New reports highlight the economic benefit of geological maps, the ways in which geosciences help the United States to thrive, and which job skills may be most important by 2030.
Last week, I led a webinar for The University of Utah on geoscience education and workforce development. While preparing for the presentation, I came across a couple of new reports on geoscience education, research, and professional development that I would like to share with you.
Let’s take a look!
Rasoul Sorkhabi
Editor, Core Elements
Economic Benefits of Geological Maps
American Geoscience Institute
The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) recently published a report on the economic analysis of the costs and benefits of geological mapping in the United States from 1994 to 2019.
Government spending on geological mapping—conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and State Geological Surveys—from 1994 to 2019 totaled nearly $2 billion (in 2020 dollars). Let’s see what the nation was able to accomplish with that money.
Survey method: AGI sent a questionnaire to more than 81,000 stakeholders to assess how they used, and benefited from, the geological maps. Researchers received responses from 4,779 individuals from all 50 states.
Findings:
About 63 percent of respondents worked in the private sector and 37 percent in the public sector.
Roughly 81 percent of respondents used 1:62,500 maps, 37 precent used 1:24,000 maps, and 35 percent preferred more detailed maps.
The “most conservative cumulative monetary value of maps” that stakeholders used was seven to 10 times higher than their production cost of $1.99 billion. The “maximum value estimates” ranged 23 to 35 times the production costs.
Users from California topped the list followed by Nevada, Utah, Illinois, Colorado, Texas, and Pennsylvania.
How did they use the geological maps? The maps were used in the following sectors:
Resource exploration (groundwater and surface water, industrial minerals and metals, oil and gas, coal, and geothermal power)
Environmental consulting (environmental impact assessment, environmental management and conservations, pollution prevention, and remediation)
Hazard assessment and mitigation (floods, soil, erosion, subsidence, landslides, and active faults)
The geosciences support a vibrant economy, national security strategies, future innovations and infrastructures, public protection, and building U.S. diplomatic influence across the world. How does this take shape? The American Geosciences Institute’s 2025 Critical Needs Report provides some answers.
Geoscience-driven industries: The report states that two major industries—petroleum and minerals—are driven by geoscientists’ knowledge and expertise.
In 2023, these two sectors employed more than 650,000 jobs and accounted for nearly $700 billion of U.S. gross domestic products.
Other action areas: According to the report, geoscientists contribute directly and significantly to the following efforts:
Mineral and energy security
Mitigating the impact of natural hazards
Leading sustainable agriculture
Water availability
Securing supply chains
Supporting the insurance industry
Catalyzing an innovative workforce
Environmental compliance
Do you see any missing from this list? Anything you work on or study that you feel was overlooked?
Natural disaster research: Another key impact area for geoscience is in natural disaster research and prediction.
The number of natural disasters in the United States causing at least $1 billion dollars in damage has increased from three in 1980 to 24 in 2024; however, improved forecasting, risk management, and infrastructure resilience have mitigated their impacts.
Severe storms are the most frequent disasters followed by hurricanes and floods.
If successful, the U.S. Geological Survey’s next generation of Landsat satellites will be able to assist in identifying natural hazards. For instance, new wildfires can be identified in less than 30 minutes.
The World Economic Forum has published its “Future of Jobs Report” that analyzes skills employers feel will be critical to future employment. The results offer important insights and recommendations for geoscientists and geoscience teachers and students.
Where did they get their data? The report is based on a survey of more than 1,000 leading global employers who collectively represent more than 14 million workers across 22 industries and 55 countries.
Macrotrends: The employers identified several macrotrends transforming the business landscape. Many of these drivers pertain to the geoscience community, including:
Broadening digital access
Increased efforts and investments in reducing carbon emissions and adapting to climate change
Aging and declining workforce populations
Increased geopolitical division and conflicts
Increased restrictions to global trade and investments
Trending technologies: Several technologies are transforming the business landscape, including:
Artificial intelligence and information technology
Energy generation, storage, and distribution
New materials
Satellite and space technologies
Core skills: The report argues that workers should expect 39 percent of their existing skills will be transformed or outdated by 2030. It then names eight skills that more than 50 percent of the employers surveyed say will be critical to employment by 2030:
AI and big data technology proficiency and management
Technological literacy
Curiosity and life-long learning
Creative thinking
Resilience, flexibility, and agility
Talent management, leadership, and social influence
Analytical and systematic thinking
Self-motivation
Why it matters: These skillsets can inform how we educate, train, and mentor future generations of geoscientists.
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