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Anyone who thinks that geology, which deals with the formation and properties of rocks hundreds of millions of years old and the structure of planet Earth, is an old science is wrong. Systematic geological research only began in the 19th century; Important foundations were mining and museum collections. Geognosts, the name given to the first geologists, initially concern themselves with the nature of rocks. There were two opposing theories: the Neptunists saw the origin of the rocks in water, the Plutonists believed in their volcanic origin. The answer lies in the “both/and”.
Innovative minds early on presented the first geological maps of their countries, which showed the distribution of the rocks. In 1815 William Smith (1769 to 1839) published the first overview map of the British Isles. He drew his view of the country's geology based on fossil deposits whose distribution he had correlated over large areas. In 1826 Leopold von Buch (1774 to 1853) published a geological map of Germany. Armand Dufrénoy and Léonce Élie de Beaumont followed in France in 1841. In 1845, Wilhelm Haidinger (1795 to 1871) presented his "Geognostic Overview Map of the Austrian Monarchy" in nine sheets in Vienna. It was clear to the ancients from the beginning that the distribution of geological formations is by no means bound to national borders.
The next step was the establishment of geological services in the countries. Great Britain was once again at the forefront when it came to establishing geological surveys: "The British Geological Survey is the world's oldest national geological survey, founded in 1835". In 1849 the k.k. followed in continental Europe. Geological Reichsanstalt in Vienna (today part of GeoSphere Austria). The stated goal was initially the systematic geological research of the respective countries. Geological maps showed the distribution of rocks and raw materials. But looking beyond national borders was necessary for understanding; the desire to overcome national borders was great. Initially, individual researchers also became active in this question.
Following a tip from Štefan Káčer (Geological Service of Slovakia), an expert in historical geological maps, "found" in the library of GeoSphere Austria, which was published in November 1840 by Carl v. König published sheet 1 "Europe", as part of a geognostic atlas. In other words: probably the first geological map of the continent with explanations. Whether there were ever other map sheets in the atlas is currently unanswered. Only absolute insiders know the map in question, as well as Mr. König, whose name appears completely erratically in the history of geosciences.
Although König uses outdated terms such as "Plutonic" and "Neptunian rock types", his map and its explanations prove to be far ahead of its time in some details. A black line (“southern limit of the Nordic erratic blocks”) traces the limit of the ice sheet. A red line, "Probable former coast of the combined Black and Caspian Seas", in turn indicates the distribution of the Paratethys Sea, which covered large parts of Europe in the Neolithic period. He also recognizes the distribution of the Paratethys in question in the West, which was only named as such in 1924. He calls this molasse sea a “basin or rather […] Längenthal, which extends between the central mountain range of Europe and the Alpine system”. But that's not enough. König's theses from back then, "This great sea may have initially been connected to the Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, but was gradually divided more or less sharply into the above-mentioned basins..." are textbook opinions today.
Three years later, at the meeting of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Doctors in Graz in 1843, Ami Boué, who was born in Hamburg and lived in Vienna, presented the "Carte géologique du globe terrestre". This meant that for the first time there was a global worldview that was more of a daring attempt and only partially reflected reality. But with the poor database it was no longer possible at the time. There was a lack of systematic, comprehensive mapping. Whether king or Boué, the early desire for a cross-border geological world view is unmistakable.
From the middle of the 19th century, with the establishment of the above-mentioned geological services, the necessary personnel and infrastructure for systematic mapping were available in the respective countries. This created reliable data for geological maps. In 1871, Austria geologically mapped its territory, which stretched to Bohemia in the north and to Dalmatia in the south. After 20 years of mapping, the "Geological Overview Map of the Austro-Hungarian Empire 1:576,000" in twelve sheets was the pride of local geologists at the Vienna World Exhibition in 1873.
The first International Geological Congress (IGC) took place in Paris in 1878. Geological maps, questions of coloring, etc. were among the main topics. The importance of the International Geological Congresses, which now take place every four years, could be compared to the Olympic Games. The renowned geologists' meeting took place in Vienna only once, in 1903. The 37th International Geological Congress will take place in Korea in August 2024.
