The 1815 eruption at Mount Tambora is widely considered the most damaging in human history. It led to global extreme weather change. The harvests failed and 1816 is remembered in Europe as the year without a summer. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1815_eruption_of_Mount_Tambora) Europe had seen failing harvests since 1812. The extreme summer of 1816 forced people to eat their remaining cattle and horses, famine occurred. The German inventor Karl Drais started to develop a machine that could replace the horse for transportation. In 1817 he introduced  “Die Laufmaschine” (Veliocipede). On June 12th 1817 Drais made the first bicycle ride in history, form Mannheim to the Coaching Inn  “Schwetzinger Relaishaus”, a distance of 5 miles (8km) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Drais) The Geological Survey of Norway will try to initiate an event on June 12th 2017 to mark this 200 years jubilee: The volcano that gave us the bicycle! [Source: NGU – Geological Survey of...

The oldest traces of life on Earth An international team, with the researchers Tor Grenne at the Geological Survey of Norway and John F. Slack from USGS on board, has recently found relics on the world’s oldest known life. These are traces of microscopic organisms that lived at hot springs down on the seabed more than 3770 million years ago. Possibly they can be as old as 4280 million years. By comparison, the age of the earth is around 4600 million years old, and the oldest traces of life on land about 460 million years. The primitive organisms themselves are not preserved, but they can be traced through thin threads and pipe-like structures in fine-grained iron minerals in the rock. The tiny structures have characteristic shapes and branches that correspond to what we find around metal-rich hot springs on long-term dispersal backs on the seabed today. Here, very special bacteria live by oxidizing iron and turning it into rust, a kind of iron oxide that eventually transforms into hematite. The researchers have emphasized systematically to investigate whether the findings may stem from non-biological processes, such as temperature and pressure changes in the rocks after they were deposited. The conclusion is that the structures must originate from microorganisms. Another indication is that along with particular structures are graphite, apatite and carbonate, which are typical of converted biological material, as well as instances of small round structures, so-called rosettes and granules, which are formed during the degradation of bacterial residues on the seabed. These are identical to discoveries in younger rocks through much of the geological history of the Earth, including rocks the researchers have studied in North America, Western Australia and Norway. At Løkken in Central Norway there are microscopic wire-shaped traces of bacteria that...

PRESS RELEASE Bern, 3 March 2017 – the Federal Council (the 7-member government of Switzerland) stated its position on the use of the subsurface by hydraulic fracturing (fracking). The application of the technology should in general be possible under certain conditions, in particular when associated with drillings to extract geothermal heat from great depths. However, the Federal Council does not support the development of natural gas reserves by hydraulic fracturing due to Switzerland’s climate policy. At the same time, the Federal Council sees no reason for a moratorium. Swisstopo, Switzerland’s geological survey, will follow the acquisition and valorisation of these geological underground data. The link to this press release is (French, Italian and German):...

PRESS RELEASE Bern, 3 March 2017 – the Federal Council (the 7-member government of Switzerland) has approved the report «Conceptual development and implementation of policies in support of the utilisation of (deep) geothermal resources in Switzerland». The report essentially shows that geothermal energy can make an important contribution to the security of energy supply in Switzerland. The first set of measures related to Switzerland’s energy strategy 2050, approved by Parliament on 30 September 2016, encompasses policies that will better enable the realisation of the potential by way of technology development, research and innovation. Swisstopo, Switzerland’s geological survey, will play a fundamental role in collected data  from the recipients of financial contributions for exploration, storage and make them public available. The next 21 May 2017 the Swiss are called to vote.   The link to this press release is (French, Italian and German):...

PRESS RELEASE “GEOLOGY IN HISTORY” The geologist: an unknown actor in many historical events  The latest EuroGeoSurveys publication “Geology in History” will be launched on 28th March 2017 at the OREGA Brussels Leopold, during the EuroGeoSurveys 42nd General Meeting by  Mr. Patrick McKeever, Secretary of the International Geoscience Porgramne at UNESCO, Mr. Gwen Cozigou, Director of the European Commission’s DG for Internal market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, and Ms. Charlina Vitcheva, Deputy Director General of the European Commission’s DG Joint Research Centre. The book describes a surprising and unusual combination that brings you to understand how the geological discoveries have marked history and determined the shape of our society, of our culture and of our habits.  The European Geological Surveys are pleased to present some examples highlighting the links between History and geology. Most of them are related to mineral resources which constitute the basement of the development of mankind. In some cases, geology has been at the heart of numerous battles, such as in Italy, where a volcanic island was fought over among three different empires: the British, French and Italians who have tried to obtain its ownership but a geological process quickly solved the political problem; Ferdinandea was eroded by the sea and disappeared. The geology has marked a new turn during the First World War. In the face of new and incredible firepower, many front lines are frozen and it is then necessary to use underground space, requiring geological knowledge. Water was required in considerable volume to supply troops. Armies also had to protect their own side and attack the enemy from the ground. Warring parties also needed mineral resources to sustain the war industry, mainly coal and iron, but also a large amount of metals: nickel, aluminium, copper.  To find...

The ambitious training programme of the PanAfGeo Project is now a reality. The first training of “WP2 – MINERAL RESOURCES ASSESSMENT” will be held from 5 June 2017 to 16 June 2017 in Windhoek, Namibia. PanAfGeo WP2 will organise seven training sessions in “Mineral Resources Assessment” across Africa during 2017-2019, some of which will be held in English, French and possibly Portuguese. The second Training session will take place in Nigeria in November 2017.   BACKGROUND “PanAfGeo” for “Pan-African Support to the EuroGeoSurveys-Organisation of African Geological Surveys (EGS-OAGS) Partnership” is a project which supports the training of geoscientific staff from African Geological Surveys through the development of an innovative training programme that includes the acquisition and development of important professional skills that complement their qualifications and technical skills. The training programme is carried out by world-class geoscientific experts coming from African and European Geological Surveys. PanAfGeo is co-funded by the European Commission (Directorate-General of Development and International Cooperation) and by a Consortium of 12 European Geological Surveys coordinated by the French Geological Survey (BRGM). To find out more about PANAFGEO training programme please visit...

