On 7 December 2022, the European Federation of Geologists (EFG) organised the webinar ‘Treasures of the Earth‘.
The presenter of the webinar was Monica Sousa, Executive Director of the Portuguese Association of Geologists and Coordinator of the EFG Panel of Experts on Geological Heritage. The host of the session was Glen Burridge, Executive Director of the European Federation of Geologists.
Earth is a unique planet with a complex and diversified geological history. During 4.6 billion years, plate tectonics, changing climates, catastrophic events, life explosions and extinctions, all transformed our Mother Earth into the changing planet that we call Home.
All these events are responsible for Earth’s extremely complex geology and geomorphology, and thus for its geodiversity (geological diversity).
A part of our planet’s geodiversity is so valuable that it needs to be preserved in order to reconstruct Earth’s history and the evolution of life on our planet. This part of geodiversity is known as geoheritage or geological heritage and it encompasses natural geological or geomorphological features possessing aesthetic, intrinsic, cultural, or scientific and educational value, which provide unique insight into geological processes affecting the formation or evolution of the Earth. These extraordinary capsules of Time are Treasures, and they preserve the Memory of our Planet.
In October 2022, during the IUGS 60th anniversary celebration event, the first 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites were presented, giving scientific recognition to those key geological sites for the Earth sciences research.
Set back, relax, and enjoy our journey to the Treasures of the Earth!
Watch the recording of the event at the following link: https://bit.ly/3V38A1o
Monica Sousa – eurogeologist and drummer in a progressive metal band – is the Portuguese Association of Geologists (APG) Executive Director and the Coordinator of the European Federation of Geologists (EFG) Panel of Experts on Geological Heritage. She is also an EFG delegate. Her early interest in natural sciences made her choose a graduate study in Geology. She holds an M.Sc. in Geological Resources and a PhD in Geosciences (University of Porto). She worked as a geologist at Metro do Porto, S.A. and at Porto Municipality. She also develops training courses for geosciences teachers. She is a team member of the Institute of Earth Sciences (PT). She has a special interest in Mineralogy, Petrology, Geochemistry, Geochronology, Structural Geology, Geological Hazards, and Geological Heritage & Geoconservation. She has promoted numerous geoscientific outreach activities, promoting geoheritage and geology for society. From 2010 to 2020 she was a member of the APG Board Commission.
