the EU to assist the European



Commission especially during the sessions, including the negotiation and conclusions. It was, therefore, an unpleasant surprise, before the start of the last session, to hear USGS argue that EGS should not be present during the negotiations and conclusions phase of the meeting since it is not a formal EU institution, even insisting notwithstanding the objections of the EC. This came also as a big surprise to the European Commission too. For this reason, Marko Komac, EGS President at the time, was sending a letter of concern to USGS asking to be informed about the underlying reasons of this reaction.

• The EU-RU industrial policy dialogue mining and metals subgroup meeting took place in St Petersburg on 25th October 2012. Lisbeth Hildebrand joined the DG Enterprise delegation representing EGS and MREG by, among else, presenting the paper “Mineral resources in the EU: Improving the knowledge base for high potential discoveries and good exploration targets”, including information from Fennoscandian Ore Deposit Database (FODD), the ProMine and EURARE projects, and the Russian-French Metallogenic Laboratory kindly provided by Daniel Cassard and BRGM. It was proposed data of the Russian mineral resources to be standardized and integrated in the European Minerals Intelligence Network underway.

5. Executive secretary position of MREG in ETP SMR

• Upon its role as Executive Secretary and member of the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Mineral Resources (ETP-SMR) High Level Group (HLG), the EGS MREG has contributed to,

- The organization of the ETP SMR Stakeholder Forum, “From harsh environment to high tech solutions”, held in Brussels, on 5th September, 2012. The purpose of this Stakeholder Forum Event was to deepen the dialogue on necessary actions to secure European raw materials supply and prepare for collaboration in the light of upcoming research programmes and other initiatives (Horizon 2020, EIP on Raw Materials, ERA-MIN),

- The new Articles of Association and Internal Rules, and to put in place the new updated Strategic Research Agenda.


1. Results

The results to be paid particular attention are about achievements and outcomes having a more practical approach, as well as more applied research and development value for

the sustainable supply and growth of mineral resources in Europe, such as:

• The submission of the Minerals Intelligence Network for Europe- Minerals4EU- proposal mentioned above. An about 2 million euro project under the Coordination and support actions funding scheme addressing the called topic NMP.2013.4.1-3 (European Intelligence Network on the Supply of Raw Materials). Of the total 31 partners in the consortium the Minerals4EU project includes 26 geological survey organizations as partners, which are the key public acquirers and holders of thematic, geology related data, information, essential expertise and knowledge providers to a wide range of end-users including national/ regional/ local authorities, economic actors, civil society stakeholders and the general public. Thus this consortium comprises the best available mineral and raw material expertise and information for policy, industry, communication and education purposes on the European level. The Minerals4EU is about the development of database and statistical tools for the near-future – in part this work is based on existing compilations and databases but will give better access to the data for everyone by developing an INSPIRE compatible infrastructure that enables all geological surveys and other partners to share minerals information and knowledge,



and the public and private stakeholders to find, view and acquire standardized and harmonized information,

- Connecting national and European mineral datasets and information taking into account existing initiatives, policies and directives, as well as relevant projects, and considering an impact analysis from a broad stakeholders’ consultation.

- Building up a minerals intelligence provision service, incorporating links to existing projects and auxiliary datasets consisting of mineral data from primary and secondary resources on land and the sea-floor.

- Attaining sustainability means in the long term European public funding for the on-going and routine provision of services for all potential stakeholders

- Developing the concept of the network structure and implement it in delivering the concrete products proposed, such as the web portal, the European Minerals Yearbook and the Foresight studies.

• The submission of the proposal “Geoscientific Knowledge and Skills of African Geological Surveys – A Pilot Project the work to be carried out by EuroGeoSurveys (EGS) on

behalf of the European Commission's DG AID, and with the support and additional supervision of DG ENTR and possibly DG DEVCO, in cooperation with the Organisation of African Geological Surveys (OAGS). EGS is requested to interact with OAGS to develop, over a period of twelve months, a feasibility study focusing on one key priority of the EU-Africa Strategy Action Plan 2011-13, which is to 'foster further co-operation between African and European geological surveys'. At the national level the collection, management and delivery of data and information of the subsurface is mandated to National Geological Surveys. Such data are developed directly by the Geological Surveys or gathered in the framework of exploration for mineral and energy resources, engineering geology studies for building purposes, and often have to be made available by law (mining law or other law on subsurface data) to the Geological Surveys. At all the stages the feasibility study will be implemented in close cooperation between specialists representing the EGS and the OAGS members. The study includes a wide range of tasks, especially geoscientific mapping, economic geology and sustainable management of mineral resources as well as human resources and training needs for OAGS members and their partners through innovative case studies.

If the major aim of the feasibility study is to assess the current potential and needs of African geological surveys and/or government agencies to meet challenges of the 21th century, the findings will be used to propose tools and roadmap for a future large pan-African project contributing to education and training, and facilitating communication and cooperation between the EU and AU and individual African countries in the field of the Earth sciences and sustainable use of mineral resources. The main tasks of this WP4, on Mineral resources assessment gap analysis will include: 1) analysis of primary and secondary sources 2) Problems related to artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) 3) Environmental impact of mining (including that of post-mining), and 4) Main legislation issues.

• The bid for the study on Structured Statistical Information on the Quality and Quantity of the EU Raw Materials Deposits prepared by a NGSO consortium in cooperation with Oakden Hollins Research & Consulting and under the coordination of EGS, was notified by DG Enterprise to be successful.



A project kick-off meeting is scheduled with the Commission for 2nd week of January, which will be attended by BGS, BRGM and Oakdene Hollins.

• The Sustainable Aggregates Planning in South East Europe (SNAP-SEE) project focuses on developing and disseminating tools for aggregates management planning in Southeast Europe (SEE). Seven SE European and West Balkan NGSO join the consortium. SNAP-SEE builds on the results of the Sustainable Aggregates Resource Management (SARMa) project. Due to regional differences in historical development, there are diverse approaches to aggregates policies, planning and management in SEE, which is hindering resource efficiency and economic development in the region. The primary objective is to develop a Toolbox for Aggregates Planning to support national/regional, primary and secondary aggregates planning in SEE countries, which will include:

- SNAP-SEE Vision for a transition to integrated, comprehensive sustainable aggregates planning in SEE;

- Handbook on Capacity Building and Stakeholder Consultation;

- Handbook on Data and Analysis Methods;

- Aggregates Planning Scheme, containing planning modules that embody the principles, approaches and action necessary to achieve the goals of the Vision.

2. Impacts

• Create a sustainable coordination structure or forum gathering and mobilizing the critical mass of European mineral resources key players.

- R&D oriented grouping like EODI, ETP-SMR,

- EU and national projects like ProMine, EuroGeoSource, ERA-MIN, EURARE and all those always going and coming

- EC initiatives like RMSG, EIP, Europe 2020 Strategy,

- European Mining Industry bodies like EUROMINES, IMA, UEPG,

- International cooperation and projects on minerals e.g. Africa, US etc.

