Draft version 1.2.2 beta — Revised March 12, 2026

A Geoethics Primer for Geoscientists

Part 4. Ethical Standards, Norms, and Obligations of Geoscientists as Reflected in Published Codes and Regulations

4.1 Introduction

Common morality applies to everyone, and science ethics govern all scientists. Geoscientists must also follow their own discipline-specific ethical expectations and obligations. Minimum accepted standards are defined by codes of geoscience ethics that are issued by geoscience organizations, academic departments, employers, and governments. Each geoscientist is responsible for understanding the geoethical codes that are relevant to their work.

As an undergraduate geology student, I took advantage of discounted or waived student membership fees offered by several geoscience organizations, including the Geological Society of America (GSA), the American Geophysical Union (AGU), and the American Association of Petroleum Geology (AAPG). These organizations, along with many others I have affiliated with throughout my career, provide numerous valuable benefits, such as access to their publications — both formal and informal — field trips, scholarships, in-person meetings, webinars, short courses, access to internships and employment services, and the social benefits of engaging with a diverse group of geoscientists. Each of these organizations fosters a community where members voluntarily connect. Knowledge and skills are shared within these communities, and members learn about the behavioral and operational practices that are standard there. Geoscience organizations like GSA, AGU, and AAPG support our growth as geoscientists — and as members of a geoscience community that acts in the public interest — throughout our careers.

Most geoscience organizations publish standards of behavior for their members to follow. These might be in the form of ethical guidelines, codes, or rules of professional practice.  Usually, membership applications or annual renewals require acceptance of the code as a condition of membership. Some organizations also maintain ethical standards that specifically address behavior at meetings, field trips, short courses, and webinars, as well as publication ethics.

Some codes are aspirational documents composed of a list of expectations about various acts that every member should try to embrace or avoid. The word "should" in a code is a clue that the behavior is expected and, while not explicitly required, might result in reputational damage if this norm is violated. Other codes list obligations that are mandatory for all members as a condition for their continued affiliation with that organization. The words "must," "shall," and "required" are clues that the listed behavior is an obligation.

Expectations are sometimes expressed as guidelines that should be followed, while obligations are expressed as rules or policies that must be obeyed. Failure to meet expectations might result in some reputational damage that could have longer-term consequences if not corrected. Failure to comply with an obligation might result in some form of disciplinary action (for example, a reprimand, suspension, or expulsion) that can harm your reputation and career.

An employment contract defines the legal relationship between a geoscientist and their employer. Employers of geoscientists, such as governments, universities, and companies, might have written standards of professional conduct, or they might not include explicit statements to retain flexibility in terminating employees "for cause." Typically, employers expect or require their employees to act with integrity. In the United States, employment law varies by state, and federal employment rights mainly address illegal discrimination against protected classes.

In some jurisdictions, a professional geoscientist must be certified or licensed to practice. Certifying organizations, such as the American Institute for Professional Geology (AIPG), and licensing authorities, such as state boards of professional licensure, generally have mandatory codes of professional practice. Failure to fulfill the ethical obligations of a certified or licensed geoscientist can result in loss or suspension of the right to practice and even monetary fines.

We will consider the form and content of a few aspirational and mandatory codes of conduct for geoscientists. You can find links to many different ethics codes and related documents as you move through this part of the Primer.

4.2 Paramount Obligations

Robert Tepel is a licensed and certified professional geologist, and has contributed decades of extraordinary service to the geoscience profession.  His papers exploring issues related to the professional licensure for geologists are freely available1 and should be read by all applied geoscientists. Tepel wrote,

"Through their professional association codes of ethics, many professionals affirm that they practice in the public interest, and that they therefore must hold the public health, safety, and welfare paramount in the performance of their professional duties... The preamble to almost every existing licensure law for geologists uses language very similar to the language found in many professional codes of ethics."2

For example, the purpose of the code of conduct specified in California's license law for professional practice of geology and geophysics3 is "To protect and safeguard the health, safety, welfare, property of the public, and California's environmental quality..." Using similar language, the American Society of Civil Engineering's Code of Ethics (2017) listed as the first of its Fundamental Canons, "Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable development in the performance of their professional duties."