Back to the pioneer days of the 19th century. In the run-up to the 2nd International Geological Congress, which took place in Bologna (Italy) in 1881, the who's who of the local geological community gathered on November 13, 1880 in the lecture hall of the Scientific Club in Vienna. In addition to Franz von Hauer, director of the Reich Geological Institute, Eduard Suess, full professor of geology at the University of Vienna, and Ferdinand v. Hochstetter, full professor at the Technical University (now TU) as well as representatives of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (Gustav Adolf Koch) and the k.k. natural history court museum (Theodor Fuchs). People talked about topics that - from the Viennese perspective - should be on the agenda in Bologna in 1881. The Viennese scholars wanted the "publication of a geological overview map of Europe and the publication of a geological atlas of the earth by special committees to be appointed by the Congress to be placed on the agenda of the Congress." It was easy for them because they had already done their homework with the map of the monarchy published in 1871.
And that's how it happened. In September 1881, the representative of Austria, Edmund Mojsisovics (1839 to 1907), presented the project for a modern geological map of Europe at the Geological Congress in Bologna. There was approval for this on September 29, 1881. The Austrian initiative took concrete form, as can be found in Nature from November 10, 1881: "[The] Congress resolved to prepare and publish a geological map of Europe, and for this purpose a committee was appointed." The committee in question consisted of eight people, Mojsisovics was the representative of Austria-Hungary. It was decided in Bologna that the map was to be published by the Dietrich Reimer publishing house in Berlin. This marked the leading role of Germany, represented by Heinrich E. Beyrich (1815 to 1896) and Wilhelm Hülsecorne (1828 to 1900) in the directorate. At the subsequent geological congresses, the respective work progress was discussed.
As soon as individual sheets of cards were ready, they were issued. In 1894 the first six sheets of maps were delivered. The "Carte géologique Internationale de l'Europe Echelle 1 à 1,500,000", as it was officially called, consisted of seven by seven and thus a total of 49 sheets (48.8 x 54.6 cm each) and a separate sheet for the legend. Here, geological periods and rocks were represented in 36 colorful legend boxes. Neither Mojsisovics nor Beyrich nor Hülsecorne saw its completion in 1913. But that was far from the end. In the 20th century, the Geological Survey of Germany (BGR) developed an improved 2nd and 3rd edition of this map series.
While the decision to create a common geological map of Europe in 1881 was the first best practice project for pan-European cooperation, 90 years later, after two world wars, geological cooperation in Europe was gradually institutionalized. The division of the continent by the Iron Curtain made cross-border research difficult for a long time. Austria took the initiative out of its own interest - among other things, it was about oil reserves near the border - and signed a bilateral treaty with what was then Czechoslovakia on January 23, 1960 during the Cold War in order to enable scientific exchange.
A good ten years later, in 1971, 21 geological surveys from Western Europe united in Orléans (France) under the title WEGS (Western European Geological Surveys). In this informal round, information was exchanged, data harmonization was discussed and the challenges of other countries were learned to understand. The next step followed in 1992: WEGS became FOREGS (Forum of European Geological Surveys), the number of members increased to 28. In 1995, EuroGeoSurveys, a geological service for Europe, was founded. Initially it united 15 EU members and Norway, the office was in Brussels. Here, on Rue Joseph II, the activities of the 37 members are coordinated today. In addition to EU states, Albania, Kosovo, Ukraine and others are also included.
When transnational projects are about results, i.e. deliverables, to stay in the language of projects, there are a number of transnational results. In 1991, Austria and the former Czechoslovakia looked back on 30 years of geological cooperation in a volume. In 1992, the book "Geology and the environment in Western Europe: a coordinated statement by the Western European geological surveys" was published as a result of the WEGS era. Here, an effort was made to show that more could be achieved together ("… earth scientists located in the Geological Surveys of Western Europe […] work together in maximizing the value, interpretation, and application of the comprehensive European geological database for the benefit of all Europeans.").
In 2005 and 2006, two volumes of the European Geochemical Atlas were published as a product of FOREGS after ten years of work. In 2016, EGDI (European Geological Data Infrastructure), a common platform for data, was launched. The 49 printed map sheets from the first map project from 1913 were recently scanned from the inventory of GeoSphere Austria. They are available digitally via EGDI, closing the circle after more than 140 years of decision-making in Bologna. (Thomas Hofmann, July 8, 2024)