• Enhanced position in minerals development using main tools, components and actions supporting, facilitating and monitoring work

progress, achievements and results with respect to the strategic areas emphasized above, focus on,

- establishing an INSPIRE compliant European Mineral Intelligence Network with the EGS members in the core, e.g. Minerals4EU

- coordinating EU project related to minerals among all members of EGS e.g. ProMine, EuroGeoSource, EO-Miners, ERA-MIN, EURARE etc

- strengthening the EGS MREG group and relations with other relevant bodies or institutions or events by improved communication and coordination e.g. JRCs, EODI, PDAC etc

- raising the role of the ETP SMR to become an even more significant and solid player in European Mining Industry

- improving the links and joint efforts with European Mining Industry representative bodies e.g. EUROMINES, IMA, UEPG, EUROMETAUX etc

- introducing the Green Mining conceptual and practical approaches starting from exploration to continue throughout the entire value chain of minerals



- promoting and further developing International Cooperation beyond the ongoing with Africa and Greenland, to extend to USA, Canada, Japan, BRIC and ACP countries etc.


1. Roadmap

Short term work tasks and project targets of main concern to be undertaken and progressed include,

• following up the evaluation of the Minerals4EU - proposal

• progress of the EGS-African cooperation issues on mineral resources taking into consideration the feasibility study proposal submitted

• proper position of minerals into the context of Art 185 and the related Position Paper edition

• active involvement to the UNECE Expert Group on Resources Classification

• taking part to the EIP management structure set up, by participating to the 1st Sherpa and the 1st High Level Steering Group meetings, on 23 January and 12 February 2013, respectively in Brussels

• support to the Exploration Pilot Plant, also backed up by ETP-SMR, the mining industry, ProMine consortium and academia

• setting up an action plan taking into account current and future European and global minerals exploration and exploitation trends, the EIP progress, which seems from now on to control and govern any developments in minerals R&D, and any foresight and outlook studies dedicated to extractive industry.

• involvement to KIC initiative on raw materials expected to be launched in 2014

2. Way forward

The emphasis of EuroGeoSurveys Mineral Resources Expert group (EGS MREG) will go beyond its present state and institutional role to become an active partner (using the expertise and involvement of all EGS member surveys) getting involved to projects addressing minerals related topics and focusing on,

• further implementing the RMI, taking into account any relevant documentation and reporting, such as the ones on Criticality updating (the 1st revision is in progress)

• progress of the EIP building blocks by participating to the pilot plant planning and execution, such as the one on

“New exploration technologies for defining the European deep mineral resources”

• enhancement of minerals role and related industrial technologies for competitive growth as part of the Europe 2020 Strategy

• incorporation of mineral resources topics to be addressed as thematic priorities called under the Horizon 2020 and other EU R&D programs and funding schemes

• turning from, being only data and knowledge provider, to even RTD performer

• development of an EU vision of the world on minerals (EU minerals intelligence) and accessibility to the existing data/ knowledge base on European mineral resources

• creating sufficient critical mass towards co-operation between Member States in different domains related to raw materials

• extending co-operation between national research organisations to avoid fragmentation of the European Research Area in the field of mineral resources

>> enhancing an EU geopolitical role in ensuring access for European companies to raw materials in the world while respecting as far as possible the European environmental standards



>> improving the efficiency in material use and in prevention, re-use and recycling of valuable raw materials from waste streams, with a specific focus on materials having a potentially negative impact on the environment.

8. MEMBER LIST - MINERAL RESOURCES EXPERT GROUP

Chair : Nikos Arvanitidis - IGME



ALBANIA AGS Arben Pambuku

AUSTRIA GBA Maria Heinrich

GBA Albert Schedl

GBA Sebastian Pfleider

BELGIUM GSB Christian Burlet

CROATIA HGI_CGS Miko Slobodan

CYPRUS GSD Christodoulos Hadjigeorgiou

CZECH REPUBLIC CGS Ivo Sitensly

CGS Petr Rambousek

DENMARK GEUS Karen Hanghøj

GEUS Jørgen Tulstrup

GEUS Diogo Rosa

ESTONIA EGK Mare Kukk

FINLAND GTK Asko Käpyaho

GTK Raimo LAHTINEN

GTK Saku VUORI

FRANCE BRGM Daniel Cassard

BRGM Patrice Christmann

GERMANY BGR Peter Buchholz

BGR Henrike Sievers

BGR Thomas Oberthür

GREECE IGME Kostas Papavasileiou

IGME Kostas Laskaridis

HUNGARY MAFI Annamaria Nador

IRELAND GSI Gerry Stanley

ITALY ISPRA Mauro Lucarini

LITHUANIA LGT Juozas Mockevicius

MALTA Charles Galea

Michael Schembri


NORWAY NGU Tom Heldal

NGU Jan Høst

NGU Schiellerup Henrik

NGU Rognvald Boyd

POLAND PGI Stanislaw Wolkowicz

PGI Stanislaw MIKULSKI

PGI Janina wiszniewska

PORTUGAL LNEG Daniel Oliveira

LNEG Helena Santana

ROMANIA GIR Marian Munteanu

RUSSIAN FEDERATION VSEGEI Boris Mikhailov

SLOVAK REPUBLIC SGUDS Peter Balaz

SGUDS Zoltan Nemeth

SLOVENIA GeoZS Duška Rokavec

SPAIN IGME Manuel Regueiro

IGME Juan Locutora

IGME Santiago Martin

SWEDEN SGU Lisbeth Hildebrand

SWITZERLAND SWISSTOPO Rainer Kündig

THE NETHERLANDS TNO Paul Bogaard

TNO Michiel van der Meulen

UK BGS Evi Petavratzi

BGS Gus Gunn

BGS Andrew Bloodworth

UKRAINE SGSU Boris Maliuk

UkrSGRI Boris Maliuk


TASK FORCE SUPERFICIAL DEPOSITS


This report refers to the activities between the February meetings of the EGS national delegates. It included the following activities:

• Extension of size and representativity of the task force (see also Ch. 8 of this report)

• Report to the Strategy task force regarding links to environmental policies at EU-level, and research needs (EGS strategy towards a research infrastructure)

• Background paper regarding possible cooperation with JRC (in support of the draft MoU between EGS and JRC)

• Kick-off meeting (Jan. 2013)

The kick-off meeting was held in Hannover, 29./30. Jan. 2013. 18 members of the task force participated, representing 16 countries. The meeting had mainly two blocks: (1) country statements with regard to data sets and projects in the context of superficial deposits, and (2) presentations about international activities related to the task force (new lithology of Europe 1:1.5 Mio [IHME]; Quaternary 1:2.5 Mio [IQUAME] ; revised FAO parent material

terminology). 3 countries had sent presentations while not being able to participate the kick-off meeting in person.

It became clear during the discussions of the country statements, that the definition of superficial deposits and parent material is not clear, and that it’s representation in maps differs quite strongly. It also appeared that superficial deposits – despite the unsolved terminology – play a very crucial role in applications (surface-close raw materials, geothermy, soils, landslides, geothechnics, etc.). Only on the basis of both, clear definitions and an understanding of the requirements by end-users, new methodologies and products can be defined. Certainly, the group must find a common denominator for representing national information with regard to the European dimension. Bearing in mind these results, the ToR will require major revision. At the same moment, the material collected by the TF members shall be used to develop a review article on superficial deposits in existing data bases, needs for improvement and applications. This approach is expected to support the 2013 strategic process within EGS towards a research infrastructure.