The geoscience community’s ethical standards and norms — expressed through its many ethics and professional-practice codes — both guide and constrain our decisions. While these codes share many similarities, they differ in emphasis and detail. However, a few core principles underpin them all. These are the paramount obligations: the fundamental ethical principles that supersede personal interests and even the interests of employers or clients.4

Throughout our professional lives, we face choices that are rarely simple. Often there is no single “good” option — only alternatives with differing risks, costs, and uncertainties. In such cases, keeping our paramount obligations in mind provides a compass for ethical judgment.

Paramount Obligations. In our professional scientific work, geoscientists must act with integrity5, 6 to...

  1. Safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the public
  2. Adhere to the ethical principles, standards, and norms of science to seek and report faithfully on reliable information — truth — about our world
  3. Promote, protect, and sustain the viability and resilience of Earth's ecosystems.

The first obligation reflects long-standing language in professional codes and licensing laws that prioritize public health, safety, and welfare. The second affirms our duty as scientists — to uphold the ethics of science and to pursue truth that withstands the test of experience.7 The third obligation acknowledges that our geoscientific knowledge imparts a unique ability and implicit duty to assist the global community in maintaining a habitable planet. Society expects more from geoscientists than just resource development, contributions to safe engineering, and natural hazard recognition and mitigation; it relies on us to help sustain a livable Earth for both current and future generations.

Failing to act with integrity to fulfill any of these paramount obligations violates our common morality, the ethics of science, and our responsibility to act in the public interest — honoring the public trust that justifies our work as scientists.

4.3 An Aspirational Geoethics Code: The AGI Guidelines

The American Geosciences Institute (AGI)8 was founded in 1948, at the suggestion of the National Academy of Sciences, and is a federation of approximately four dozen geoscience institutions in the United States and worldwide. Following a week-long "Conference on Ethics in the Geosciences"9 in 1997, an ad hoc committee organized by AGI and other groups developed a set of guidelines for ethical professional conduct (1999) that was subsequently revised in 2015.10 As of 2018, the current version had been formally endorsed by at least 31 organizations representing most if not all geoscientists in the US, Canada, and the UK.

The AGI Guidelines for Ethical Professional Conduct (2015) consists mainly of a list of 17 expectations for geoscientists:

"In day-to-day activities geoscientists should:
• Be honest.
• Act responsibly and with integrity, acknowledge limitations to knowledge and understanding, and be accountable for their errors.
• Present professional work and reports without falsification or fabrication of data, misleading statements, or omission of relevant facts.
• Distinguish facts and observations from interpretations.
• Accurately cite authorship, acknowledge the contributions of others, and not plagiarize.
• Disclose and act appropriately on real or perceived conflicts of interest.
• Continue professional development and growth.
• Encourage and assist in the development of a safe, diverse, and inclusive workforce.
• Treat colleagues, students, employees, and the public with respect.
• Keep privileged information confidential, except when doing so constitutes a threat to public health, safety, or welfare.

As members of a professional and scientific community, geoscientists should:
• Promote greater understanding of the geosciences by other technical groups, students, the general public, news media, and policy makers through effective communication and education.
• Conduct their work recognizing the complexities and uncertainties of the Earth system.
• Sample responsibly so that materials and sites are preserved for future study.
• Document and archive data and data products using best practices in data management, and share data promptly for use by the geoscience community.
• Use their technical knowledge and skills to protect public health, safety, and welfare, and enhance the sustainability of society.
• Responsibly inform the public about natural resources, hazards, and other geoscience phenomena with clarity and accuracy.
• Support responsible stewardship through an improved understanding and interpretation of the Earth, and by communicating known and potential impacts of human activities and natural processes."

Here are the links to both versions of the AGI guidelines:

The current American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Code of Ethics (2020) highlights many of the same ideas and illustrates similar ethical attitudes as professionals acting in the public interest.

