New articles published in the Journal of Geoethics and Social Geosciences
- iapgeoethics
- Jul 1
- 5 min read
The Journal of Geoethics and Social Geoscience (JGSG) published several new articles in the Issue 1(2), 2026; 1(1), 2026; 2(Special Issue), 2026.
We remind you that this journal is diamond open access. No Article Processing Charge (APC) is requested to authors and no fee to readers.
These new articles can be freely download and can be cited as follows:
Giambattista A., Brasini F., Pessina V., Ercolani E., and Camassi R. (2026). Earthquake Fragments: teenagers’ imaginations as a starting point for seismic risk education. Journal of Geoethics and Social Geosciences, 1(2), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.4401/jgsg-114
Abstract:
From 2021 to 2023, the “A Scuola di Terremoto” (At the School of Earthquake) project, promoted by the Civil Protection Department of Calabria Region in collaboration with the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV, National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology), worked with schools throughout Calabria (southern Italy) to foster a culture of risk reduction, with particular emphasis on seismic risk. Through workshop activities and training programmes for students and teachers, the project explored teenagers’ mental representations of earthquakes. Over the course of two school years, 246 stories were collected - narrated by students through drawings and written accounts - from which isolated protagonists emerged, who rarely turn to the community or institutions for support. To develop the capacity to understand and confront risk, to recognise and manage the emotions it evokes, and to facilitate effective responses to emergency situations, the project advocates a constructivist educational approach aimed at strengthening territorial awareness, coping skills, and collective resilience. The proposed activities seek to transform emergencies from overwhelming experiences into manageable challenges, fostering more realistic and positive internal dialogues. “A Scuola di Terremoto” project represents an innovative model of civic education and prevention, which recognises the critical role of mental representations in building communities that are better prepared and more cohesive in the face of risk.
Keywords:
Seismic risk, Emergency education, Mental representations, Collective resilience, Coping
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Astobiza A.M. (2026). Geospatial data as bioethical evidence. Journal of Geoethics and Social Geosciences, 1(1), 1-28. https://doi.org/10.4401/jgsg-111
Abstract:
Satellite imagery now documents systematic patterns of infrastructure destruction at spatial resolutions and temporal cadences that were unavailable during the atrocities of the twentieth century. Whether and how such data may enter bioethical deliberation, however, remains under-theorized. Quantitative remote sensing produces damage percentages, not normative claims, and bridging the two without committing an is-ought fallacy requires an explicit epistemological procedure. The contribution developed here is normative and epistemological rather than empirical. A six-component admissibility framework integrates, for the first time, geospatial evidence, population-level bioethical principlism, and the coherentist verification epistemology of political fact-checking into a single reproducible procedure for the bioethical use of satellite imagery. The first component specifies evidence admissibility criteria tailored to bioethical rather than strictly legal use. The second requires coherentist triangulation across methodologically independent remote sensing studies. The third operates as a bioethical relevance filter mapping infrastructure categories onto population-level social determinants of health. The fourth operationalizes principlism by translating health justice, accountability, solidarity, and sustainability into measurable geospatial observables. The fifth establishes ethical representation safeguards against voyeuristic or dehumanizing uses of destruction imagery. The sixth demands explicit epistemic humility regarding uncertainty, data missingness, and attribution limits. The Gaza conflict provides the case in point. Two independently produced geospatial studies, one based on SAR coherent change detection and one on very-high-resolution optical analysis, converge on extensive damage to civilian healthcare, water, sanitation, and educational infrastructure, and thereby satisfy the coherentist triangulation requirement of the framework. The resulting inference licenses bioethical claims of systematic survival infrastructure degradation while preserving transparent boundaries between what satellite evidence can and cannot establish about genocidal intent.