With regard to the cooperation with the above-mentioned ongoing international mapping projects, the task force will support these activities: this will likely include a

revision of the IHME lithology, and participation in the editorial group of IQUAME.

All presentations will be made available through the internal area of the EGS web site.


Both the mission and vision statements may be refined during the review of the ToR in 2013.

Mission (acc. to ToR 2011)

• to explore, compile and integrate existing experiences and datasets on the distribution, properties and weathering behaviour of exposed rocks and superficial deposits.

• to semantically and spatially harmonise existing parent material information as far as possible, and integrate it towards a European-wide new geological data layer: a soil parent material map for Europe.

• to design and develop a database which comprises the major mechanical and hydraulical characteristics of the weathered geological materials, for example in the field of landscape evolution modelling.



Vision (acc. to ToR 2011)

• to act as a connecting link between soil and geology.

• to make geology knowledge and data available to the soil domain

• to attempt to filling an important data gap for the below-ground modelling of the unsaturated zone

3. SCOPE AND FOCUS

With regard to the political dimension in Europe, certainly the soil thematic strategy is one of the most relevant policies for the task force. Soil protection, and any other related policy in need for soil data (e.g. agriculture, efficient resource use) require spatially- explicit information about parent material and its properties in high resolutions. Especially in regions with a lack of soil data (ca. 1:50,000 to 1:250,000), data from geological maps, especially surface-close information, becomes important. In addition, the available soil data are not comparable. It must be investigated whether geology could provide harmonized ancillary data sets crucial for developing a Europe-wide consisten coverage.

Besides soil mapping, various other applications require harmonized surface-close belowground spatial data sets. Therefore, any new data set for Europe needs to satisfy several end user requirements at the same time.

The task force will thus analyze very carefully the status quo of available data for both representation (digital) and content, but also develop an overview about end users needs and applications. It is expected, that a harmonized, spatial data set about parent material properties is needed for Europe. Petrografic and engineering information must be available e.g. for regional planning, the planning of heavy machinery use, pipelines, geothermy potentials).


Currently, the task force is in a process of defining itself. This will happen in the light of data gaps at the European level, but will also consider needs by different European policies. It is expected that the link to relevant policies will develop over time. Currently, the task force is needed to support developing a European research agenda, and to support concept towards developing a geology information platform for Europe (EGDI-Scope, Strategy Task Force).

5. ACTIVITY REPORT

Activities 2012

Extension of membership: 32 members including substitutes 21 countries

Kick-off meeting; country statements; discussion of Terms of Reference (ToR)

Planning and activities 2013


(1) New edition of Terms of ReferenceMain issues: a) Definitions/terminology reg. superficial deposits

(regolith, Quarternary, substrate type, Holocene sediments, profile type, parent material, etc.)

b) ApplicationsBoth a) and b) need to be clearly stated, before methodologies/new products can be defined, and before a research agenda can be developed

(1) first half 2013 sub-teams formed

(2) Article: review about status quo of data sets - build on revised ToR- continue to collect meta

information about maps/content

(3) Next meeting in fall/2013 late summer/fall



The following table provides an overview of the country statements presented during the kick-off meeting.


Belgium (Bogemans) Traditional lithological mapping 1:50k in the northern, 1:25k in the southern part of Belgium; quaternary “profile types” mapping (both lateral and vertical distribution of the whole Quaternary sequence) only in Flanders

Poland (Jozwik) 1) Detailed geological map (DGMP) 1:50k (1069 sheets, 80-90 % coverage digital); contains geological units incl. linear structures of the surface geology, stratigraphic codes, genesis, lithology and sediment symbols

2) Lithogenetic map (LMP) 1:50k (ca. 70 % coverage): generalized DGMP + DEM3) National geological map 1:200k (incl. with surface geological units)

France (Quesnel) All of F with digital 1:50k geology; regolith definition for mapping 1:50k; analysis for regolith presence in geological maps; derivation of Regolith Map of F; good examples for user needs

Norway (Lysa) Quaternary 1:50 k (23 % of the country covered); 1:250 k (ca. 80 % of the country covered); 1: 1 mill; legend: genetic interpretation, geomorphology and Quaternary deposits (extending ca. 0.5 m below surface); cartogr. symbols: sediment thickness, grain size, glacial and non-glacial morphology; emphasizes QS: scale differences from different physio-geographic settings

Sweden (Persson) Mapping of Quaternary deposits, classified according to: grain-size composition, genesis, (age) (no till stratigraphy); it extends to ca 0.5 m below ground surface (below “soil”), and includes morphological elements; different scales (1:2oo k in the North, 1:50 k in the South); ca. 80 % of the country covered; 1:1Mio for all of SE

Denmark (Jakobsen) Lithological map 1:200k full coverage (digital); 1:25 k for most of DK (digital); geomorphology important (50% of DK digital in 1:200k); many applications

Italy (Blumetti) Lithological map 1:100k available for 100 % of IT; thickness and texture of Quaternary deposits and weathering covers not represented; 652 maps sheets 1:50k, of that ca. 40% covered (incl. SF properties); in some areas (Alps): thickness and characteristics of eluvial and loess covers; applications: soil loss by water erosion

Finland (Palmu) 1:200k: grain-size based classification (available) vs. deposits polygons (in progress); 1:20k – 1:50k (ca. 30 % of FI); map used to produce new national soil map 1:250k



Netherlands (Schokker)

Stopped conventional geology mapping; now 3-D voxel modeling as interpolation of litho-classes within stratigraphical units (shallow subsurface 30 m); > 1/3 of NL covered

UK (Lawley) Merged geology data with SF mapping and soil data bases; country wide 1:50k, much experience with applications

Slovakia (Wunder/Maglay)

1) Quaternary deposits 1:1Mio2) Quaternary genetical (deposits) types 1:500k3) Neotectonic map 1:500k4) Slope failure maps5) pedochemical mapping6) SF in regional geological maps ca. 15 % of SK7) Quaternary geological map 1:200k for all of SK

Lithuania (Satkunas) Full coverage of Surface geology– Quaternary; high density of boreholes through Quaternary

Ireland (Sheehy) Full Quaternary coverage 1:50k by end of 2013

Spain (Salazar) 1) Main scale is 1:50k (1,108 sheets; contains always bedrock + SD/Quaternary; most of Spain covered with digital maps; combined with landforms as geomorphological maps for ca. 20 % of ES – of that ca. 10 % digital)

2) 1:200k available all of ES3) Quaternary 1:1Mio

Germany (Baritz) Full coverage 1:200k geology; extensive coverage of 1:25k – 1:50k (but not always digital); quaternary covered in lowlands; exlculded in mountainous areas except fluvial deposits; maps from the federal states not harmonizedthroughout Germany

Austria (Pavlik) Map of substrate types 1:200k for Alpine areas (2/3 of AT); lithological overview tables for the interpretation of geological maps; 1.25 k for Tirol (forest types x substrate type)

CZ (Janderkova) Geological maps 1:50k (GeoCR50) 100% coverage; PM inportant to look at soil maps as well; use case: PM in landslide suceptability mapping

CY (Zissimos) Geochemical atlas of Cyprus; 12000 soil samples (1 x 1 km grid with a top soil (0 – 25cm) and sub soil (50 – 75cm) sample); with multi element geochemical analyses; geology 1:250k (100 % coverage digital); GIS-based landslide inventory (south-west-CY)

Portugal (Dias) National geological mapping program: 1:50k (74% of the country covered, 130 maps published out of 175); 1:200k (50% of the country covered, 4 maps published out of 8): litho-stratigraphic units; various high-resolution maps with different coverage/maps not harmonized nationally


The following figure presents a graphical overview about existing mid to high-resolution data sets, which are likely to form the basis for a new Europe-wide approach.