4.4 Enforceable Geoethics Codes

The following geoethics documents speak for themselves, and will not be reiterated on this website as the AGI guidelines were. Enforceable geoethics codes have an enforcement provision of some sort. Failure to abide by the obligations listed in the codes of voluntary organizations like GSA and AGU might result in reputational damage and either suspension or termination of membership in the organization. Violations of ethics code provisions embedded in governmental administrative, civil, or criminal codes might have more serious consequences.

4.4.1 A Certifying Organization: American Institute for Professional Geologists

The American Institute for Professional Geologists (AIPG)11 was founded in 1963 to promote and strengthen the ethical professional practice of geology in the United States. AIPG has established a broadly respected peer-review program for certifying the qualifications of professional geologists as "competent practitioners who have been deemed worthy of public trust." An AIPG Certified Professional Geologist (CPG) who has appropriate experience can gain Qualified Person (QP) or Competent Person (CP) status nationally and internationally. Being a QP or CP allows you to engage in public reporting of mineral resource estimates and related information. A CPG can also seek reciprocal certifications from the European Federation of Geologists, the Geological Society of London, the Institute of Geologists of Ireland, and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Division of Professional Affairs.

Since 1987, AIPG member David Abbott has presented a column called "Geologic Ethics and Professional Practice" in AIPG's quarterly journal The Professional Geologist that responds to problems described by AIPG members in light of the AIPG Code of Ethics. This column greatly enhances the practical application of this code, and facilitates development of community understanding of applied professional geoethics.

4.4.2 Large, Broad-Based Geoscience Associations

4.4.3 Governmental Geoscience: United States Geological Survey

Geoscientists work as federal employees and contractors in many agencies of the United States government. Here we focus on ethics documents that guide the work of geoscientists in the U.S. Geological Survey17 — part of the Department of the Interior — and I have chosen to feature recent versions through 2024.

Conflict of interest and scientific misconduct are two particular areas of interest in governmental geoscience ethics codes. Public service has its own ethical standards and norms.18, 19 The work products of governmental geoscientists should be impartial and in the public interest — holding the health, safety, and welfare of the public as paramount concerns. The accuracy with which features like active-fault traces, flood-zone boundaries, the high-high tide line in coastal areas, and boundaries of known- or potentially-active landslides are mapped is important, because of the impact of federal maps on land-use decisions. Similarly, mineral assays, air- and water-quality analyses, and resource assessments by governmental geoscientists have direct economic impact. The purpose of governmental geoscience is to provide the public with unbiased and reliable information — only scientifically sound results are useful.

The following documents describe the ethical standards that USGS geoscientists are expected or obligated to uphold.

4.4.4 Geoethics in State, Provincial, and Territorial Licensing Laws

Licensing of professional geoscientists is a function of state law in the United States and provincial or territorial law in Canada. Not all states, provinces, or territories require professional geoscientists to be licensed — 31 of 50 states in the US and, in Canada, 9 of 10 provinces and 2 of 3 territories have some form of geoscience licensure law. Both the US and Canada have organizations that are essentially federations of regulators: the National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG)20 in the US and Geoscientists Canada21 in Canada. Neither licenses geoscientists directly, but both help by promoting standards and facilitating reciprocity of licensing.

4.4.4.1 National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG) Model Licensure Law

The National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG) is a professional service organization that seeks to advance the professional licensing of geoscientists in the United States by proposing model text for state licensure laws, developing validated examinations to verify that successful candidates meet minimum qualifications, and administering the exams. Two exams are administered to candidates who have met specified basic qualifications:  Fundamentals of Geology (FG), and Practice of Geology . Candidates who pass the FG exam and work under the supervision of a licensed geologist for a specified time are qualified to take the PG exam. Successful completion of the PG exam is required for a geoscientist to be licensed in the United States. Additional requirements apply in some states for specific topics of specialization, such as geophysics, engineering geology, and hydrogeology. ASBOG also provides a forum for members of state boards of geology to coordinate their efforts and discuss matters of mutual interest.

