Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) is an internationally oriented geoscience research agency operating under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. We are a leading European competence center on the assessment and sustainable use of geological resources.

GTK is an impartial expert in geoinformation and the processes that shape ground and bedrock. GTK takes a wide-ranging and interdisciplinary approach to the evaluation of environmental perspectives, ensuring that enough contact is maintained with different stakeholders.

The DroneSOM project supports the response to the Climate Emergency declared by the EU Parliament in November 2019, by providing modern and environmentally friendly geophysical methods for exploration, our second aim is to present our technological and scientific advances to other stakeholders. GTK has done airborne geophysics since the 1950s and ever since has been developing new methods for the future.

GTK is a led partner in the DroneSOM project, and the main role concludes project management, and dissemination, and communication plan. Like all the other partners GTK is also involved in other tasks in other work packages, including a contributor in – Drone geophysical data integration software.

DroneSOM team members:

Jochen Kamm, Associate Research Professor
Jochen’s focus areas are electromagnetic and potential field geophysics including field data acquisition, data processing and development and application of numerical methods for modelling and inversion of geophysical data, with special focus to mineral exploration, deep exploration, and mineral system analysis applications.

Sami Niemi, Geophysicist
Sami’s specialties are geophysical survey techniques and devices, processing of the results and geophysical databases in GTK. He has worked mostly with EM (TDEM, Slingram), gravity and magnetic methods that have been using mostly in bedrock studies. He is eager to apply geophysics into new type of studies.

Heli Ojamo, Research assistant
Airborne, ground and marine geophysical data and image processing, QC, interpretations, and the implementation of UXO projects. Special UXO detections; operations, data processing and interpretations. GNSS global navigation satellite systems

Noora Thurman, Geophysicist
Bedrock modeling projects that include processing geophysical data, modeling potential fields, interpretation, and reporting, as well as various customer tasks.

Longying Xiao, Research scientist
Electromagnetic geophysics and three-dimensional numerical modelling and inversion.

Johanna Pesonen, PhD Senior Scientist
An expert in processing and analyzing various kinds of geoscientific – especially in integrating geochemical elemental concentration data, gridded airborne geophysical data, and spectroscopic data.

Samppa Koivu, Spatial Data Planner
Data management and processing for instance on a GIS-platforms and FME-software.

Veera Pajunen, Planner
Veera coordinates the dissemination activities to increase customer reach and wider commercialization of DroneSOM services.

Elina Heininen, Communications Specialist
Elina coordinates the educational part of the project, which includes the workshop in FEM2025 and university courses. She also supports project’s internal and external communications.