Annual Report 2004 - Research for Welfare and Balance

• Earthquake research and monitoring now a part of GEUS
• Foreword
• Databanks and information
  • Storage, quality assurance, and presentation of geological knowledge and data
    • Magazines with geological content
    • Book publication about Greenland and Denmark
    • A geological autumn
    • Keen interest in environmental data from "Jupiter"
    • New national database for geological models
• Water resources
  • Procuring knowledge for optimal management of our water resources
    • Groundwater protection through stakeholder involvement
    • Groundwater monitoring 1998-2003
    • Possible to identify particularly pesticide-sensitive sandy soil
    • Status and assessment of pesticide use
    • Studies of chloroform in groundwater
• Energy resources
  • Procuring of knowledge for the continued exploration and exploitation of energy resources in Denmark and Greenland
    • Energy from the Earth's interior
    • Greenlandic oil licensing round 2004
    • Research on geological storage of CO₂
    • Time limit for making national claims
    • New knowledge about the energy-rich North Sea chalk
• Mineral resources
  • Creating a scientific basis for targeted and environmentally friendly exploitation of minerals in Greenland and Denmark
    • The hunt for diamonds continues
    • Treats for the mining industry
    • Overview of Greenland's geology
    • Focus on gold in the Nuuk area
    • Survey of moler on Mors
• Nature and environment
  • Identifying the conditions leading to the current climate and environmental situation in Denmark and the North Atlantic in particular
    • Greenland's first World Heritage Site
    • Method for remediation of fractured soils
    • Climate change in the Arctic Ocean
    • Monitoring of the Inland Ice
    • Grant for new research centre at Geocenter Copenhagen
• Flashes of the year
  • News 2004
    • New requirements for competence development
    • Getting geology to the people
    • Several new scientific publications
    • Gathering of geologists from around the world
    • School students try out geology
    • Courses for counties and industry
• GEUS around the world
  • Knowledge building in developing countries through research and consultancy services
    • Building knowledge about water in Mozambique
    • Arsenic pollution of the groundwater in Vietnam
    • Better management of water resources in Honduras
    • Successful outcome and continuation of oil training in Vietnam
    • More environmentally friendly small-scale mining in Mongolia
• Key figures
• Organisation

This year we have chosen "Research for Welfare and Balance" as the title of our annual report. By this we would like to stress GEUS' double task of, on the one hand, contributing to increased welfare in society by providing knowledge that will facilitate our exploitation of natural resources, water, energy and minerals; and on the other hand, safeguarding that we use the resources in an environmentally considerate way so that the earth's natural assets are still available for future generations.

The need for water, in particular clean drinking water, is a top priority for many people around the world. Denmark does not lack water, but our drinking water is threatened by man-made pollution. GEUS is the government's watchdog in this area and throughout 2004 we were actively working to develop operational methods which may limit the effect on groundwater from pesticide use in agriculture. In the developing countries, GEUS supported Honduras, Mozambique, and Vietnam with advice. In Vietnam, arsenic is the great threat to groundwater.

Oil and gas still play a central role as energy sources. In the North Sea, the goal is to find potential, undiscovered occurrences and to exploit the known ones more efficiently. GEUS is active in research in both areas. In Greenland, we are contributing, in particular, to the creation of knowledge about the geological conditions, so that it will be possible to attract international industry and find oil.This may form the basis for a more independent Greenlandic economy.At the same time, GEUS is researching the possibilities for subsurface storage of CO2 arising from the burning of fossil fuels, as well as the possibilities for geothermal energy. These are research areas which, in future, may contribute significantly to reducing the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Denmark ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 2004, with support from Greenland and the Faeroe Islands.Among other things, the Convention makes it possible for coastal states to claim rights to the resources of the subsurface and seabed beyond the 200 nautical mile limit. GEUS has been documenting possible claims to four marine areas around the Faeroe Islands and Greenland, and has made preparations for surveys of a fifth area in the Arctic Ocean north of Greenland.

Mineral resources are constituents of many important materials and processes fundamental to our industrial and service society. GEUS is contributing with basic research that enables targeted exploration for specific mineral resources. In Greenland the current focus is on gold and diamonds in particular. In the international arena, GEUS is contributing with advice on how to reduce harmful environmental effects, for example, how to achieve more environmentally considerate use of mercury in gold extraction from small-scale mining in Mongolia.This is a primitive form of mineral exploitation by the poorest parts of the population in many developing countries.

Balance in nature is continuously being influenced by the exploitation of natural resources, e.g. mineral resources. GEUS is therefore researching the actual effects of mineral-resource excavations on land and in the sea and the development of the man-made landscape in Denmark. However, research on how to restore the balance in the upper strata is also on the agenda in connection with treatment of contamination from xenobiotic organic substances. Denmark is moreover contributing to the international climate research in Greenland because of the significant melting away of the Inland Ice being observed each year.

Welfare and quality of life are also about opportunities for experiencing nature, especially where the basic human needs have been met. GEUS contributes with knowledge and advice about nature parks and landscapes of high conservation value. In Greenland, GEUS' preparatory work formed the basis for inclusion of the Ilulissat Icefjord in UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2004.

In the following, you will find descriptions of GEUS activities in 2004 which exemplify the issues mentioned above. If you want to find out more about our activities, please refer to our website (www. geus.dk) for an easy overview. The website had 375,000 visits last year.

Per Buch Andreasen Chairman, Board of Directors	Martin Ghisler Managing Director