GeoSciences IR: a geological data infrastructure for the Italian Network of Regional Geological Surveys

In Italy, geological tasks such as the monitoring of geological hazards and the management of georesources are entrusted to the Regional Geological Surveys, each responsible for its own territory. In order to improve and strengthen coordination among the various Regional Geological Services in these activities, the Italian Network of Regional Geological Services (RISG) was established, coordinated by ISPRA – the Geological Survey of Italy.

Within the framework of these activities, the Regional Geological Surveys have highlighted the need for a research infrastructure designed to bridge the gap between academic institutions and operational bodies, in terms of data, services, tools and transfer of knowledge.

Funded by the Italian Ministry of Research through the Recovery Funds programme, GeoSciences IR has been built with this goal by a partnership composed by 13 Universities and 3 research institutions, coordinated by ISPRA: twelve priority specific themes in the geological domain were identified from geological mapping, 3D modelling, marine geology, geoheritage, landslides, sinkholes, design of structural works for risk mitigation, satellite monitoring, active tectonics, georesources and land consumption.

The GeoSciences IR data infrastructure is now open, allowing to access to more than 300 products, including datasets, services, customized viewers, tools, vocabularies, documents, open API and training modules. These latter are available on an e-learning platform built within the research infrastructure.

All these products have been realized based on needs and expectations of Regional Geological Surveys, identified as target users of the infrastructure. The periodic collection of their feedback during the three-years long implementation phase, has allowed to release products well aligned with the requested needs. This shared pathway between the partnership and the target users will extend across the ten-year operational phase of the infrastructure, with a focus on maintaining the data infrastructure and updating the products.