European Geosciences Union
Division on Energy, Resources and the Environment
President: Sonja Martens (ere@egu.eu)
Deputy President: Viktor Bruckman
(viktor.bruckman@oeaw.ac.at)
Officer "Above ground":
Viktor Bruckman (viktor.bruckman@oeaw.ac.at)
Officer "Economics & Integration":
Kristen Mitchell (drkristenmitchell@gmail.com)
Officer "Publications":
Michael Kühn (mkuehn@gfz-potsdam.de)
Officer "Subsurface":
Maria Ask (maria.ask@ltu.se)
ECS Representative:
Morgan Tranter (ecs-ere@egu.eu)
The European Geosciences Union (EGU) brings together geoscientists from all over Europe and the rest of the world, covering all disciplines of the earth, planetary and space sciences. This geoscientific interdisciplinarity is needed to tackle the challenges of the future. A major challenge for humankind is to provide adequate and reliable supplies of affordable energy and other resources. These should be obtained in environmentally sustainable ways, which is essential for economic prosperity, environmental quality and political stability around the world. One goal of the division Energy, Resources & the Environment (ERE) is to be a leading discussion forum for these issues. The core of the division consists of experts in various fields that will help meet the mutually coupled challenges of Energy, Resources and the Environment.
Sonja is a civil and environmental engineer by training with a background in both academia and industry. Her research focuses on hydrogeology , numerical flow and transport simulations and the sustainable use of georesources and the subsurface, for example investigating CO2 storage in geological media.
Viktor’s research interests include renewable energy from biomass, with a focus on forests. He is also involved in biochar research and the investigation of carbon and nutrient cycles which includes soil processes and climate change. His interdisciplinary and holistic approaches are directed towards a sustainable and eco-friendly utilization of biomass as a source for energy and industrial raw materials.
Viktor’s research interests include renewable energy from biomass, with a focus on forests. He is also involved in biochar research and the investigation of carbon and nutrient cycles which includes soil processes and climate change. His interdisciplinary and holistic approaches are directed towards a sustainable and eco-friendly utilization of biomass as a source for energy and industrial raw materials.
Kristen has an academic background in isotope biogeochemistry. As a post-doc Kristen investigated marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean and the Great Lakes. While an AAAS Congressional fellow she worked in the U.S. House of Representatives on energy and environment policy. Kristen currently works on both scientific and policy projects ranging from global change science to ocean policy.
Michael is a geochemist and hydrogeologist by training with a research focus on the numerical simulation of hydrogeothermal systems in the subsurface. This includes quantification of interactions between deep and shallow groundwater systems, geochemical water-rock-interactions, coupled numerical simulation (hydraulical, thermal, mechanical, chemical), formation of ore deposits, CO2 storage in geologic formations and hydrogeothermal energy provision.
Maria’s research interests are focused on rock mechanics of sediments and rocks and the state of in-situ stress. She is involved in various projects, for example investigating the stress state for storage of CO2 and petroleum prospecting, as well as rock mechanical properties of reservoir and cap rock in CO2 storage.
I am a PhD student at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences – Helmholtz Centre Potsdam. I do geochemical and numerical modelling and currently focus on studying the development of mineral scalings in geothermal systems. Above that, I am interested in many hydrogeological topics and I am generally fascinated by water.
As an ECS representative of the ERE division I wish to promote networking and provide a platform for young scientists to connect with each other. I am deeply committed to the idea that by working closely together, (early career) scientists may inspire each other and benefit from a pool of knowledge. If you want to get involved, there is always ample opportunity to do so, so please get in touch!
The 2020 Division Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award is awarded to Estanislao Pujades for his outstanding research on Underground Pumped Storage Hydropower using abandoned mines, and its interaction with groundwater.
The 2019 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Award is awarded to Mengdi Pan Changes of Permeability as a Result of Hydrate Dissociation in Sand-Clay Sediment from Qilian Mountain Permafrost, China
The 2019 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Award is awarded to Parminder Kaur Jaisalmer Golden Limestone and Sandstone: A Heritage Stone Province from the Desert of Western India
Thursday 30 July marks the centennial of the birth of Marie Tharp, a pioneering geologist and cartographer whose groundbreaking scientific contributions played a key role in the eventual acceptance of the theory of plate tectonics. Tharp is best known for her detailed seafloor maps that revealed a wealth of previously unknown features, including seamounts, trenches, transform faults, and most notably, the mid-ocean ridge system.
Tharp’s story is all the more compelling due to the adversity she overcame during her career—much of it related to her gender. Because Tharp didn’t always receive credit for her work, her contributions were initially overlooked. Fortunately, Hali Felt, the author of Tharp’s biography, and others have helped correct the record. “Marie wouldn’t have chosen to experience the gender discrimination that told her the humanities were a “better fit” and forced her to work in an office rather than the field,” says Felt in a recent EGU blog, “but the result was that she found her calling closer to home, and mapped 70 percent of the Earth’s surface in the process.”
This month, EGU is celebrating Tharp’s achievements, and those of all women geoscientists, through a series of posts, including one by the Tectonics and Structural Geology Division that revisits her legacy and its importance for laying the foundations of modern geology. EGU also spoke with six researchers working in the fields of ocean science, tectonics, and mapping to ask them what Marie Tharp’s work means to them personally, as well as to the future of ocean science and tectonic research. “Her life story is a burning, guiding light for me,” says marine geographer Dawn Wright.
We hope these articles will inspire all EGU members to help one another overcome whatever adversity we face. Tharp “succeeded in building a career that she loved, and was proud of,” says structural geologist Lucia Perez Diaz. “As a woman in science, I can’t imagine a better dream to work towards.”