4.4.4.2 Ethics Codes from US State Boards of Registration
4.4.4.3 Ethics Codes from Canadian Regulatory Groups
4.4.4.4 Enforceable Ethics Codes from South America

4.5 Other Geoscience Ethics Codes

4.5.1 Appied-Geoscience Organizations

4.5.2 Academic Geoscience Schools/Departments

4.5.3 Compilations of Geoethics Codes

4.6 Examples of Reported Violations of Enforceable Ethics Codes

It is doubtful that all of the effort exerted on the creation and maintenance of geoethics codes and compliance systems over the last century would have occurred if there had not been cases of ethical failure that had significant consequences. Major scandals like the Bre-X mining fraud45 and the Teapot Dome scandal46 certainly had broad-ranging consequences, but these are greatly outnumbered by smaller ethical failures that might not be well known but, in some cases, have also had devastating consequences for individuals, families, and communities.

A brief sample of ethical issues acknowledged by the science and geoscience communities9, 47‐50 includes:

conflict of interestnon-disclosure of regulatory violations
breach of confidentialityinappropriate advocacy for client
accepting a bribe/giftgiving a bribe/gift
insufficient "scope of work"dishonest invoicing
misrepresenting qualificationsplagiarism
incompetent practiceselective data acquisition
selective data analysisselective data disclosure
retaliation against a whistleblower who acts in good faithinsufficient error analysis
insufficient recording of datanonretention of data records
bias in the scientific investigationbias in reporting the interpretations or conclusions
illegal acts (e.g., fraud)negligence
data fabricationdata falsification

4.7 Scenarios

Scenarios are depersonalized outlines of situations that might involve a violation of moral rules or ethical standards, presented here to help you. {This section is under construction as of November 25, 2025.}

Scenario 4.1 Text

Some questions [1] text

 [2] text

 [3] text

4.8 Notes and References

1 Tepel, R.E., 1995, Professional licensure for geologists — An exploration of issues: Association of Engineering Geologists, Special Publication No. 7, 149 p., accessed 20251016 at https://www.aegweb.org/assets/docs/Publications/SP7_Professional Licensure for Geologists.pdf

2 Tepel, R.E., 1995, How are professional licensure laws and professional ethics related — if at all?, in Professional licensure for geologists — An exploration of issues: Association of Engineering Geologists, Special Publication No. 7, p. 15, accessed 20251016 at https://www.aegweb.org/assets/docs/Publications/SP7_Professional Licensure for Geologists.pdf

3 State of California, 2025, Professional Standards and Code of Professional Conduct — Professional Geology and Professional Geophysics, in Regulations Relating to the Practices of Geology and Geophysics: California Code of Regulations, Title 16, Division 29, Section 3065 , pages 30-33, accessed 20251015 at https://www.bpelsg.ca.gov/laws/gg_regs.pdf

4 Tepel, R.E., 1995, Professional licensure for geologists — An exploration of issues: Association of Engineering Geologists, Special Publication No. 7, p. xi, accessed 20251016 at https://www.aegweb.org/assets/docs/Publications/SP7_Professional Licensure for Geologists.pdf

5 Garner, B.A. [editor], 2024, Definition — integrity, in Black's Law Dictionary [12th edition]: St. Paul, MN, Thompson Reuters, ISBN 979-8-350-29089-9, p. 962.

6 National Science and Technology Council, Executive Office of the President (2023), A Framework for Federal Scientific Integrity Policy and Practice: p. 8, accessed 20251018 via https://edit.doi.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2025-01/01-2023-framework-federal-scientific-integrity-policy-and-practice.pdf

7 Einstein. A. 1951, The laws of science and the laws of ethics, in Phillipp Frank, 1951, Relativity — A richer truth: London, Jonathan Cape, p. 10.