During 2013, the focus of the task force will be refined. The agenda will be refined towards supporting the EGS strategy, with the aim for establishing a research agenda for new data products with European scope.

8. MEMBER LIST - SUPERFICIAL DEPOSITS TASK FORCE

Chair: Rainer Baritz - BGR, Germany



CYPRUS Andreas Zissimos

CZ. REPUBLIC CGS Jana Janderkova

DENMARK GEUS Peter Roll Jakobsen


BGR Andreas Günther

ITALY ISPRA Luca Guerrieri

ISPRA Anna Maria Blumetti

POLAND PGI Tomasz Gliwicz

PGI Dariusz Galazka

PGI Katarzyna Jóźwik

SLOVENIA GeoZS Miloš Bavec

SPAIN IGME Angel Salazar Rincón

IGME Angel Martín Serrano

SWEDEN SGU Lars Rodhe

SGU Kärstin Malmberg Persson

UK BGS Russell Lawley

FINLAND GTK Jukka-Pekka Palmu

BELGIUM GSB Frieda Bogemans

NORWAY NGU Astrid Lysa

AUSTRIA GBA Wolfgang Pavlik

FRANCE BRGM Caroline Prognon

BRGM Florence Quesnel

NETHERLANDS TNO Jeroen Schokker

PORTUGAL LNEG Ruben Dias

ROMANIA GIR Mircea Ticleanu

GIR Ion Adriana

LITHUANIA LGT Jonas Satkuna

LGT Virgilija Gregorauskiene

SLOVAKIA SGUDS Juraj Maglay

SGUDS Dusan Wunder

IRELAND GSI Michael Sheehy


EXPERT GROUP SPATIAL INFORMATION


From the date of its creation, the prime mission of the Spatial Information Expert Group has been to coordinate the contribution of EuroGeoSurveys to the INSPIRE implementation. While the implementation phase is now well on track, the SIEG will focus on a coordinated and efficient implementation of INSPIRE by the EGS members that will facilitate the design and development of the EGDI (European Geological Data Infrastructure), a strategic objective of EGS.

In 2012, INSPIRE has reached a new phase of its implementation process with the submission to the Commission by the Thematic Working Groups (where SIEG members have still be very active) of the draft of the data specifications for the Annexe II and III themes (which include geology, mineral resources, natural risk zones, soils,…). The SIEG will continue to coordinate the contribution of EGS to INSPIRE (in particular to the maintenance process that will start soon), but also by organising the sharing of expertise for the implementation of the final specifications by the national and regional geological surveys.

The SIEG has been identified as a key contributor for the EGDI-Scope project that has been launched in 2012, it is involved in the project not only to review the documents produced by the project team, but also to play a pro-active role in contributing as far as possible in the consultation phases.

As part of its mandate, the SIEG is also a place to share information and monitor the numerous EU funded projects related to IT and spatial information. It has initiated a discussion paper about the question of maintenance / sustainability issue of project portals after the end of the projects. This discussion will of course contribute to the EGDI-Scope project.


1. Mission

The Expert Group has a direct role to contribute to the definition of the European policies which aim at developing the European information infrastructure (INSPIRE, SEIS, GMES). It is also a place to share expertise between EGS members.

Spatial information expertise is a key expertise in the design and development of the European Geological Knowledge infrastructure which is at the core of EGS strategy, and this expertise, through the SIEG, has to be

mobilized in a transverse way, in support to the other EGS expert groups to make sure that the infrastructure that will be developed is in line with EGS strategy.

SIEG provides expertise to develop a shared vision of what will be the EGDI, how it could be managed, and how the different contributions will be assembled in a consistent way (both on content and technical dimensions). It has also the responsibility to define how the EGS infrastructure can fit/collaborate with other infrastructures (national spatial data infrastructures, GEOSS, SEIS, EPOS…).

As the other Expert Groups, the Spatial Information EG has also the mission to define and propose projects that could be funded by the EC, and could contribute to the global objectives of EGS.

2. Vision

INSPIRE sets up a framework of data, technology, policies, standards, and human resources, necessary to facilitate the sharing and using of spatial information. However, the success of the INSPIRE implementation will greatly depend upon the mobilization of the communities (as EGS) to make the best use of this framework to develop their own infrastructure to serve the users’ needs, possibly in partnership with other communities.



The current funding model (EU projects with duration of 24-48 months) makes it difficult in the current situation, without clear and agreed specifications, to develop a consistent and sustainable infrastructure. Therefore, clear rules have to be defined and agreed to guarantee the best “reusability” of the developments. This is one of the main objectives of EGDI.

Considering that this infrastructure cannot be isolated, it is crucial to define the outline/ boundaries of the EGS infrastructure with the regional and national SDIs (principle of subsidiarity), with other European scale infrastructures (complementarity with EuroGeoGraphics, EPOS…), with the objective to minimize duplication and costs.

3. SCOPE AND FOCUS

A major scope of the Spatial Information Expert Group is to coordinate the contribution of EuroGeoSurveys to the INSPIRE implementation (development of implementing rules, sharing of expertise and tools for implementing the directive, contribution to the maintenance).

Spatial Information is really transverse in the business of the Geological Surveys; it is an important dimension of almost any information managed by the surveys. Therefore, the SIEG has strong connections

will all the other EGS Expert Groups that cover thematic areas, and which contribute to the EGS information strategy in their respective domain.

The SIEG focuses on the global consistency of the way (spatial) information has to be specified, managed and delivered to provide harmonized services at the European scale.


The INSPIRE agenda is still controlling much of the environment of the SIEG projects :

• Preparatory phase (2004-2006)

• Transposition phase (2007-2009)

• Implementation phase (2009-2013)

• and then maintenance of the infrastructure organised by the EC, and supported by the Member States and the communities.

Of course, regarding the implementation of EGDI, it will greatly depend upon the EGS global strategy and funding in the context of H2020.

5. ACTIVITY REPORT

The SIEG had three physical meetings during the last period:

• EGDI-Scope kick off : Brussels 21/06/2012

• EGDI-Scope progress meeting : Brussels 13-14/11/2012

• SIEG meeting : Brussels 22-23/01/2013

Members of the SIEG were also invited to different meetings:

• Inspire TWG meeting – Paris – 27-28/03/2011

• EGS - JRC meeting – Brussels – 25/05/2012

• EGS Strategy workshop – Bologna – 12/06/2012

• Earth Science Europe meeting – Paris 17-18/10/2012

• GEO Plenary - Foz de Iguazu – 21-23/11/2012

• Kick-off OneGE+ - Prague – 17-18/12/2012




1. From OneGeology-Europe to EGDI

The evolution from OneGeology-Europe to a full EGDI will be developed in different steps.

