Annual Report 2004
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Databanks and information |
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Magazines with geological content
2004 saw the start of new magazines with geological content. It was also the year in which the last two editions of the magazine "Geologi - Nyt fra GEUS" (Geology news from GEUS) were published: one about the Skaw, Jutland's most northern tip, and one about geological storage of CO2. Since the beginning of 1996, there have been a total of 34 editions of the magazine, all of which are available electronically at the GEUS website. The magazine will be replaced in 2005 by a new popular-science magazine called "Geoviden - Geologi og Geografi" (Geoknowledge - Geology and Geography), which GEUS will be publishing in collaboration with its partners in Geocenter Copenhagen: the Geological Museum, the Geological Institute and the Geographical Institute, all at the University of Copenhagen. Geoviden will cover even more subjects about the Earth. From 2004, moreover, GEUS has been contributing steadily to the Ministry for the Environment's joint magazine,"Environment Denmark". This magazine features news articles, features, interviews and background articles about nature and the environment. The magazine also brings stories from the Ministry's other institutions: The Danish Environmental Protection Agency, the Danish Forest and Nature Agency, the National Survey and Cadastre Denmark, and the National Environmental Research Institute of Denmark. |
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Book publication about Greenland and Denmark
In connection with the silver jubilee of the Greenland Home Rule, GEUS published the book called "The white gold and the genuine gold. Mining and mineral resources", commissioned and supported financially by the Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum. The book tells the history of mineral resources in 20th century Greenland.Amongst other things, it accounts the story of cryolite, Greenland's white gold, as well as the story of Greenland's genuine gold, which is now being mined from the country's first gold mine in South Greenland. In the preface, Jørgen Wæver Johansen, Member of the Greenland Home Rule Government, writes:"There is a saying that no one knows the day until the sun has set.This book illustrates perfectly how no one will know the value of Greenland's subsurface before the last rock has been turned and analysed". Later in the year, the book called "Southern Jutland" was published. It describes the geology of Southern Jutland, which holds Denmark's geological history for the past 25 million years. Readers can find information about 25 locations of national and regional significance. The book was published by the Danish Forest and Nature Agency and GEUS in collaboration with Geografforlaget. It is volume 5 out of 6 in a series called "Geologisk Set" (From a Geo Perspective). |
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A geological autumn
More than 60 events across the entire country lured many Danes away from their homes during "Geology Days", an event coordinated by the Danish Forest and Nature Agency and GEUS. During the last weekend in September geology professionals from Danish counties, municipalities, forest districts, research institutions, and petrologic societies stood ready to tell stories about the geology of Denmark, volcanoes, dinosaurs, fossils, and much more. Geology, however, was also on the programme during the Danish Science Festival in the days up to the "Geology Days". Here, researchers from GEUS travelled the entire country to give lectures at schools, libraries, and associations. Furthermore, in October the citizens of Copenhagen could see, hear, and taste their way through the world of geology, as GEUS in collaboration with its partners in Geocenter Copenhagen opened the doors of the Geological Museum with lectures, films, photos, experiments and activities for children during the Night of Culture in Copenhagen. |
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Keen interest in environmental data from "Jupiter"
The Jupiter database is the heart of GEUS´ environmental information system. It contains information about drillings, the quality of groundwater and drinking water, and data about groundwater levels and resources.Towards the end of 2003, the 232,000 drillings in the data base were made available online. Searching among the many drillings is by maps or via a search formula, and in 2004 the service was expanded so that drillings can now be displayed graphically. Interest in drilling data has been great and the number of visits to the website has been steadily increasing throughout the year. In the last half of 2004, an average of 2900 drillings was shown each week. GEUS has agreed with Danish Regions that the Jupiter database is to become the groundwater database in the Counties' Environment Portal. In this way the many data will become available together with data on soil contamination, environmental data from lakes and watercourses, as well as miscellaneous administrative data related to water extraction. In the course of the year, GEUS commenced work to adjust Jupiter so that it can receive data from Danish counties and transmit it to the Counties' Environment Portal. |
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New national database for geological models
Geological models, describing the geology, are an important basis for work to protect the groundwater. Recent years' hard work on groundwater zoning in Danish counties, which is to lead to action plans for groundwater protection, has meant an increase in the need for building 3D geological models, spanning from point source scale over field scale to basin scale.Today, numerous geological models are being constructed in connection with different types of surveys by the counties, consultancy firms, and GEUS. In 2004 GEUS, in collaboration with Danish counties, started work to establish a national database for geological models. The database will give a good overview of existing models and provide inspiration in work on geological modelling. The database, which is to store the geological models in a flexible, well-defined, and open format, will become an integrated part of the GEUS Jupiter database, which contains drilling information and groundwater data. This will provide users the opportunity to be advised whenever new drillings are reported in an area where work is being carried out to construct geological models. The database will create an overview of the spatial location of groundwater reservoirs, which will be important in relation to the requirement to reporting groundwater occurrences and their status set out in the Water Framework Directive. Knowledge about groundwater occurrences will also be important in connection with the forthcoming EU Groundwater Directive. |