8 American Geosciences Institute (AGI): www.americangeosciences.org

9 Stephenson, D., 1997, Report on Conference on "Ethics in the Geosciences": available via croninprojects.org/Geoethics/Primer/GSA_Ethics_in_the_Geosciences.pdf

10 Mogk, D, and Boland, M., 2015, Development of the 2015 American Geosciences Institute Guidelines for Ethical Professional Conduct: History, Context, and Intended Use: American Geosciences Institute, accessed 20251019 via www.americangeosciences.org/static/files/agi/community/DevelopmentOfTheAGIGuidelinesForEthicalProfessionalConduct_4-15-2015.pdf

11 American Institute for Professional Geologists (AIPG): aipg.org

12 American Geophysical Union (AGU): www.agu.org

13 European Federation of Geologists (EFG): eurogeologists.eu

14 Geological Society of America (GSA): www.geosociety.org

15 Geological Association of Canada (GAC): gac.ca

16 Geological Society of London (GSL): www.geolsoc.org.uk

17 United States Geological Survey (USGS): www.usgs.gov

18 Bowman, J.S., and West, J.P., 2022, Public Service Ethics — Individual and Institutional Responsibilities [third edition]: New York, Routledge, 978-1-032-06631-8, 411 p.

19 Svara, J.H., 2022, The Ethics Primer for Public Administrators in Government and Nonprofit Organizations: Burlington, MA, Jones and Bartlett Learning, ISBN 9781284211573, 222 p.

20 Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG): www.asbog.org

21 Geoscientists Canada (GC): geoscientistscanada.ca

22 Alabama Board of Licensure for Professional Geologists: www.algeobd.alabama.gov

23 California Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists: www.bpelsg.ca.gov

24 Texas Board of Professional Geologists: www.tbpg.state.tx.us

25 Engineers and Geoscientists of British Colombia: www.egbc.ca

26 NW Territories and Nunavut Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists: www.napeg.nt.ca

27 Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta: www.apega.ca

28 Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan: www.apegs.ca

29 Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba: www.enggeomb.ca

30 Professional Geoscientists Ontario: www.pgo.ca

31 Engineers and Geoscientists New Brunswick: www.apegnb.com

32 Geoscientists Nova Scotia: www.geoscientistsns.ca

33 Newfoundland and Labrador: pegnl.ca

34 Ordre des géologues du Québec: ogq.qc.ca

35 American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG): www.aapg.org

36 Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists (AEG): www.aegweb.org/

37 Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of the Province of Manitoba: www.enggeomb.ca

38 Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG): seg.org

39 Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists (SIPES): sipes.org

40 Geosciences Department, Colorado State University: warnercnr.colostate.edu/geosciences

41 Geosciences Department, Virginia Tech University: geos.vt.edu

42 Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas–Austin: www.jsg.utexas.edu

43 International Association for Promoting Geoethics (IAPG): www.geoethics.org

44 Science Education Research Center (SERC): serc.carleton.edu

45 Wikipedia, 2025, Bre-X: accessed 20251019 via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bre-X

46 Wikipedia, 2025, Teapot Dome scandal: accessed 20251019 via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teapot_Dome_scandal

47 Warner, J.L. 2015, Task analysis survey 2015: A study of the practice of geology in the United States and Canada: National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG), accessible via asbog.org/documents/ASBOG TAS 2015 - Summary Report (July 2021).pdf

48 Williams, J., 2018, The National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG): Involvement in Geoscience Professional Ethics, in Gunderson, L.C., [editor], Scientific Integrity and Ethics in the Geosciences: Washington, D.C., American Geophysical Union, ISBN 978-1-119-06778-8, p. 77–99.

49 National Science and Technology Council, Executive Office of the President (2000), Federal Policy on Research Misconduct: Federal Register 65, p. 7620–76264, accessed 20251018 via www.federalregister.gov/documents/2000/12/06/00-30852/executive-office-of-the-president-federal-policy-on-research-misconduct-preamble-for-research

50 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), 2017, Fostering integrity in research: Washington, D.C., National Academies Press, ISBN 978-0-309-39125-2, 309 p., accessible via nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21896/fostering-integrity-in-research