For the short and medium term, the OneGeology-Europe portal is confirmed as the main window to EGS pan-European datasets. The portal and its catalogue are maintained by BRGM and CGS with a financial contribution of EGS. Moreover, the portal integrates datasets from different projects (currently EMODNET, PROMINE, PANGEO). The EGS Directors decided in September 2012 to launch the OneGeology-Europe+ initiative, under the leadership of CGS. The objective of this initiative is to extend the geographical coverage of the portal to all the members of EGS, by applying the same methodology as the one developed through the OneGeology-Europe project. The project will be fully funded by EGS members (no budget from the Commission).

On a longer perspective, the design and development of a complete infrastructure has been identified as a priority of the EGS strategy.

The infrastructure has been named EGDI (European Geological Data Infrastructure). EGS has been successful in getting funding from the Commission, through an FP7-Infrastructure call, for an “EGDI-Scope” project (led by TNO).

The project was kicked off in June 2012 for 24 months. This scoping project aims at defining scenarios for the EGS Directors for implementing an infrastructure. It will explore the thematic priorities, its technical specifications as well as the governance and legal issues. It will also define the possible relationship between EGDI and other scientific / research / thematic infrastructures, such as EPOS or GEOSS. Of course, the connection between EGDI and existing projects (such as Emodnet, Terrafirma, InGeoClouds, EuroGeoSource, Promine,…) will be developed with the objective to provide a “permanent” infrastructure to “temporary” projects.

2. INSPIRE update

In July 2012, the INSPIRE thematic working groups delivered to the Commission draft documents for the data specifications of annex II and III data themes. EGS experts have been deeply involved in the development of those specifications (in particular for geology,mineral resources and natural risk zones themes). These documents have been

reviewed by the Commission services, and are currently being translated in the national languages. They are very close to the version submitted by the thematic working groups. The formal adoption of the data specifications should happen in 2013.

The technical implementation of the specifications should not be a major issue for the surveys, as they have been involved in their preparation, and have demonstrated through OneGeology- Europe a preliminary implementation which is very close to the final requirements. However, as the INSPIRE data specifications mainly describe the “core data model”, an efficient and useful implementation will require the use of “extensions” to the core data model. Those extensions will not be mandatory, but will be of the responsibility of the communities to develop and adopt.

EGS, through the SIEG will therefore have a major role to play to ensure a coordinated definition and adoption of extensions that will make possible to deliver added value data products. The contribution of EGS members to the development of standards will also take place in international groups such as the new joint group between OGC and IUGS/CGI for GeoSciML, or potential working groups on 3D standards.



3. Related projects

SIEG has shared information about the development of some major projects developed by EGS partners, as potential contributors of the future EGDI: OneGeology-Europe Promine, PANGEO, EuroGeoSource, Emodnet, GeoSeas, Thermomap, GeoRG, Eurare, GEOMOL, EarthServer, InGeoClouds, eENVplus , OGC/CGI joint WG, Mine4EU proposal,…


The implementation of INSPIRE data specifications will still mobilize the activity of our experts in the coming years.

Regarding EGDI, the contribution of SIEG will be crucial in the last year of EGDI-Scope project.

With the initiation of the development of the EGDI, the role of SIEG could evolve in different ways that will probably need to be discussed within the SIEG and within EGS:

• A coordination body between EGDI and pan-European projects ?

• A place to develop common specifications / standards for “core information services”?

• From “Spatial Information” to “Information Services”?

• How to ensure a more productive connection with other EGs?



8. MEMBERS LIST - SPATIAL INFORMATION

Chair: François Robida - BRGM, France


ALBANIA AGS Albert Avxhi

AUSTRIA GBA Werner Stöckl

GBA Martin Schiegl

BELGIUM GSB Kris Piessens

GSB Marleen de Ceukelaire

GSB Eric Goemaere

BULGARIA MOEW Valeri Trendafilov

MOEW Ivailo Iliev

CROATIA HGI-CGS Josip Halamic

CYPRUS GSD Ioannis Panayides

CZECH REPUBLIK CGS Robert Tomas

DENMARK GEUS Jørgen Tulstrup

ESTONIA EGK

FINLAND GTK Pekka Nurmi

GTK Jarmo Kohonen

GTK Hannu Idman

FRANCE BRGM Jean-Jacques Serrano

BRGM Catherine Truffert


HUNGARY MAFI Gábor Turczi

IRELAND GSI Mary Carter

ITALY ISPRA Luca Demicheli

ISPRA Carlo Cipolloni

ISPRA Valentina Campo


LATVIA LEGMA Uldis Nulle

LEGMA Baiba Brikamane

LITHUANIA LGT Juozas Mockevicius

LGT Vytautas Noreika

NORWAY NGU Jan Høst

POLAND PGI Maciej Rossa

PGI Waldemar Gogolek

PGI Magdalena Jakobczak

PORTUGAL INETI Judite Fernandes

INETI Teresa Cunha

INETI Lídia Quental

INETI Augusto Filipe

INETI Alain Francés

SLOVAKIA GSSR Peter Juračič

GeoZS Jasna Šinigoj

SPAIN IGME Alejandro Bel-Lan

IGME Alfredo Iglesias

SPAIN IGME José Antonio de la Orden Gómez

SWEDEN SGU Lars Persson

THE NETHERLANDS TNO Martin Peersmann

UKRAINE SGSU Yuriy Veklych

UNITED KINGDOM BGS Ian Jackson



EuroGeoSurveys have unveiled their newest publication, a cookbook with a sprinkling of European geology !

“Geology at the table - Cooking without borders”, geologically flavoured cook-book, the first of its kind in the world, is an original new concept for communicating the variety of Europe's geology while linking it to something we all love: good food !

From what we eat (and drink) to the way our food is prepared, geology always plays a part. Every time we sit down at the dining table to enjoy a meal, our favourite dishes contain references to our past, to the present, and to the future.

The publication, considered an educational and entertaining book, is a collection of 28 recipes from 26 different European countries, a collaboration of an international pool of Europe’s top geologists.

After a short introduction of the geological history of Europe, each survey describes its own recipe and the relation with the geology in its country.

Leafing through the pages you discover why the sprouts became famous in Brussels, or why you can eat a delicious buffalo mozzarella cheese only in Italy and in particular in a specific area of the peninsula, or what makes Oosterschelde lobster the best-tasting in the world.

The main message is really that the geology beneath our feet plays a key role in the way our food grows, the nutrients it contains, or the materials we use to cook. Each dish has at least one link with the geology of the area: either the type of bedrock, where the ingredients are grown, the morphology where the animals are reared, the geological evolution of the coast and the estuaries where the fish are caught, the places where some dishes are cooked (the Portuguese dish is cooked underground using naturally occurring geothermal heat as a pressure cooker !) or some minerals basic to our cooking such as salt.

The book combines geology and gastronomy, two aspects that in principle are completely different. The publication illustrates how everyday life for each of us has its fair share of geology and how our national dishes are linked to geology, bringing the geology close to everybody”.

The book has been also enriched by a nutritional study included within the recipes that shows how the geology has a direct link to our health.

