Center for integrated Earth–Society Dynamics
The proposed Center for integrated Earth–Society Dynamics (ESD) is an ambitious, long-term initiative of foundational and curiosity- driven research to fundamentally advance the science of human-environment interaction.
Hovedinnhold
What if we could understand the future of humanity not by looking forward 50 years, but by looking back at 500 million years?
What if the key to building resilient societies lies buried in the deep-time history of a single, remarkable landscape?
ESD’s goal is to generate a new paradigm for understanding the co-evolution of social and natural systems. We will reveal how today’s society is a product of integrated processes unfolding over geologic and historical time—from the formation of the bedrock to modern communities—and use this insight to build actionable, evidence-based scenarios for a resilient future.
Current models for navigating global challenges are often short-sighted, treating environmental and social systems separately. This prevents us from understanding the deep, foundational forces that have always shaped human prosperity and resilience. We must fully integrate geology, biology, archaeology, and anthropology. You cannot understand human history without first understanding the planetary stage upon which it unfolds.
The profound societal benefit is strategic foresight. Our research begins with the 500-million-year geological history that formed much of Norway’s rocks, landscape, and mineral resources. We trace how this deep-time foundation, directly enabled the first societies and shaped subsequent human history. By analyzing this complete record of interaction, we identify fundamental principles of resilience, providing decision- makers with an unparalleled, evidence-based knowledge base to design sustainable policies for the future.
The University Museum provides the ideal foundation: a stable organization with deep expertise, vast collections, and a 10+ year horizon for developing this research and communicating its results. By collaborating with multidisciplinary researchers within and beyond UiB, we have a unique capacity to achieve our ambitious goals.
Center for integrated Earth–Society Dynamics is submitted as a SFF-VI proposal.
Centre directors
With a solid foundation within structural geology and tectonics, Haakon Fossen likes to explore different parts of geoscience and to work interdisciplinary. Driven by curiosity, his main goal is to understand natural processes and regional evolution through geologic time.
For many years Fossen has been a leading researcher in his field, exemplified by the Nordic Geoscientist Award 2012 that Fossen received for his work to increase knowledge and understanding of geology disciplines by means of both published research and through community outreach.
Carolina Cavalcante is a researcher, and lecturer in bedrock geology, structural geology, geological mapping and tectonics.
She is currently project manager for the EPOS-NG (European Plate Observing System-Norway) - Research Infrastructure for Geohazards, bridging fundamental geology and geohazards for societal resilience. She has a drive for multidisciplinary science, with a focus on translating research into actionable results through collaboration and teaching.