Keywords:
Satellite imagery, Bioethics, Systematic patterns, Fact-checking, Reproducibility, Data ethics, Humanitarian crisis, Gaza
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Lar U.A. (2026). Integrating geoethics and digital innovation for transformative geoscience education in Africa: pathways to sustainability and environmental justice. Journal of Geoethics and Social Geosciences, 2(Special Issue), 1-31. https://doi.org/10.4401/jgsg-99
Abstract:
Africa is endowed with critical minerals essential for technological advancement and therefore needs skilled geoscientists to address multiple challenges related to resource management, natural hazards, water management, environmental justice, climate change, and training systems. Unfortunately, Geoscience education in Africa is faced with inadequate infrastructure, limited access to modern analytical tools, and unstandardized curricula that are not in line with global standards. These structural gaps are obstacles to the development of a new generation of geoscientists capable of responding to these concerns. This review paper employed a systematic narrative approach, synthesizing peer-reviewed literature, policy documents, and regional reports published between 2000 and 2025, using keywords like 'geoscience education Africa' and 'AI geoethics', applying inclusion criteria for Africa-focused/analogous studies (n=~312 retrieved, 120 screened by abstract/full-text, 87 retained post-quality appraisal via relevance/impact scoring; solo review with reflexivity for validity). Sources were retrieved from major databases (Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, Google Scholar) and supplemented with African regional journals, government white papers, and NGO reports to ensure contextual relevance.
Findings highlight three key areas: (i) existing gaps in the quality of geoscience education, inclusivity, and embracing technological advancement; (ii) new emerging opportunities in ICT technologies, virtual fieldwork, and AI-assisted learning models that are already being deployed worldwide and could be adapted for African contexts; and (iii) the potential to integrate geoethics digitally enhanced curricula to produce geoscientists that are ethically conscious and embrace technology. The study concludes that integrating geoethics and digital innovation is necessary for developing ethically grounded and technologically competent geoscientists capable of addressing Africa’s socio-environmental challenges. The implications of this review underscore the need for policy reform, institutional investment, and cross-sector partnerships to build resilient and sustainable geoscience education ecosystems across Africa.
Keywords:
Geoethics, Geoscience education, Digital innovation, Sustainability, Environmental justice, Africa
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Nyarko S.C., Loh Y.S.A., Opokua Debrah M., and Gebhart G. (2026). Shaping geoethical geoscientists: awareness, relevance, and responsibility. Journal of Geoethics and Social Geosciences, 2(Special Issue), 1-39. https://doi.org/10.4401/jgsg-96
Abstract:
Geoethics is an essential yet underdeveloped component of geoscience education in regions experiencing significant environmental and social impacts from resource extraction. Grounded in relational ethics, we investigate the extent to which students recognize the ethical, societal, and environmental dimensions of geoscience practice. Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, we surveyed 193 undergraduate and graduate students across Ghanaian higher education institutions and conducted follow-up interviews with 11 students to interpret patterns of awareness, relevance, and responsibility. Findings indicate low but emerging awareness of geoethics, with over 54% of students intuitively engaging with ethical ideas despite limited formal instruction. More than 62% primarily conceptualized geoethics as a code of conduct, and 58.5% as moral principles. Interview data showed that students associated geoethics mainly with truthfulness, integrity, respect, and accountability, while also recognizing its relevance to decision-making, professional behavior, and environmental stewardship. Approximately 88% of students reported geoethics as relevant to geoscience research and practice, and 88.6% viewed it as relevant to academic work. Students strongly affirmed responsibility toward themselves, colleagues, society, and the natural environment, although their interpretations often emphasized rule-based compliance and reputation management rather than relational engagement with affected communities. In addition, more than 45% of students reported limited departmental support and insufficient curricular integration of geoethics, leaving them underprepared for real-world ethical dilemmas. The study offers an empirical foundation for developing culturally relevant geoethics curricula that promote ethically grounded and socially responsive geoscience practice. The findings underscore the need to embed geoethics within coursework, field experiences, and research mentorship to cultivate geoscientists capable of addressing Ghana’s environmental challenges with responsibility, transparency, and care.
Keywords:
Geoethics, Higher Education, Geoethical awareness, Geoethical responsibility, Relational ethics
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IAPG - International Association for Promoting Geoethics:
IUGS - Commission on Geoethics:
EGU - Geoethics Working Group:
CIPSH - Chair on Geoethics:
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