Key Contributions

Integrated members and postgraduate students conducted high-impactstudies in the domain of paleobiodiversity. They developed an interdisciplinary approach thatextends beyond traditional systematic studies by interlinking geochronology, paleogeography, andpaleoclimatology. Contributions include the descriptions of new genera and species of trilobites, insects, plants, and ichnofossils (Correia et al., 2021; Collantes et al., 2023; Figueiredo et al., 2023), revealing unique behaviors of extinct organisms through new insect-plant interactions (Correia et al., 2020) and dinosaur tracks (Figueiredo et al., 2022). These studies have enhanced ourunderstanding of the biodiversity and ecosystems of earth's past. Attention was given to extreme events and their effects on biotas, including human responses in the Quaternary. A significant contribution was the study of surviving communities after the great Hirnantian (Ordovician) glaciation, through the description of the first assemblages of the Hirnantia Fauna in Portugal (Colmenar et al., 2019) and Belgium (Pereira et al., 2021). These findings revealed a Silurian relict, suggesting that delayed post-glacial effects of rising temperature and sea level in protected settings may have facilitated the establishment of refugia. Additionally, important research was conducted onthe adaptation and modification of floras during the Carboniferous-Permian transition, influenced bydry conditions and rising oxygen levels (Correia et al., 2021).
The group also contributed to paleogeographical reconfigurations of continental masses, a crucial tool for improving historical landre constructions. For instance, fossil flora provided solid evidence of an Iberian-Appalachianconnection in the Late Carboniferous (Correia & Murphy, 2020), and early Cambrian trilobite communities supported strong links between the West Gondwana domain and Avalonia (Collantes etal., 2021), generating key information for international and regional correlations (Collantes et al., 2022).

As fundamental research at CGeo is strongly related tofieldwork and the analysis of fossil remains, our team has developed extensive expertise in heritage-related issues (e.g., Henriques & Reis, 2021), ranging from the coordination of science museums to considerations of Geoethics. CGeo has sought to address conceptual issues related to the theoretical foundations of Geoconservation, such as community involvement (Ferraro et al., 2020), thereby consolidating this field as an emerging geological science at the interface with the Humanities (Freire-Lista, 2021). Members have solidified their roles in leading international organizations, such as the IUGS International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme, actively contributing new knowledge (e.g., Martini et al., 2022). Significant progress has also been made inidentifying, evaluating, conserving, enhancing, and monitoring materials, sites, and territories within dubitable geological (including archaeological) heritage, which has occasionally led to notable ancillary advancements, such as the collective study on lactose (Evershed et al., 2022).

Among these, research into the assessment of contamination caused by mining near the Cabo Mondego Natural Monument in Central Portugal, in low-density territories (Henriques et al., 2020, in NE Brazil), as well as studies in African countries (São Tomé and Príncipe, Neto & Henriques, 2023) and those involving evidence of early human settlements (e.g., MSA of Africa, Pereira et al., 2023), are particularly noteworthy. PhD students are involved in projects that have strengthened partnerships with researchers and institutions from all Portuguese-speaking countries, leveraging the cultural affinities they share. These partnerships have also helped reduce inequalities in the production and international dissemination of scientific knowledge, aligning with SDGs 4, 11 and 17. Contributions to Geoethics have been made in line with these efforts (Sjursen & Oosterbeek, 2023), and CGeo is also part of the CIPSH Chair in Geoethics, recently approved and affiliated with the International Association for Promoting Geoethics.

Designing geotechnological solutions has always been acore component of CGeo's activities. Our approach to sustainability emphasizes the importance offraming needs, interacting with local specific contexts, and providing solutions that contribute to thewell-being of communities (e.g., Jambon et al., 2023). This involves crafting tailor-made solutions toaddress geological/geotechnical challenges, such as the stability of slopes in construction areas,and monitoring mining impacts (Antão et al., 2023; Fernandes et al., 2023), as well as capacity-building projects (Jesus & Quinta-Ferreira, 2023). Integrated members and postgraduate studentshave contributed responsibly for innovative solutions to tangible challenges faced by localcommunities and institutions, both in Portugal and worldwide (e.g., Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and East Timor).
Key initiatives include the extraction and management of ornamental stone, employingnew tools that have enhanced quarry operations through field mapping, block modeling, and aerial photogrammetric surveys, aimed at maximizing quarry yield and reducing environmental impacts by minimizing waste volume (Bogdanowitsch et al., 2022). Research about the physical and mechanical properties of rocks and their weathering evolution during artificial aging tests (Freire-Lista, 2023;Sousa et al., 2021; Trovão et al., 2020; Valido et al., 2023) have also been crucial. Furthermore, novel insights have led to environmental restoration, remediation, reuse, and recycling of materials, including the development of metal toxicity assessment tools, biomonitoring, and metalphytoremediation technologies (Chaturvedi et al., 2021; Favas et al., 2023), the utilization of stone-cutting waste in new materials (Bruschi et al., 2022), and innovations in separation processes toimprove recycling of plastics and e-waste (Pita & Castilho, 2020).

CGeo's research has been significantly enhanced through the establishmentof two major global networks. The UNESCO Chair on Geoparks, Sustainable Development, and Healthy Lifestyles, hosted by UTAD, is a global research and innovation network that has been instrumental in establishing many of the 195 geoparks across all continents (Rosado-González et al., 2021), contributing to the expansion of the concept, refining its quality assurance criteria, and defining its monitoring criteria. The UNESCO Chair in Geoparks annually develops the International Summer University on Geoparks, where students engage in innovative practices and apply theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios and best practices. CGeo members are integral to the coordination of several relevant projects and publications, establishing geoparks as a global reality and a major tool for sustainability.
Concurrently, CGeo's emphasis on the interface between geosciences and humanities forms the basis of another UNESCO Chair on Humanities and Landscape Management (Oosterbeek, 2019), hosted by IPT. This chair involves almost 100 institutions, including universities, research centers, NGOs, local authorities, and private companies, with branches in Brazil and Cabo Verde, closely linked to CPLP networks (Oosterbeek & Gomes,2022). This strategy, which includes an Erasmus Mundus Master on Cultural Landscapes and a novel online PhD on Heritage, Technology and Territory (Silveira & Oosterbeek, 2023), has a profound impact on sustainability science. This is exemplified by the Lisbon Declaration of the European Humanities Conference, endorsed by UNESCO, FCT, and the Portuguese Ministry of Science and Technology, and supported by over 100 global organizations (Oosterbeek et al., 2023).

The most recent contribution from CGeo is the new UNESCO program forsustainability science: BRIDGES (Attala et al., 2023). This program is based on the "Mação Declaration," which was endorsed in 2019 by more than 20 coordinators of international programsand UNESCO, following an invitation from our team. It proposed the creation of a UNESCO program to facilitate the engagement of human communities in co-constructing knowledge about their environments, promoting an understanding of the planet not merely as a system, but as a web of meanings that influence human actions. Research into historical perceptions of the landscape, including its symbolic aspects as demonstrated in rock art (Garcês & Nash, 2023) and other prehistoric remains (Scarre & Oosterbeek, 2020), along with community involvement in landscape mapping (Soares, 2023), has broadened the scope of scientific data available through participatory science strategies.
BRIDGES develops best practices and protocols for operating, co-designing, and co-implementing science-based sustainable landscape management practices. Established by UNESCO, the program includes a CGeo coordination team member on its Governing Council. During its preparatory phase, nearly 50 site-based projects were initiated, with the CGeo team involved in approximately 50% of them, notably through students' applied projects across Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia. The program currently aims to recognize 100 contexts within one year.