There is a paucity of knowledge related to scientific integrity and ethics in the geosciences and no specific handbooks written with the research or student geoscientist in mind. However, there are a number of specific geoscience codes of conduct for professional geologists in industry. More recently, federal agencies that have oversight over significant geosciences activitie, such as the U.S. Geological Survey, Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency have developed Scientific integrity and ethics policies. These federal policies and industry codes are not generally accessible to students and university scientists, but can provide valuable lessons and value to the whole geosciences community. Numerous professional geosciences societies have ethical codes, many of which are being re-examined for the first time to address modern issues. Further there are efforts nationally and internationally to develop common codes of ethics. The National Science Foundation is funding new work in responsible science and ethics as well as requiring that university grantees provide ethics education to post doctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduate students who conduct research under NSF grants. General scientific integrity policies and handbooks are available, although many are outdated or insufficiently address ethics and integrity in the digital age, or geosciences ethics issues. There are a number of modern handbooks in medical and bioethics but these are limited in scope and application to geoscience research. Thus, this book will fill a critical gap for the geosciences and address the emerging field of geoethics.
