Annual Report 2011: Knowledge for growth and welfare

This Annual Report 2011 provides a brief overview of some of the work and events that GEUS has been involved in over the year. GEUS has had a good and productive year, with an increasing number of tasks for many stakeholders, as well as many new research projects. The year also saw preparation of GEUS’ strategy for the period up to 2020, which will also form the foundation for GEUS’ performance contract with the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Building for 2012-2015.

2011 was the final year of GEUS’ previous four-year performance contract with the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Building, and by far the majority of the tasks agreed have been completed as expected. Production of scientific and other publications has exceeded targets, and participation in the education of PhD and thesis students has grown considerably, while at the same time GEUS has achieved its financial targets.

There has been a marked increase in interest in minerals and mineral resources in the Arctic. GEUS has compiled and published digital geological maps of Greenland with mineral-relevant data making them easy to use in exploration work in Greenland. The results are being included in activities to market Greenland’s mineral potential, in which GEUS is working with the Greenland Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum at conferences, meetings and trade fairs.

Oil and gas resources in the Arctic also continue to attract international attention. In order to prepare upcoming licensing rounds, GEUS has been working on a number of research projects in North-East Greenland. The area has great potential, so it has attracted the attention of the entire oil industry, but there is very little research history.

Mapping the continental shelf around Greenland and the Faroe Islands and preparation of submissions of demands to the UN in collaboration with the Danish, Faroese and Greenlandic authorities and institutions continue to be demanding tasks. In 2011, the Swedish icebreaker, Oden, completed yet another cruise off North-East Greenland, and a submission is being prepared for the area south of Greenland.

The resources crisis and the dramatic increases in oil and gas prices have rejuvenated focus on the North Sea, and in 2011, GEUS launched a large research project on the exploration possibilities in the Jurassic strata lying beneath the chalk from which most Danish oil production takes place. Within renewable energy, GEUS’ main contribution has been knowledge about the potentials and project risks of geothermal heat supply.

Increased exports of green technologies and green solutions can help growth in Denmark, and water has been targeted as one of the drivers to realise this goal. GEUS has applied its
experience in groundwater mapping in Denmark to initiate, in collaboration with Danish companies, capacity building for similar mapping in Thailand, where GEUS’ work includes training as well as establishing a database.

The more frequent and more serious flooding in Denmark has meant that there is greater interest in understanding how climate change affects the water cycle; both nationally and locally. GEUS has taken part in a number of research projects aiming at improving emergency preparedness, flood management and at studying how flooding affects the infrastructure and water resources. Results from these projects will be used to prepare water plans.

The measurement programme on the Greenland ice sheet is supplying ever better data, and with the Technical University of Denmark, GEUS has carried out new aerial measurements of the margin and reconstructed glacier variations and climate change over the past 120 years.

The portfolio of tasks for 2011 has demonstrated that GEUS has commenced realisation of its new ‘Knowledge for Growth and Welfare’ strategy, and with the vital social tasks of which GEUS is a part, we look forward to coming years with great optimism.