Our annual meeting provides a platform to discuss the near surface challenges the world is currently facing. With changing energy sources and an increased awareness of environment and climate, the focus on the near surface as a resource and the wish for minimal negative impact on the near surface has been growing. It makes the conference highly relevant to society as a whole. Topics for the meeting include mining, geotechnics, engineering geology, hydrology, geothermal investigation, environment, archaeology, forensics and soil science.