Strengthening geoscience communication and public relations through geo-cartoons / geo-emojis: a digital option or …?

People in different societies, including adults, young people, and children, are usually confronted with explanations and/or drawings by geoscientists on topics presented in museums, visitor centres and in the field when it comes to communicating geoscientific topics. In formal education, the focus is usually on conveying scientific concepts, research findings, and results. With the emergence of geopaths/-trails in Germany since the 1970s and later geoparks since 1992, the interest of citizens aged 3 to 100 years has been awakened with information panels, adventure boards and/or brochures in the broadest sense, encouraging the discovery of nature, landscape and their geoscientific phenomena and processes, including a wide range of earth sciences. Since then, geological trails, geo-hiking trails, geo-routes, mountain bike trails as well as brochures and teaching resources for various age groups have been created to communicate geoscientific topics. With the changes in life and society, the emergence of generations X, Y, Z and Alpha has established new target groups. This shift has created a new dynamic and changed the preferences of contemporary culture, which requires a paradigm shift and innovative approaches in communication strategies. Independently of the poem by the German poet Joseph Victor Scheffel (1826–1886) “Der Ichthyosaurus”, which initially inspired geoscientists, geo-cartoons were created and used by Global Geoparks. Since the early 1990s, they have probably been published for the first time in Germany and France, others have followed, e. g. in the Republic of Ireland, Portugal, Romania, Hong Kong (PR China) and are used as “mascots” especially in Global Geoparks. Together with storytelling, their popularity has increased and their use has also expanded significantly in terms of digitalisation. This article addresses the target audiences, gives aspects of the interpretation of geoscientific topics, presents examples of geo-cartoons and concepts and builds a bridge to the use of cartoons to communicate geoscience to adults and the necessary professional partners, including their use in digital communication.