Austrian Research and Technology Report 2020

The Geological Survey of Austria
106
The Geological Survey of Austria (GBA) was set up in 
1849. As Austria’s state geological service, it is re-
sponsible for studying and documenting the coun-
try’s geology systematically, continuously and com-
prehensively. As well as geoscientific surveying and 
104 See Research Organisation Act (FOG), original version: Federal Law Gazette No. 341/1981.
105 See Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) (2019).
106 See 
https://www.geologie.ac.at/
107 See 
https://www.zamg.ac.at
 
producing geological maps, the main areas of its 
work also include researching the country’s raw ma-
terial reserves, identifying and assessing geological 
natural hazards, and conducting hydrogeological sur-
veys and analyses of sources of drinking and process 
water. The agency collates, documents and archives 
the results of its studies and makes them available 
to other users: libraries, archives and collections hold 
the fruit of its research stretching back as far as 
1849. It also provides assessments and planning doc-
uments to help solve problems in the fields of eco-
nomic geology, hydrogeology and geological engi-
neering as well as performing crucial duties as part 
of the government’s crisis management. 
International cooperation is another important as-
pect of the agency’s role. The GBA is a founder mem-
ber of the umbrella association of European geologi-
cal surveys (EuroGeoSurveys, EGS) and is involved in 
numerous international projects, some of them out-
side Europe. 
As at the end of 2019, the GBA employed 61 civil 
servants (59.9 FTEs), including 35 researchers and 25 
staff performing essential duties in the laboratory, 
cartography, IT & GIS and administration. The GBA 
also employed a further 61 people (53 scientific and 
eight non-scientific staff) at year-end 2019 within the 
scope of its partial legal capacity.