International cooperation on natural resources: geoscientists’ contribution to enhanced governance, policy making and attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals EuroGeoSurveys will attend the “International cooperation on natural resources: geoscientists’ contribution to enhanced governance, policy making and attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals” Conference that will be held on the 9-10 February 2017 at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, in Brussels. EuroGeoSurveys Secretary General Luca Demicheli will be present at the Panel Session Socio-economic and environmental drivers for natural resources development and management on the 10th of February. The conference will foster the convergence of terminology and the comparability/compatibility of data, thus contributing to the creation of a solid European Knowledge Database on mineral and energy resources. Such harmonization is equally important to government policymakers and to companies and regulators within the energy and minerals industries, including the users and providers of data on energy and minerals reserves and resources and renewable energy. UNFC will be reviewed, including its potential for application in Europe and beyond and its relationship with other classification and public reporting systems. There will be presentations from speakers representing a range of relevant UNECE and European policy areas linked to energy and minerals, as well as from international and European experts drawn from regulatory authorities, industry and non-governmental organizations. There will also be contributions from representatives of fossil and renewable energy companies, the mining industry and academia. The event is co-organized by the European Federation of Geologists (EFG) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).   [source: EFG...

  Today, more than 40 national and regional Geological Survey Organisations (GSOs) from over 30 European countries have joined forces to launch the ERA‐NET co-fund action “Establishing the European Geological Surveys Research Area to deliver a Geological Service for Europe (GeoERA)”. The integration of the participants’ knowledge and information on subsurface resources, to support sustainable use of the subsurface and to address some of Europe’s grand challenges, is the key aim of GeoERA. The GeoERA programme, was initiated through EuroGeoSurveys – the organisation of European Geological Surveys, as part of the realization of its “vision towards a Geological Service for Europe” and extended to all GSOs on the European continent. It has an overall budget of 30.3 M€, of which 10 M€ is provided by European Commission and the remainder is provided by the GeoERA participants as in‐kind contributions to the funded transnational projects. It will provide interoperable, pan‐European data and information services on the distribution of geo‐energy, groundwater and raw material resources and harmonized methods to assess these. It will also develop common assessment frameworks and methodologies for supporting the European national and regional policy-makers for a better understanding and management of the water‐energy‐raw materials nexus to determine potential impacts and risks of subsurface use. Mrs Teresa Ponce de Leão, EuroGeoSurveys President, says “GeoERA represents the key step for establishing a common European Knowledge Base and to a joint provision of a Geological Service for Europe. The Geological Knowledge Base will provide European stakeholders with open access to objective and seamless data, information, knowledge and expertise on subsurface resources and their sustainable use and management”. Mrs Yvonne Schavemaker, GeoERA Project Manager, highlights the large impact GeoERA will have in integrating and harmonizing national and regional research resources and optimizing pan‐European coverage of geological...

World Forum on Raw Materials Project launched PRESS RELEASE Brussels, 30th  November, 2016 17h00 – 18h30 OREGA Brussels Leopold Rue du Commerce, 123 – Brussels   The FORAM project was launched in Brussels during the first Raw Materials Week, organized by the European Commission. To date it is the largest collaborative effort to improve worldwide cooperation on securing access, promoting innovation and fostering sustainable mining, recycling and use of raw materials. Apart from key stakeholders from governments, research and industry in Europe the project brings together partners from Japan, the USA, and other G20 countries, as well as key countries active in the mining and other raw materials sectors. As Mr. Marcin Sadowski, Head of the Raw Materials Sector at the EC Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) stated, FORAM supports the EU International Cooperation Strategy on Raw Materials and he expects that the project will be an essential contribution to its success and international uptake. Mr. Mathias Schluep, FORAM project leader, from the Swiss based World Resources Forum, said, “common approaches and solutions for both primary and secondary raw materials will be identified. The event was organized and hosted by the EuroGeoSurveys, The Geological Surveys of Europe, (EGS) and brought together close to 100 enthusiastic participants, ranging from policy makers, industry, academia and research institutions who concluded that the ambitious initiative will need to be inclusive, open, and built upon the successes of related European and global initiatives in this field. Mr. Jaco Huisman, from the United Nations University, in charge for the identification of FORAM key challenges and priorities, said: “The raw materials field is a dynamic environment with lots of initiatives and projects. However, many actors are still working in silos. It is important to track relevant information flows,...

The 6th Trilateral EU-US-Japan Conference on Critical Materials Strategies for Sustainable Supply of Critical Raw Materials November 29th, 2016 The 6th Trilateral EU-US-Japan Conference on Critical Materials will be held on the 29th November 2016 at the Breydel Auditorium of Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) of the European Commission, during the first edition of the Raw Materials Week. EuroGeoSurveys will be at the forefront during the week. Mr Luca Demicheli, EuroGeoSurveys Secretary General, will be chairing the Session 1: Criticality and risks analysis. The Session will tackle the following topics: material flows and stocks Analysis; methodology for assessing critical materials; raw materials data and information for policy making. The Director General of the Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ), Eikichi Tsukuda, will attend the event. For more information about the Raw Materials...