In a fast-changing world, environmental sustainability is a major challenge to be tackled to ensure the sustainable management of georesources for a safe and prosperous society. Addressing those issues requires a comprehensive understanding of the Earth's composition and its geological processes. With the help of new technologies and tools, the knowledge of geology is in constant evolution. However, the field's rapid growth creates major challenges; one of them is how to make sense of the massive amounts of data collected throughout the years.
Within the EPOS initiative, the Thematic Core Service (TCS) Geological Information and Modeling develops and consolidates the information and data infrastructures produced by the international community, primarily the European Geological Surveys. Shared reference datasets on geological maps, boreholes (vertical shafts constructed for water, oil, or gas extraction), 3D geological models, and mineral resources are accessible to the community through the EPOS multidisciplinary platform provided from the European Geological Data Infrastructure.
With virtual access to borehole data and geological maps, users can retrieve consolidated information. Besides, researchers will also enhance the sharing and publishing of their own data and content on the EPOS platform, thus increasing the visibility and standards of their work inside the geological community.
By making data and services available and easily accessible through the EPOS infrastructure, the Geological Information and Modeling TCS promotes information interoperability with other TCS. In addition, the EPOS community members can complement their geological maps with existing seismological information in the EPOS data portal. Ultimately, this facilitates interactions with different communities such as smart cities, local and regional governments, and foster dialogue with state agencies, local authorities, and industries.