Nordic geoscience and the 3rd international geological congress: Introduction

Geology has been of profound importance for the Nordic countries since the Middle Ages. Strong economies were built on an understanding of the occurrence in bedrock of minerals containing metals, e.g., silver, copper, zinc and iron, and eventually led to the establishment of the first Geological Surveys in Norway and Sweden in the middle of the nineteenth century. The geology of Norden ranges from the oldest to youngest rocks on the planet. Based on the papers in this special issue, this introduction provides a brief summary of the geological evolution of Norden, from the Archean of Greenland and northern Fennoscandia to the on-going volcanicity in Iceland on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It also refers to aspects of Geoscience that are particularly important for society in Norden, including geo-resources (petroleum, geothermal energy, nuclear energy, metals, industrial minerals and ground-water) and environmental geology (including natural and anthropogenic processes, medical geology, geo-hazards and climate). Information on the early history of geology in Norden and the geological surveys is also included and, finally, an outline of the 33rd International Geological Congress with its main theme "Earth System Science: Foundation for Sustainable Development".