Scientific Integrity And Ethics In The Geosciences

There is a paucity of knowledge related to scientific integrity and ethics in the geosciences and no specific handbooks written with the research or student geoscientist in mind. However, there are a number of specific geoscience codes of conduct for professional geologists in industry. More recently, federal agencies that have oversight over significant geosciences activitie, such as the U.S. Geological Survey, Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency have developed Scientific integrity and ethics policies. These federal policies and industry codes are not generally accessible to students and university scientists, but can provide valuable lessons and value to the whole geosciences community. Numerous professional geosciences societies have ethical codes, many of which are being re-examined for the first time to address modern issues. Further there are efforts nationally and internationally to develop common codes of ethics. The National Science Foundation is funding new work in responsible science and ethics as well as requiring that university grantees provide ethics education to post doctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduate students who conduct research under NSF grants. General scientific integrity policies and handbooks are available, although many are outdated or insufficiently address ethics and integrity in the digital age, or geosciences ethics issues. There are a number of modern handbooks in medical and bioethics but these are limited in scope and application to geoscience research. Thus, this book will fill a critical gap for the geosciences and address the emerging field of geoethics.

Linda C. Gundersen is a Scientist Emeritus at the U.S. Geological Survey, having spent 34 years there as a research scientist, program manager, and senior executive. The first half of her career focused on conducting and managing research projects in geochemistry, ore deposits, and interdisciplinary studies of radionuclides in rocks, soils, and water; eventually assessing the geologic radon potential of the United States.? She received numerous grants from DOE and EPA and worked with diverse partners in the health and geological science communities. From 1995-98, she served as a program manager for both the Energy Resources Program and Mineral Resources Program. She served as the only geologist on the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Risk Assessment of Exposure to Radon in Drinking Water from 1997-1999. In 1998, she became a senior executive and the Associate Chief Geologist for Operations. In 2001, she was appointed the Chief Scientist for Geology overseeing $260M in research programs encompassing the Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Landslides, Coastal and Marine Geology, National Geologic Mapping, Energy and Mineral Resources, and Global Climate Change programs. She served in that capacity for 10 years before becoming the first Director of the Office of Science Quality and Integrity where she established and directed scientific integrity, ethics, education, career development, publication quality, research excellence, and other programs across the USGS. Her academic background includes undergraduate and graduate work in structural geology and geochemistry at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She has received the DOI Superior, Meritorious, and Distinguished Service Awards, the Unit of Excellence Award, the Secretary of the Interior's Bronze Executive Leadership Award, and is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. She has published over 75 papers and presented over 200 talks in the fields of geology, geoinformatics, science management, and scientific integrity.