We are talking about an interconnected Earth system. The diverse spheres that hinge on sustainable geological resources (water, energy, minerals, but also the geodiversity crucial to supporting biodiversity) are brought together in our Geological Service for Europe project, in which critical raw materials is only one part of the whole.
The Geological Service for Europe supports monitoring and modelling of groundwater quality and quantity. It delivers knowledge of the geothermal energy potential across Europe. It delivers knowledge of the capacity for geological storage of carbon in the subsurface – a crucial element of reaching net zero. It delivers a harmonized approach to continental-scale geological mapping and modelling and delivering data through a common European Geological Data Infrastructure. This interconnectedness of Earth systems is also why EuroGeoSurveys’ vision for future collaborative research through the Geological Service for Europe does not just focus on solving discrete problems related to, e.g., raw materials, or water quality, or carbon storage. Instead, there is a focus on the gaps between these fields, because they are not discrete: groundwater is crucial to geothermal energy potential; raw materials can be extracted from geothermal brines; carbon storage potential can be informed by existing petroleum exploration data.
These ‘gaps’ between geological thematic fields – which are largely missing from the distinct policy areas and regulatory frameworks into which they are placed – are also the reason for EuroGeoSurveys’ current work on a position paper explaining the need for subsurface integrated spatial planning. In a world where use of the subsurface is increasing and competing, urban or industrial subsurface or submarine infrastructure must be planned using geological knowledge to optimise and protect these crucial resources – strategic assets – water, soil, energy, minerals, and the geosystems that support biodiversity in the natural habitat in which we live and on which we rely.