Distribution: The book is available throughout Europe via each country’s National Geological Survey. Contact details can be found on the following website: www.eurogeosurveys.org/geology-at-the-table-an-original-geogourmet-cookbook-from-egs.html

ISBN-nummer : 9789090273754

The taste of Geology Geology at the tableC o o k i n g w i t h o u t b o r d e r s

EuroGeoSurveys - The Geological Surveys of Europe36-38, Rue Joseph II - 1000 Brussels (Belgium)

Tel.: +32.2.888.75.53Fax: +32.2.503.50.25

Email: [email protected]

www.eurogeosurveys.org

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EGS Cookbook Cover_ok.indd 2-3 16/11/12 17:01


Raw materials boom upgrading EU minerals value chain

CHANGING TIMES FOR MINERALS One of the earlier James Bond films had the name "Diamonds Are Forever", and this might probably be true. There is on the other hand no doubt that minerals added value applications and industrial end-using do last forever. After a "low profile" for a long period during 80s and 90s, minerals have now re-emerged as a priority Raw Materials (RM) resource needed to secure the EU's industrial supply needs, in order to achieve sustainable and competitive growth. As a matter of fact the growth of industrial economies, for instance with the BRIC countries, has led to a tremendous upward spiral of minerals consumption, in this case accompanied by a shift of emphasis to base metals and industrial minerals for steel manufacturing and building. In a sense, it is widely recognized that, along with increasing global population, China is changing RM production and demand.

This demand is nowadays becoming so great that even low-grade and deep-seated mineral concentrations can reasonably be considered ore deposits. This means of course that the European mineral industry should probably have to be reshaped accordingly, in terms of exploration and

exploitation practices, whereas at the same time the EU has to address these challenges so that the appropriate technologies, processes and products are in place, along with adequate policies to implement and stimulate the required changes. Europe is not self-sufficient in the extraction of essential raw materials (e.g. the EU stands for more than 20% of the global consumption but produces only 3% of the world metals) for efficient up- and downstream industrial production, sound functioning of the economy and progressing employment (about 30 million EU jobs depend on the availability of raw materials), skills, competences and expertise opportunities. This requires resource efficient, reliable and undistorted access to mineral raw materials from indigenous primary and secondary sources in the EU.

RAW MATERIALS INITIATIVES AT EU LEVEL

In November 2008 the EU launched the Raw Materials Initiative (RMI) and the Roadmap for a Resource-Efficient Europe. Following the Raw Materials Initiative, on 2 February 2011 the European Commission adopted a strategy document which sets out targeted measures to secure and improve access to RM for the EU. To develop this new strategy the Commission proposed concrete targets to be achieved by 2020 at the latest, such as up to ten innovative pilot actions

(e.g. demonstration plants) for exploration, extraction and processing, collection and recycling, substitutes for at least three key applications of critical and scarce raw materials, enhanced efficiency in material use and in prevention, re-use and recycling of valuable raw materials from waste streams, with a specific focus on materials having a potentially negative impact on the environment, a Network of Research, Education and Training Centres on Sustainable Mining and Materials Management, European standardized statistical instruments for the survey of resources and reserves and a 3D geological map, a dynamic modelling system linking trends in supply and demand and a full lifecycle analysis, a pro-active strategy of the EU in multi-lateral organisations and in bilateral relations, such as with the US, Japan and Australia in the different areas covered by the Partnership.

A programme of European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs) was established by the Commission in 2010 as part of the Innovation Union flagship initiative. The EIP on Raw Materials (EIP-RM) will promote innovation along the entire value chain of raw materials (i.e. raw materials knowledge base, exploration, licensing, extraction, processing, refining, recycling, substitution) involving stakeholders for relevant upstream and downstream sectors.

Minerals are forever


The overall objective of the EIP-RM is to contribute to the 2020 objectives of the EU Industrial Policy to increase the share of industry in GDP to 20%, the Innovation Union flagship initiative, and the Resource Efficiency Policy by ensuring the sustainable supply of raw materials to European economy and society.

This will be achieved by reducing Europe's import dependency on the raw materials that are critical to Europe's industries, providing Europe with enough flexibility and alternatives in the supply of important raw materials, making Europe a leader in the capabilities related to exploration, extraction, processing, recycling and substitution and taking into account the importance of mitigating the negative environmental and social impacts of some materials during their life cycle. The EIP-RM Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP), about to be published, addresses all actions necessary to achieve the objectives and targets, including research and development along the value chain, raw materials intelligence, revisions of selected legislations, licensing steps, standardisation, and policy dialogues.

UNLOCKING MINERAL RESOURCES POTENTIAL OF EUROPE

It has generally been stated that the reason for the difference between consumption and production is to a large extent due to the lack of many commodities within Europe’s crust, i.e. the geological potential is lacking. However, this is mainly based on models relying on the current knowledge base of previously and currently mined commodities in Europe, and not based on a sound geological estimation of undiscovered resources, geological mineral deposits and predictive modelling of geology in three dimensions down to mineable depth in the European continental or oceanic crust. As a matter of fact, based on recent results from mining related projects, among others the FP7 ProMine project, it can be demonstrated that Europe possesses several “world class” mineral deposits.

The evidence of potential metallogenic belts proves that major new ore deposits may still be found. Europe has a very good potential for extraction of “critical metals” and is a leading technology provider for underground mining. In Europe, especially in the central and southern parts, competition for land is a major concern for the extractive industry. At the same time there are fewer and fewer

new “world class” discoveries made at the surface, and exploration will in the future be focussed to a larger extent on deep, hidden resources. This is now a global trend and since the potential for finding new economic metal and mineral deposits is very high in Europe, the fact that most of these will be “blind” and mined in underground mines, will also decrease the burden for land utilisation by the extractive industry. The deepest mine in the world is now 4000 metres, whilst the deepest mine in Europe is 1500 metres below surface. It has been estimated that the in situ value of unexploited minerals at a depth of 500-1000 meters is about €100 billion.

This will also make it possible to develop an EU vision of the world on minerals (EU minerals intelligence) to be in the position to provide the knowledge on the ability to exploit them with respect to sustainability. Europe should become the world’s key asset in promoting sustainable use of mineral resources. Both primary and secondary resources, in terms of re-use of by-products and mine wastes/tailings should be explored, evaluated and exploited. The SIP of the EIP-RM highlights the need for establishing and permanently updating a common and uniform EU Knowledge Base on RM, focusing mainly on Minerals Intelligence Information. National Geological Survey Organisations (NGSO) are the



institutions responsible for the collection, management and delivery of data and information relating to mineral resources on land and the marine environment.

NGSO have gathered those unique and authoritative databases over many decades, informing many national and EU policies and providing highly knowledgeable and applied research intensive technical advice to various stakeholder groups. Through EuroGeoSurveys and EU funded projects, NGSO have already taken a number of steps towards the objectives of the EIP-RM in terms of creating a permanent Minerals Intelligence Network structure (providing and delivering web portal, minerals yearbook and statistics, foresight studies) to be part of a sustainable European Geological Service. Examples of past and ongoing NGSO driven EU projects addressing and making reference and data sources for developing this pan-European minerals information infrastructure are ProMine, EuroGeoSource, EO-MINERS, ERA-MIN, SNAP-SEE, and those recently granted and launched like Minerals4EU, Minventory and EURARE.

