European Geosciences Union

European Geosciences Union
Name	European Geosciences Union
Formation	2002
Type	Scholarly society
Headquarters	Munich
Region served	Europe
Leader title	President

European Geosciences Union is a European learned society devoted to the advancement of the Earth, planetary and space sciences, interacting with institutions such as European Commission, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, European Space Agency, European Southern Observatory and CERN. It pursues objectives aligned with bodies like Royal Society, Max Planck Society, Academia Europaea, National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Smithsonian Institution. The Union coordinates activities that intersect with organizations including European Environment Agency, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Committee on Space Research, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics and European Research Council.

History

The foundation in 2002 followed discussions among societies such as European Geophysical Society, European Union of Geosciences, Royal Astronomical Society, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and representatives from institutions like Université Pierre et Marie Curie, ETH Zurich, University of Cambridge, Utrecht University and Sorbonne University. Early milestones involved collaborations with International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, European Planetary Science Congress, European Commission Directorate-General Research, and interactions with projects such as Horizon 2020, FP7, GEOSS and Copernicus. The Union’s development paralleled initiatives by World Meteorological Organization, European Meteorological Society, Blue Planet Project, Global Seismographic Network and International Continental Scientific Drilling Program.

Organization and governance

Governance follows a constitution influenced by models from Royal Society of London, French Academy of Sciences, Deutscher Geophysikalischer Gesellschaft, and Academia Europaea with oversight involving elected officers who liaise with entities like European Commission, Council of Europe, European Parliament, European Research Council and OECD. Key governance bodies interact with committees comparable to those of American Geophysical Union, National Academy of Sciences, Royal Society of Canada, Australian Academy of Science and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Headquarters operations mirror administrative practices at Max Planck Society, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Imperial College London, University of Oxford and Charles University.

Membership and sections

Membership comprises scientists from institutes such as University of Paris, University of Bologna, University of Vienna, University of Warsaw and University of Helsinki and professional associations including Geological Society of London, Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Geological Survey of Sweden and British Geological Survey. The Union organizes specialist divisions akin to those of American Meteorological Society, European Space Agency, International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, European Seismological Commission and International Association of Hydrological Sciences. Sections cover topics linked with Paleoclimatology, Seismology, Geodesy, Planetary Science and Atmospheric Chemistry and maintain ties to institutions such as Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Institut Pasteur, Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique and Centro de Estudios Científicos.

Activities and publications

The Union publishes journals and open-access journals modeled on publishers like Copernicus Publications, Springer Nature, Elsevier, American Geophysical Union and Oxford University Press, and disseminates findings in formats similar to Nature Geoscience, Science Advances, Journal of Geophysical Research, Geophysical Research Letters and Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Outreach activities engage with platforms such as arXiv, Zenodo, ResearchGate, GitHub and ORCID, and coordinate policy statements with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, World Health Organization, European Environment Agency, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Committee on Climate Change (UK). Educational programs reference curricula from University College London, ETH Zurich, Sorbonne University, LMU Munich and Politecnico di Milano.

Conferences and meetings

Annual General Assemblies and large meetings are comparable to events hosted by American Geophysical Union, European Planetary Science Congress, International Astronomical Union, Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition and World Climate Research Programme, attracting presenters from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, ESA ESTEC, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, LAM (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille) and Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris. The Union’s conferences feature special sessions linked to projects such as Horizon Europe, Copernicus, GEOSS, IPCC and UN Decade of Ocean Science and run workshops in collaboration with European Commission DG RTD, European Research Council, EIT Climate-KIC and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.

Awards and recognitions

Prizes and medals mirror honors given by Royal Society, Nobel Prize, Wolf Prize, Balzan Prize and Shaw Prize, and the Union awards recognise work connected to institutions like Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Geophysique de l'Environnement, British Antarctic Survey, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Recipients often hold affiliations with University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, Université Grenoble Alpes, University of Oxford and University of Edinburgh and are cited alongside laureates of Vernadsky Medal, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation awards, ERC Advanced Grants and Royal Society Fellowships.

Category:Scientific societies