Geoethics in forensic geoscience: Towards process ethics and forensic ethical literacy

This paper advances an expanded conception of geoethics in forensic geoscience by extending ethical responsibility beyond the conduct of individual practitioners to encompass the broader processes through which forensic evidence is generated, interpreted, communicated, evaluated, and applied. We introduce Process Ethics as a complementary perspective that recognises ethical and epistemic responsibility as distributed across the interconnected actors, decisions, relationships, and institutions that shape the forensic investigative ecosystem. To translate shared geoethical principles into practice, we propose Relational Geoscientific Pragmatism (RGP) as a methodological approach integrating geoscience, relational thinking, and pragmatism to support context-sensitive and ethically defensible decision-making. We further discuss Forensic Ethical Literacy as a cross-cutting capability encompassing ethical awareness, critical judgement, reflexivity, scientific understanding, and responsible action throughout the investigative process. Education and professional development are identified as important mechanisms for fostering Forensic Ethical Literacy, with broader applications in professional practice, governance, and organisational decision-making. Building on these concepts, we propose the Adaptive Geoethical Investigation Framework (AGIF) as a three-layer conceptual framework linking Geoethical Foundations, RGP Methodology, and Forensic Implementation through iterative consideration of context, ethical and epistemic issues, actors and competencies, decisions and actions, and evaluation and reflection. AGIF is designed to accommodate diverse geological, environmental, cultural, institutional, and legal contexts while remaining grounded in shared geoethical commitments.. This proposed framework provides a conceptual architecture for embedding Process Ethics across forensic geoscience and the wider investigative ecosystem, supporting scientifically rigorous, ethically accountable, and context-responsive forensic practice.