The recently completed ProMine project established a GIS mineral database of about 13,000 deposits, including Critical Raw Materials, an anthropogenic concentrations/mine wastes database, making potential secondary resources, and the mining district

database, to serve as dynamic sources of information and knowledge. Minerals4EU aims to become the leading European mineral information network structure that will provide tools and expertise to enhance resource efficiency, minerals supply security and support sustainable minerals development for Europe.

In the EURARE (Development of a sustainable exploitation scheme for Europe’s Rare Earth ore deposits) project, an integrated knowledge management system will be created, linking and expanding various European geological databases, detailing both primary rare earth element (REE) deposits and secondary REE sources across Europe, and providing for each, techno-economical as well as policy-related information on available or proposed beneficiation and extraction technologies and finally linking the established resources to the European industrial demand.

This work will result in the development of the Integrated Knowledge management system for REE exploitation in Europe. This will make the first REE database to become a potential source of a new pan-European minerals information and knowledge, also having a global value. The Minventory project has been commissioned by the European Commission Enterprise and Industry Directorate-General to carry out an analysis of available geological data to establish

the basis for a pan-European database on resources and reserves of non-energy RM. The intention is all this, along with other thematic fields of geoscientific information to make part of the European Geological Data Infrastructure (EGDI) currently being designed and the ERA-NET proposal on the development of an EU geological knowledge base under preparation.

CHALLENGING INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND NEW PRODUCTS

For many years, the basic geological exploration and mapping in the EU has been carried out by national geological surveys that have to operate within the constraints of national frameworks and regulations. Today, the full benefits of an appropriate coordination or even integration of some of the activities of the EU’s 27 national geological surveys have not been achieved. Yet, innovative thinking based on increased networking and cooperation offers a huge potential to move forward. Setting European standards will facilitate the creation of a uniform EU geological knowledge base, and can also lead to a more cost-effective development and use of required modern technologies, such as satellite-based resource information and advanced 4D computer modelling systems.



Understanding geology in two dimensions is no longer enough to meet the great challenges presented by society’s insatiable demand for raw materials. In order to explore, quantify and extract raw materials from the earth’s crust it is now essential to understand mineral deposits and their formation in three or even four (including time) dimensions. Through 3D/4D modelling applications and interpretations, ore exploration can extend to deeply seated locations, including deep-sea exploration. Search for deeply concealed metal deposits onshore (>3 km) will reduce environmental impact and provide clean, silent and unseen mines. Calibrating geological models with ‘time’ (4D) and ‘uncertainty’ (5D) is in its early stages but is already leading to the improved understanding of some physical processes.

Rapid improvements in information, management and modelling systems have made this possible. As these methods mature they will no doubt offer further opportunities for improving the ways mankind discovers models and exploits mineral resources. It is recommended to start this effort with a study looking into the feasibility, state-of-the-art of the technology, costs and benefits, timeframe and opportunities offered by a large-scale 3-D/4-D modelling effort geared towards mineral exploration. This effort should also look into pan-European information systems able to disseminate such large-scale models

to stakeholders, as well as their applicability and added value to other domains (groundwater, development of subsurface storage, geothermal energy exploitation, natural hazards impacts mitigation ...).

In the ProMine project, pilot actions have been taken for the first robust three- dimensional models of the continental crust down to mineable depth in some of Europe's major mineral belts. The results are “proof of concept” and now call for a coordinated pan-European action to put Europe in the forefront of “deep exploration”. By building on the concept defined in ProMine it is timely to, in full scale, add development of new deep penetrating geophysical technologies, to implement a better understanding for where the mineral deposits have formed in Europe and finally to build knowledge and develop skills among European industry, survey organisations and academia to foster an environment which will attract exploration investment based on a sound knowledge of European mineral resources down to mineable depth.

ProMine is therefore promoting smart deep exploration methods and applies predictive 3D & 4D modelling and visualization approaches to identify deep-seated mineral resources. ProMine is also promoting advanced mining methods of deep ore bodies that may lead to reducing the mining

footprint. ProMine is also producing new high-value (nano) metal and mineral products from mining waste and introduces new avant garde biotechnologies in processing ore and mining waste.

The Mine Camp project, carried out by GTK under the Green Mining conceptual approach, is in line with ProMine aiming at developing exploration concepts and technologies in brownfield and other previously explored crystalline rock areas, using the Outokumpu Cu-Co-Zn ore belt in Finland, as a case history to demonstrate the exploration concept development and novel applications of deep data acquisition and modelling. The model and estimation of mineral potential may extend to 2 km (optionally to 5 km) depth.

PUBLIC AWARENESS ISSUES IN THE FOCUS

There is a clear need and demand to enhance society’s opinion on minerals extraction by providing information and related activities about sustainable development of mineral resources, waste management and recycling, implications of knowledge economy, innovation in scientific and technological capabilities, organisation of information, education and communication, identifying the factors underpinning the image and the social acceptance of mining, establishing



outreach programmes to promote the acceptance of mining, developing education in mineral resources management and generally ensuring a strong mining industry for Europe. Industry commitment to sustainable development, in terms of minimising any possible adverse effects on the community or environment, is well recognised. The resources sector should be aware that, to maintain its social licence to operate, it must engage constructively with communities and stakeholders already at the very early stage of exploration activities.

An open and effective social engagement involves transparency and communication on mineral resources economic potential and development perspectives. The accessibility to an interoperable digital data base on European mineral resources will make an efficient tool in achieving high potential exploration areas and new mineral resources. In this respect GIS models should be used interactively for land-use planning purposes, to measure the likely environmental and societal impacts of mineral extraction throughout the entire life cycle from discovery to closure, as well as financial and legislative limitations, as a communication tool to avoid NIMBY issues and conflicts in land use. Also there should be efforts in promoting sustainable management related to the implementation of Environmental and Minerals Policies in Member States,

particularly in the field of land use and in mining waste, as well as public procurement, by stimulating and promoting the use of recycled materials, are some of the most characteristic socio-economic challenges, and devising new technologies to identify environmental short and long-term hazards and mitigate their impacts, reduce energy and water consumption in mining and improve the recovery of all the economic part of the resource.

There is a necessity to introduce a new mining industry profile by demonstrating this ability to operate in a progressive, considerate manner and to act in local partnership with local communities and local economies. On the other hand societies accept that minerals and metals are an integral part of modern everyday life and that the industry is making efforts to decrease its environmental impact and footprint through the use of innovative technologies whilst providing Europe with the necessary raw materials for modern life. Thus, genuine engagement with stakeholders and communities is essential for promoting and achieving sustainable development.

GLOBAL AND EUROPEAN STAKEHOLDERS JOINT EFFORTS

Minerals related topics returned to the political and research agenda at the European level with the Communication “Raw Materials Initiative (RMI)”, the related WG reports on Best Practices and Criticality with respect to the non-energy minerals industry, the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Raw Materials, the Europe 2020 strategic targets towards resource efficiency, as well as several European Research Programme (e.g. FP7) calls for minerals related projects. This trend is set to continue across Europe and there should be more synergy among minerals teams of EGS members and other relevant stakeholders to create a critical mass.

