Objectives and missions
Objectives of Geotop
The first objective of Geotop is to offer an internationally competitive research and training environment to provide answers to immediate and/or fundamental problems regarding the state of planet Earth and its short or long-term changes in response to natural and anthropogenic forcings. Geotop’s pooling of resources and multidisciplinary skills is geared towards the development of a centre of excellence that will link the infrastructure to major national and international programs to promote observation, data gathering and analysis, as well as their use in our modeling efforts. The research projects of Geotop’s members can essentially be divided into three major themes: (1) Climate and ocean instabilities, (2) The crust-mantle dynamics and their manifestations at the Earth’s surface, and (3) The biogeochemical cycles and the environment.
Missions of Geotop
Geotop has several missions contributing to the support, stimulation and diffusion of research as well as training in the field of Earth Sciences, with applications related to climate change and the environment, mineral resources and geologic hazards:
- an educational mission through which highly qualified professionals are trained at the interface of several fields in order to solve Earth’s complex problems;
- a mission to promote high level, internationally competitive research;
- a geoscientific data archival mission, assuring data’s accessibility and durability;
- a mission promoting liaison and transfer of knowledge towards the socioeconomic sector;
- Finally, Geotop’s communication mission is increasingly geared towards the general public.
