Seequent Segment Director for the Environment Thomas D. Krom asks; “Where have all our geoscientists gone? We urgently need them to help deliver a more secure, sustainable and resilient future.”
Did you know Geologists play a crucial role in helping deliver more sustainable power to your laptops and your lights, in fact, power for everything? All climate change mitigation strategies – either directly by carbon capture and storage or indirectly by lowering our carbon intensity with renewable energy provision – need people who understand the underground.
Given global warming and the stark realities of World Economic Forum (WEC) Global Risk Reports we desperately need more geoscientists to help solve the big earth science challenges, such as natural resource shortages. Yet worldwide, we are instead seeing the downsizing – and even worse closing down – of geoscience programmes.
It is overwhelming to see all of the different groups who suddenly realise that geoscientists are an endangered species and, more importantly, their pivotal role in a more rewarding, sustainable and resilient future that can benefit society.
That’s why at Seequent, we’ve invested in creating Visible Geology – a transformational, free teaching and exploring tool that brings geological concepts to life in 3D. We want to encourage the digital natives of today to become the earth science superstars of tomorrow.
There are big earth challenges globally and we need to encourage more geoscientists into the technology space to help tackle these problems.
We will continue to need resource and mine geologists to help us find minerals for the energy transition. We need hydrogeologists so there is groundwater for places like Mexico City which is rapidly approaching Day Zero. The World Bank estimates that more than 50% of climate change adaptation costs will be associated with water.
The latest WEC Global Risks Report 2024 states that critical changes to Earth systems are the most severe scientific problems we face today. And, Climate Reanalyzer indicates that the 2-metre surface air temperature reached record highs globally in January, February and March 2024, as well as the last seven months of 2023.
Clearly, there is no shortage of critical challenges to solve in the field of earth sciences. And I’m consistently hearing about and meeting interesting geoscientists who are passionate about helping to understand humanity’s challenges. So, why aren’t more people signing up to study Geology?
Seequent’s Visible Geology is a free, digital tool to help educators and students create and investigate three-dimensional geological concepts
I became engaged in the geosciences because I met inspiring people, like the team who determined how old our most famous early human ancestor Lucy was, alongside the realisation that there are important societal challenges, in my case water, to be solved.
From chasing Antarctic ice sheet melt with Dr Jamin Greenbaum, looking into volcanoes with Professor Christopher Jackson, creating London’s iconic South Dock Bridge or unlocking crucial water for parched communities there are unlimited – and incredibly engaging – earth science challenges to tackle.
Working at the forefront of technology brings with it a fantastic chance to reimagine the future role of the Geologist. Yes, the work of geologists remains to clarify what’s hidden underground, and – what’s exciting – is that advancements in technology are continually improving our ability to visualise and investigate the subsurface.
Visible Geology, a free web application created in collaboration with CerebralFix helps students grasp fundamental geological concepts in a captivating and fun, digital environment – pitched at their level. It moves beyond traditional 2D and paper-based methods and empowers students with immersive 3D modelling in the cloud, collaborative classroom features, and digitised stereonets.
With this enganging, immersive educational tool students can interact with, rotate or change parameters to better understand the underground.
For educators, Visible Geology’s simple, intuitive interface makes it effortless to modernise teaching practices and integrate them into your curriculum. Plus, it’s fun – you’ll enjoy exploring topographies, intrusions, cross-sections, drill holes, and even stereonets just as much as your students.
And what about us existing Geologists? The ones who already understand how important the study of earth sciences is to shape a better future for our planet. What can we do? Let’s be inspiring. Let’s continue to talk about how important the geosciences are. And show everyone you know a demo of Visible Geology – so they can see how cool geology can be!