Updated September 2021
Our mission is to promote knowledge about and application of geochemistry through a variety of services to our members and the international scientific community. To provide these services, we at times need to collect and process personal information. The Geochemical Society (referred to herein as "GS", "Society", "we", "our") developed this policy to demonstrate our commitment to your privacy and protection of personal data. Please review it carefully and contact us at gsoffice@geochemsoc.org if you have questions or concerns.
If you do not agree to the Privacy Policy, please refrain from providing personal data to us or accessing this website.
This privacy policy applies to data collected through:
• The GS website
• The website of the society's electronic newsletter, Geochemical News
• The Goldschmidt Conference website
Collection of Personal Data
In order to provide our products, services, and websites as described in Use of Information below, we collect and process personal data from our members, donors, subscribers, and other users of our products, services, and websites. We may collect information from you such as, but not limited to, your name, email address, mailing address, phone number, date of birth, gender, payment information, education history, employment information, and information about your use of our and third-party websites, products and services ("Personal Data"). You are not required to provide us with all of the Personal Data listed above, but if you do not do so, we may not be able to effectively provide you with our products, services and information. In certain circumstances, you will need to provide us with specific categories of Personal Data (including name, email address, and payment information) in order to enter into a contract with us and for us to perform that contract.
Information You Directly and Voluntarily Provide to Us
Membership: when you join or renew your membership in the Society, you are required to provide certain information, including your name, email address, billing address, organization, phone number, and payment information. Student members must also provide their anticipated year of graduation and advisor's name and email address. You may also voluntarily provide us with information such as your fields of interest, mailing address, and website. This information is used to communicate with you, design content and activities that we believe would be of interest to you, and deliver membership benefits.
Newsletter: you may subscribe to Geochemical News for no charge by providing your name, organization, email address, and country. This information is used to send the newsletter to you and communicate about the Society. You may unsubscribe at any time by selecting the unsubscribe option at the bottom of the newsletter.
Conferences: when you sign up to receive information, submit an abstract, or register for the Goldschmidt Conference, you are required to provide certain information. This may include your name, email address, billing address, organization, and payment information. You may voluntarily provide additional information such as your website, Twitter account, and photo. This data appears under 'My Goldschmidt Profile' on the Goldschmidt Conference website. Additional data collected at the time of registration for a specific conference may also include registration category, conference abstracts, purchases, gender, and dietary preference. This data appears under 'My Goldschmidt Purchases'.
Donations: when you make a financial gift to the Society, we collect your name, email address, payment information, and billing address. The names of donors are published annually by the Society. You have the option to request that your gift remain anonymous and that your name not be published.
Advertise a Job: when you advertise a position in the GS Career Center, you are required to provide information including your name, email address, billing address, and payment information. This information is used to process your order and communicate with you about the advertisement.
Information We Automatically Collect from You
We analyze traffic to this site. We collect statistical data on an aggregated basis. For example, we collect information about the domain names of servers that bring visitors to our site, and we count the number of visitors and keep track of where they go on our site. Such information allows us to find out what areas users visit most frequently and what services they access the most, which enables us to create a better overall experience for our users. To gather such data, we use "cookie" technology, which are small amounts of data that are stored within your computer's Internet browser and that are accessed and recorded by the websites that you visit so that they can recognize the same browser navigating online at a later time.
Use of Information
The GS uses Personal Data for the purposes described at the time of collection and to provide membership benefits and other services to you. The Society also uses your information, as permitted by law, to communicate with you about the GS, our products and services, or other products and services in which we believe you may be interested. If you wish to opt-out of receiving emails or publications from us, please follow the instructions contained in the applicable email or write to: gsoffice@geochemsoc.org.
We will process your Personal Data for the purposes identified above on the following bases:
• For the legitimate interests of the Society, which include provision of our products, services, and information;
• To perform a contract;
• Based on your consent; and
• As necessary to comply with our legal obligations.
Sharing and Disclosure to Third Parties
In order to offer our services and information, the GS partners with trusted third-party Service Providers. These include our website hosting company, Elements magazine, Geochemical News publisher, the Conference Exchange (for services related to the Goldschmidt Conference), and online career center provider. The Personal Data shared with each provider is limited to the specific product or service they help the GS to provide. Through our contracts with them, these Service Providers are not permitted to use your data for any other purpose. The GS does not sell or otherwise make available any Personal Data for other organizations' marketing purposes.
Information about Goldschmidt Conference delegates who register as members of partner societies (whose members benefit from reduced registration rates) may also be shared directly with the specific partner society to verify the validity of the membership.
In certain, limited circumstances we may share or transfer personal information to unrelated third parties. For example, we may provide personal information to a third party (i) at your request; (ii) to comply with a legal requirement or court order; (iii) to investigate a possible crime, such as identity theft; or (iv) in connection with the sale, purchase, merger, reorganization, liquidation or dissolution of GS. If such an event occurs, we will take reasonable steps to protect your personal information.
Data Storage and Security
The Society generally collects and processes Personal Data in the United States.
All payments made to GS are processed by a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard-compliant processing service engaged by the Society. We do not maintain your payment information in our office.
We make reasonable efforts to ensure that the Society and our Service Providers have implemented physical, electronic, and procedural security measures to assist with safeguarding your personal information, and to help protect against unauthorized access and disclosure. Notwithstanding our efforts, the Internet has inherent security risks. We cannot promise, and you should not expect, that your personal information, personal searches, and other communications will always remain secure. You should take care with regard to how you handle and disclose your personal information or any username or password that you are required to use to access our websites and services.
Data Retention
Personal Data may be retained by the Society for so long as necessary or useful to pursue the legitimate interests of the Society. Other factors may include: the duration of the business or contractual relationship between the Society and an individual; archiving of historical information; and legal requirements, including limitations periods during which a legal claim might be brought.
Children
The GS is a professional membership society and we do not knowingly collect personally identifiable data from persons under the age of 13. If you are a parent of a child under 13, and you believe that your child has provided us with information about him or herself, please contact us at gsoffice@geochemsoc.org.
Links to Other Sites
Our site contains links to other sites and Internet resources. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of these other websites and Internet resources.
Your Individual Rights Regarding Personal Data
If you would like to review, correct, or update the Personal Data you have provided to us, please log in and check the information in your GS profile or contact us at the address below. If you choose, you may request to delete your account with us (be forgotten). Such requests must be submitted in writing to the GS.
Geochemical Society
4220 King St
Alexandria, VA 22302
USA
1-202-545-6928
gsoffice@geochemsoc.org
Updates to this Privacy Policy
We may update these privacy policies periodically, and we encourage visitors to review them on a regular basis. Whenever there are changes, the modified policies will be posted on our website and will be effective at that time.