The European Commission has designated offshore windfarm development and assessment of coastal vulnerability to environmental and climate change as focal points for a European Geological Service.
Together, Europe’s Geological Survey Organisations (GSOs) are well-positioned to take up this role and to support the multifunctional use of pan-European marine space.
Both offshore wind and coastal vulnerability are rapidly growing markets for GSOs. Although our geological information and knowledge are widely considered to be crucial elements in time- and cost-efficient development of offshore windfarms and in accurate assessment of coastal vulnerability, they have been underused. Key reasons are that they are neither fully FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) nor fit-for-purpose.
This report, the first deliverable of GSEU WP5, sets the stage for strengthening the position of European GSOs as a provider of services addressing two key societal issues in Europe. It summarises the current roles and activities of the different GSOs and outlines a plan to improve their position. Individually and jointly, GSOs need to learn from each other how to fulfil various statutory, commercial, scientific, collaborative, and strategic tasks and roles.
Demonstrating the added value of GSOs’ marine output is best done by incorporating joint, harmonised products in EMODnet, the European Marine Observation and Data network, and by creating a strong link with Copernicus services. Improvements to the jointly developed European Geological Data Infrastructure EGDI will turn it from a regular portal into a decisionsupport instrument, creating easily adoptable and harmonised pan-European marine products that will reduce risk while saving time and cost