This development creates a historic opportunity to establish the Mineral Intelligence on an EU level that would be built on existing national/Member States capacities and other international ones. All kinds of projects, with respect to the existing funding schemes (e.g. collaborative, coordination and support actions etc.) or their possible successors in Horizon 2020, have been or will be used to address these research challenges e.g. ERA-MIN. However to make it really happen a critical mass of all stakeholders involved needs to be created. EGS and NGSO should further strengthen



the relations with other relevant bodies or institutions or events by improved communication, coordination and knowledge sharing e.g. with the ETP SMR, JRC, EUROSTAT etc., and improve the links and joint efforts with European mining industry representative associations e.g. EUROMINES, IMA-Europe, UEPG, EUROMETAUX etc. Connections to other programmes could consider the regional/global approaches, such as the Norwegian perspective on infrastructure, networking and collaborative research, the Fennoscandian ore deposit database (FODD) including Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and NW Russia, the Atlas of geological maps of Circumpolar Arctic 5M by the countries north of 60 degrees N, the Fennoscandian gold transect including Norway, Sweden, Finland and NW Russia, as well as the Finnish Green Mining concept and related project initiatives.

The incorporation of mineral resources topics to be addressed as thematic priorities called under the Horizon 2020 and other EU R&D programmes and funding schemes make an opportunity for new joint projects, as well as the challenging involvement of representative stakeholders across the minerals value chain in the Knowledge & Innovation Communities (KICs) initiative on raw materials (sustainable exploration, extraction, processing, recycling and substitution of raw materials) introduced by the European Institute of Innovation and

Technology (EIT), to be launched in 2014 under Horizon 2020.

The international cooperation component forms an important and overarching part considering the global aspects and perspective of the European RM. Enhancing an EU geopolitical role in ensuring access for European companies to raw materials in the world, while respecting as far as possible the European environmental standards, and setting up a pro-active strategy of the EU in multi-lateral organisations and in bilateral relations, such as with the US, Japan and Australia, in different areas of the minerals value chain. Issues related to Minerals Intelligence Networking and Interoperability, as well as critical raw materials assessments, are paid central attention. There have already been developing cooperation actions on RM with Africa, Greenland, USA, Canada, Japan, BRIC and ACP countries. EGS was commissioned by DG Enterprise and Industry to carry out a scoping study addressing EU-Africa cooperation on geoscientific issues. The Commission has identified a need to have European standardized statistical instruments for the survey of resources and reserves. To respond this, Mart van Bracht, EGS President, gave the following statement in the first EIP-RM High Level Steering Group meeting: “EuroGeoSurveys welcomes the EIP-RM and expects the EIP will contribute to

a more efficient and sustainable exploration, production, recycling and substitution of raw materials in Europe. In that respect geological information and knowledge is of vital importance. The joint Geological Services of Europe, united in EuroGeoSurveys, can provide this information and knowledge. That is why we are pleased that the EIP-RM recognizes the establishment of a Knowledge Base on raw materials. However, we propose to make explicit in the SIP, that geological information and knowledge is a basic layer of this Knowledge Base. This EU geological knowledge base should contain seamless, high quality data and information. To maintain and update this system a permanent structure is necessary. We think that this structure should be part of the SIP. EuroGeoSurveys is more than willing, with help of all their stakeholders, to establish such a permanent structure.”




Coordinated actions taken at policy, R&D and stakeholders level towards aim at securing an efficient and sustainable resource supply of raw materials within the EU.

Views of 3D modelling the fault-controlled structural and host-rock lithological setting of the Olympias deposit Pb-Zn-Au Ag orebody and its extension to deeper seated levels delivered during ProMine.

Main metallic commodities in the EU based on the ProMine mineral database and respective resource estimating classification system


In this section you will find some interesting statistical information on EuroGeoSurveys’ member organisations, such as staff numbers and budget data, showing past trends as well as specific details from 2012.

StaffingEuroGeoSurveys represented a combined total of over 11,88 staff in 2012. Chart 1 shows the fluctuations of staff numbers within our membership over the past 10 years.

See Chart 1

In the early stages of the 2000s, our membership consisted of a steady number of staff at around 9000 people. The large increase in numbers between 2005 and 2006 can be attributed to the incorporation of Ukraine’s State Geological Survey and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Department of Geosciences) as members. Since then there has been a steady decline, linked to the economic downturn in Europe, which unfortunately continues despite a small recovery of numbers in 2010.

For 2012, the total staff numbers of each member survey can be seen in Chart 2. The number of scientific staff within each survey is also shown.

See Chart 2

2012 Statistics

Chart 1 Total combined staff of all EGS Member organisations over the last 10 years. Data is not always available at the time of collection so the figures may be slightly higher than indicated.

Chart 2 Total staff for each EGS Member (in red), showing the proportion of permanent graduate researchers, scientists and engineers (in blue). Data for some countries was not available at the time of print.


Budgets / FundingIn 2012, the combined budgets of EGS Members totalled over €779 million. As seen in Chart 3, a peak of over €1 billion was reached in 2009 but there followed a significant decrease to below 2006 levels that can be attributed to recent public spending cuts throughout Europe. However, the overall trend seems now to be stabilising.

See Chart 3

The national geological surveys throughout Europe receive funding from a number of different sources, for example from government funding or EU research funding, whilst some also receive private funding through commercial activities. A breakdown of funding sources for each EGS Member in 2012 can be seen in Chart 4.

See Chart 4

2012 Statistics

Chart 3 Total combined budgets of all EGS Member organisations over the last 10 years. Data is not always available at the time of collection so the figures may be slightly higher than indicated.

Chart 4 Breakdown of funding sources for each EGS Member. Data for some countries was not available at the time of print.


Geological ActivitiesGeological expertise can be called upon to address a broad range of topics, from the more common geological issues like geohazards to less obvious areas such as how to deal with radioactive waste or even tourism. Chart 5 shows the variety of activities that EGS membe rs were involved in during 2012.

See Chart 5

Survey Governance The national geological surveys that make up EGS are all public bodies that are under the supervision of various government ministries. There is a continuing trend over the last few years for Geological Surveys increasingly coming under the supervision of the Ministry of Environment or the Ministry of Energy/Industry/Economy, and less so under the Ministry of Research, Science & Technology (or the equivalents under various different names). Chart 6 shows the distribution of supervising governmental bodies for EGS Members in 2012. See Chart 6

2012 Statistics

Chart 5 Number of EGS members involved in various geological activities in 2012. Data for some countries was not available at the time of print so the figures may be slightly higher than indicated.

Chart 6 Distribution of EGS Members under the supervision of various government ministries or their equivalent.


EuroGeoSurveys, the Geological Surveys of Europe36-38, Rue Joseph II - 1000 Brussels (Belgium)Tel. : +32.2.888.75.53 - Fax : [email protected]

www.eurogeosurveys.orgwww.geology.eu

Design & production : www.tango-grafix.be

EGS wishes to thank all the contributors to this Report. In particular Claudia Delfini, who was responsible for the overall coordination, Woody Hunter, Patrick Wall,

the Expert Groups Chairpersons and all the authors of the various different sections.

This EuroGeoSurveys Annual Report is a publication of :

’13 - - · 2014-04-03 · actions were undertaken by egs, including advanced talks with the...

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