Colophon, Contents, Introduction

The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) has lived through a period of intense unrest during most of 2006. This was a consequence of the decision by the Danish Government in 2005 to carry out a major reorganisation of the Danish research world. The aim was to improve the quality and competitiveness of Danish universities and research organisations (such as GEUS), by means of a fusion of universities and the merging of independent research institutions with the universities. At the conclusion of this process all but three of the major government research institutions were merged with the universities in Århus and Copenhagen, and the Technical University in Lyngby. For many reasons, one being the special tasks that GEUS is responsible for in Greenland, the Government decided that GEUS should continue as one of these three independent national research institutions.