Geoinformation system, or shortly GIS, is a beautiful language of data. It is a vastly evolving system that captures, stores, checks, and displays data related to positions on Earth’s surface. The ultimate assignment of GIS is to take seemingly unrelated spatial data and convert it into patterns and relationships that make sense to individuals and organisations. This is exactly what GIS specialists like Jani Jäsberg from the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) and Hando-Laur Habicht from the Geological Survey of Estonia (EGT) do in their everyday work lives.

The aim of the meeting was to get to know each other better, but foremost – introduce each other to the work methods and solutions currently in use in both geological surveys. Jani Jäsberg, a geologist and a long-time information solutions specialist in GTK, commented after the meeting: “It is clear that EGT has a lot of good ideas on how to develop their database solutions. They want to get the best solution with their limited resources. From the GTK side, we are here to help them use the resources in the best possible way.” He added with content: “EGT is already using really modern software and database solutions. But most importantly, they have an enthusiastic workforce. It will be exiting to develop our cooperation further.”

Hando-Laur Habicht, the GIS chief specialist at EGT, commented after the meeting: “Being the youngest geological survey of Europe, we have thus far managed to build up small fragments of the desired GIS systems, but GTK has already full systems working that have been tested over and over. We can learn from them how to build such full working systems and hopefully also jump over some of the dead-ends GTK has had to take in the past.”

There will be a returning visit of EGT staff to GTK already in within the following few months where Estonian GIS people will be shown on site the geoinformation system solutions of GTK. It will be an intense learning visit with hopefully a lot of great ideas generated and a large package of knowledge gathered to return home with.

The objective of EGT, like any other geological survey in the world, is to gather and centralise geological data and material of its homeland and ensure that they are easily and readily available for the public and organisations. Some of the major ongoing tasks for EGT’s geoinformation department besides data management and development of new databases, include the full-scale geological mapping of Estonia, digitizing and archiving old geological data, but also updating and managing the EGT’s public GEOPORTAL– home of variety of Estonian geo-special data and maps.