Fieldwork

GEUS regularly performs fieldwork in Denmark and Greenland. Find relevant information about field activities and equipment here.

GEUS, and prior to that, GGU (Geological Survey of Greenland) has more than 100 years of experience in carrying out geological fieldwork in Greenland. But GEUS also does fieldwork in Denmark and other countries, with the work taking place on land, ice, or offshore.

Fieldwork in Greenland usually involves staying in very remote areas with limited access to health care and other services. The distances involved are often huge, and adverse weather conditions sometimes hinders both work and transportation. Fieldwork on the Inland Ice or snow-covered glaciers, has its own specific challenges where demands on the participants’ skills to work and travel safely are critical. The same is true for fieldwork offshore.  

No matter where fieldwork is undertaken, thorough consideration and planning is necessary to ensure the safe completion of all work with special attention given to  manning, transportation, equipment, provisions and safety. Almost all fieldwork requires the attendance to one or more of the safety courses that are offered each year (See ‘Safety courses’ below). GEUS’ equipment section is an important partner for all fieldwork. From there equipment is ordered and shipped for field campaigns carried out in challenging environments. See Field equipment below for more information.  

Logistics

GEUS has a long tradition for carrying out geological fieldwork in remote and inaccessible areas of Greenland, and has accumulated a high level of experience and knowhow with respect to such activities. 

GEUS has a century long experience in sending expeditions to remote areas of Greenland. Still today 50-100 persons carry out fieldwork in Greenland every year. The equipment section in Rødovre supplies all expeditions with relevant camp and safety equipment and also arranges for freight of cargo and ensures that all formalities is in place.
 

Contact
Henrik Spanggaard
Logistics coordinator, Equipment section
Mail: hsp@geus.dk 

Safety

Participants in fieldwork must meet some health criteria, in order for them to be approved to work in Greenland. Field participants must book an appointment for a health examination, which must be conducted by doctors at the Medical Office (or another approved maritime doctor in Denmark), who will decide on medical clearance for fieldwork.

Further, Participants in fieldwork in Greenland (incl. fieldwork at sea around Greenland) must have a dental check-up within 6 months prior to fieldwork commencing.

A health declaration containing your health-related information, should be filled out and brought to the doctor. See the entire instruction regarding health examination and dental visits here.

Participants in fieldwork offshore, no matter where it takes place, are also required to meet certain health criteria and should have an approved so called Blå Bog, as stipulated by the official rules for seafarers. 


 

Contact
Marianne Vestergaard                                   
Logistics coordinator
Email: mve@geus.dk

No matter where fieldwork is carried out it is important to have the necessary qualifications in order to be able to work and travel safely.

GEUS stresses the importance of all field personnel holding up-to-date certification for the relevant courses, with mandatory reassessment at least every three years, except for the Arctic First Aid course, which must be updated every year. 

Below find the safety courses that GEUS offers ahead of field season 2024.

Please note that the courses in Arctic First Aid 1 and the Rifle Courses are offered in collaboration with the University of Copenhagen. Except for courses in Basic First Aid and Elementary Fire Fighting , field participants from KU, DMI and other external partners can register for the courses. However, field participants from GEUS and KU have first priority to the courses, including participants in GEUS/KU fieldwork.

Glacier Safety and Training
Glacier Safety, Iceland, 26.2 – 1.3 2024
Glacier Safety – dry training, Denmark 17 April 2024

Arctic First Aid 1
Arctic First Aid 1 – Tuesday 19. March 2024
Arctic First Aid 1 – Tuesday 9. April 2024
Arctic First Aid 1 – Tuesday 14. May 2024
Arctic First Aid 1 – Tuesday 11. June 2024

Arctic First Aid 2
 Arctic First Aid 2 – Tuesday 16. April 2024
Arctic First Aid 2 – Thursday 16. May 2024

Basic First Aid + Elementary Firefighting
First Aid – cardiac arrest, accidents and chemical agents 21 March 2024
Basic firefighting – Thursday 18. April 2024

Rifle Courses
Rifle course – Wednesday 20. March 2024
Rifle course – Wednesday 10. April 2024
Rifle course – Wednesday 15. May 2024
Rifle course – Wednesday 29. May 2024
Rifle course – Wednesday 12 June 2024

Polar Bear Encounters 
Precautions in Polar Bear Land April 11th 2024

 

Contact
Marianne Vestergaard
Logistics coordinator
Email: mve@geus.dk

Gletsjerkursus i 2022
Gletsjerkursus i 2022

The photos are from Island in the springtime 2022, where glaciologists are training their glacier safety.

Feltarbejde i Sydgrønland
Reconnaissance and sampling close to glacier in in South West Greenland 2010.
Feltarbejde i Sydgrønland
Field camp in South West Greenland 2010. The bags contain rock samples that are brought back for further scrutiny.
Marianne Vestergaard
Special Consultant
Mapping and Mineral Resources
Phone+45 31103038

The Arctic Scientific Community

The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland is a member of the Isaaffik Arctic Gateway partnership.

Isaaffik.org is the place, where you get an overview of what’s going on in the Arctic scientific community!


It’s where universities, scientific organisations, and Arctic Command (the Danish armed forces) share their plans and offer logistical surplus and collaboration opportunities. It’s where you find service providers, logistics partners, and infrastructure all over Greenland. Isaaffik provides interactive maps, timelines, education plans, safety courses and much more.
Whether you are a scientist, student, administrator, decision maker, politician, service provider or something else, Isaaffik is the tool for you.

Join Isaaffik.org today and get access to all important information about Arctic research, logistics, and education.

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Information of next of kin

If you are going on fieldwork with GEUS, we recommend that you fill out an information form applicable to your relatives. Your relatives must agree that GEUS collects and stores this information.

You can fill out the form right here.

Near miss incident

GEUS wants to collect and learn from incidents that could have had severe consequences, but where someone got away with the scare.

Report a near miss incident here.

Safety Instructions

To ensure that all participants are informed about formalities and safety requirements when doing fieldwork with GEUS, we ask that such participants confirm by their signature that they have read the Safety Instructions.

Confirm to have read the Safety Instructions here.