The International Geological Congress took place this time in the Korean city of Busan, at the monumental BEXCO congress centre. Preparations for the 37th edition of the most important event in the world of geology had been underway since 2020 and included the difficult pandemic time.

The Korean organising committee and the international scientific committee met this challenge by organising a successful and worthwhile event, under the aegis of the International Union of Geological Sciences. It was held from 25-31 August 2024 under the motto The Great Travelers: Voyages to the Unifying Earth.

The congress brought together nearly 1,000 participants from more than 100 countries on all continents, who actively shared their knowledge, experience and support through lectures or poster presentations. The event featured 41 panels with numerous thematic sessions within them.

During the Congress opening ceremony, an excellent lecture on the origin, evolution, methods and significance of radiometric dating was given by George E. Gehrels. There were also occasional speeches by the organisers, the head of IUGS, representatives of the Korean authorities. The artistic part included a performance by the Busan theatre.

The organisers provided activities for the participants from early in the morning until late in the evening. The vast majority was, of course, devoted to paper and poster sessions, but these were interspersed with plenary lectures, conference tours, film screenings and the promotion of scientific institutions at stands, as part of the GeoExpo.

Polish geology was numerously represented by more than 20 researchers from several Polish centres, including Warsaw, Cracow, Wrocław, Szczecin and Sosnowiec. The delegation of the Polish Geological Institute-National Research Institute included Katarzyna Jóźwik, Irena Wysocka and Piotr Szrek from Warsaw, Jarosław Zacharski from the Cracow Branch of the PGI-NRI and Rafał Laskowicz and Zbigniew Małolepszy from the Sosnowiec Branch. They presented the wide range of issues in which the Institute specialises.

The delegation of the Polish Geological Institute-National Research Institute

During the session ‘Geoscience information, geological mapping and modelling’, Katarzyna Jóźwik gave a presentation entitled ‘Polish Geological Cartography Platform: fostering geological map data accessibility, enhancing integration and harmonisation for informed decision making’, in which she presented the main assumptions of the project ‘Creation of a Common Geological Cartography Platform’ and described how, through the integration of data from past and current cartographic projects (including those carried out within the framework of foreign cooperation) and the implementation of an advanced search engine for maps and cartographic products, the Platform will support users in their professional and scientific work.

Katarzyna Jóźwik during her speech

Katarzyna Jóźwik also represented PGI-NRI at the General Assembly of the World Community of Geological Surveys (WCOGS). WCOGS is a society of national and regional geological surveys that brings people and organisations together, generates synergies and provides mutual support to promote global dialogue related to the geological sciences. Discussions held during the meeting addressed the scientific and policy role of WCOGS, key areas of cooperation and directions for future activities. During the session ‘Geological Survey Organisations and Land Use Planning: From Geoscience Data to National Policy’ Katarzyna Jóźwik presented a poster ‘OneGeology's impact: shaping the development of digital cartography in the Polish Geological Survey’. The poster was intended to show how involvement in the OneGeology initiative in 2007 became a turning point for digital cartography at PGI-NRI, initiating a gradual transition from print-oriented systems to those focused on providing spatial data and web services for applied geology.

Irena Wysocka from the Department of Environmental Geology as part of the session ‘Forensic Geology and Medical Geology’ has a speech on ‘Anthropogenic gadolinium in surface and groundwaters of Poland’ (co-authors: D. Kaczor-Kurzawa, A. Porowski, A. Szczypczyk, A. Konon), presenting the results of research on gadolinium contamination of waters, the source of which are stable complex compounds of this element used as contrast agents in nuclear magnetic resonance imaging.

In addition, during the session ‘Challenges and opportunities of global-scale mapping (4th Arthur Darnley Symposium)’ I. Wysocka gave a presentation on ‘Cadmium content in soils of the Upper Silesia Region – an analysis based on geochemical mapping in Poland’ (co-authors A. Konon, A. Szczypczyk, P. Kostrz-Sikora), covering results of cadmium content in soils of the region strongly affected by anthropogenic activities, obtained within the project ‘Detailed geochemical map of Upper Silesia in the scale 1:25,000’. The acquired geochemical data were considered in the context of assessment of land surface pollution and environmental risk, based on current recommendations of European organisations and Polish law.

Zbigniew Małolepszy gave a presentation prepared for the Congress with Ewa Szynkaruk entitled ‘Context is Everything: Leveraging a Common Reference Geological Model to Enhance Modelling Efficacy and Accuracy – A Case Study from Poland’. During the presentation, the geological framework model of Poland was presented internationally for the first time https://geo3d.pgi.gov.pl/model_Poland/index.html.

Rafał Laskowicz presented a poster entitled ‘Three-Dimensional Structural and Parametric Models Targeted at Finding Prospects for Various Energy-Related Uses in North-Eastern Poland’, showing a part of works carried out under the task ‘Integration of Geological and Compositional Data on Hydrocarbon Systems of Poland, their Completion and Analysis in the Context of Energy Security – a Continuous Task of the Polish Geological Survey’ – area 2 and area 3. Within these activities, structural and parametric models covering 9,149.5 km2 (area 2) and 15745.5 km2 (area 3) were made. The performed models of selected physico-chemical parameters allowed to trace the variability of total porosity, feeding and content of total organic matter (TOC) along e.g., the structural surface of the Palaeozoic (part of the Palaeozoic petroleum system of the Polish Basin). The poster also presented the results of conducted seismic signal attribute analyses for the merged 3D seismic images located in area 3, which indicated areas of similarity to the Bajerze gas deposit located within the merged images confirming the existence of possible counterparts.

Rafał Laskowicz and Jarosław Zacharski 

Jarosław Zacharski from the Department of Regional and Composite Geology presented the paper ‘Underground Resources and their Uses in the Energy Transition: Hydrocarbon exploration, geothermal energy, and natural gas, CO₂ and H₂ storage in the Polish Basin as a part of the Central European Permian–Mesozoic Basins’.

Jarosław Zacharski 

Piotr Szrek from the Department of Regional and Composite Geology during the session ‘Geoheritage, Geopark, and Geotourism’ gave a speech 'How to save a discovery in an active mine? Cooperation with the mine and its workers to protect the dinosaur heritage', concerning future international activities leading to the inscription of the Borkowice Dinosaurs site on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This speech was prepared jointly with Grzegorz Niedźwiedzki. The presentation had the intended effect, and the process will have the support of the UNESCO Scientific Committee at the next formal stages, also related to the implementation of the Polish Geological Survey task.

Piotr Szrek 

Text: Piotr Szrek
Photos: Piotr Szrek, Jarosław Zacharski, Katarzyna Jóźwik