COMMUNICATING THE INVISIBLE: PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SUBSURFACE

Geoscience operates at the boundary between two worlds: the visible and the invisible. Historically many non-geologists would only have been concerned with those aspects of geology that are easily visible and located at the surface, such as mines or the effects of natural hazards (e.g. landslides). However, more and more types of geological activity are drawing the public’s attention to the ‘invisible’ world of the geological subsurface. These new technologies, such as hydraulic fracturing, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and radioactive waste disposal, are at the forefront of controversial geoscience activity, and yet they present unique communication challenges because they exist in a realm that can never be physically seen. For geoscience professionals these technologies can be visualised by using complex digital equipment, but conveying these environments to non-geologists requires an understanding of how the general public conceptualise the subterranean realm beneath their feet.

To address this question, a study examined the psychological perceptions of residents in three villages in the south west of England. Using Morgan et al’s ‘mental models’ technique (2002), a broad sample from each village was qualitatively interviewed and mental models were constructed from the resultant data. The mental models were then quantitatively tested using a questionnaire to assess the perceptions that the residents hold towards the geological subsurface. The results from the mental models assessment show the principal perceptions held by the majority of the public in these three locations, in particular the difference between those that hold a ‘scientific’ or structurally based model of the subsurface and those who hold a ‘anthropocentric’ or human-activity based model. The work will provide an important empirical baseline from which to develop a science-led strategy to engage the general public with a broad range of new technologies and to increase our understanding of the more broadly held conceptions of the invisible subsurface.