The British Geological Survey (BGS) was awarded a grant from the Welsh Assembly Government Aggregates Levy Fund in 2009 to provide a comprehensive, relevant and accessible information base to enhance the sustainability of mineral resources for Wales. BGS co-funded this project through its Sustainable Mineral Solutions project. This work was completed in 2010. This dataset comprises the digital GIS files which were produced through this project. The major elements of minerals information presented on the maps are; the geological distribution of all onshore mineral resources in Wales, the location of mineral extraction sites, the recorded occurrences of metallic minerals, the recorded location of former slate quarries and significant areas of slate waste and the recorded location of historic building stone quarries. The BGS Mineral Resource data does not determine mineral reserves and therefore does not denote potential areas of extraction. Only onshore, mainland mineral resources are included in the dataset. This dataset has been produced by the collation and interpretation of mineral resource data principally held by the British Geological Survey. The mineral resource data presented are based on the best available information, but are not comprehensive and their quality is variable. The dataset should only be used to show a broad distribution of those mineral resources which may be of current or potential economic interest. The data should not be used to determine individual planning applications or in taking decisions on the acquisition or use of a particular piece of land, although they may give useful background information which sets a specific proposal in context.

The BGS database of geological maps is an index into BGS holdings of modern and historical published geological maps, geological standards and field slips, and also contains a range of other map series, including geophysical maps, geochemical maps, hydrogeological maps, thematic maps and other small-scale miscellaneous non-series maps. Historical vertical and horizontal sections, as well as indices to colours, are also included. The database comprises map metadata, including the title, theme, survey and revision years, publication years, mapped geological theme, base material, map function, colouration, approval status and the spatial extent of each map sheet. An accompanying file store contains high-resolution JPEG2000 scans for delivery, as well as various digital master and delivery formats. For a small number of maps, no scan exists. In total, the database contains over 240,000 scans of over 130,000 maps and field slips. The majority of the maps in the database cover Great Britain, but other regions are also represented, including a historical series of 1-inch maps of Ireland, 6-inch maps of the Isle of Man, 1:25 000 scale maps of the Channel Islands, and various overseas maps. The database contains a record of all geological maps produced by the British Geological Survey and its predecessors since the commencement of systematic geological mapping in the 1830s. The BGS Maps Database is mostly an archive of previous BGS maps, and is not the same as the latest BGS digital mapping. The maps within the database may differ significantly from BGS digital vector mapping. Further information about BGS digital vector mapping is available on the BGS website, under 'BGS Datasets'. The database has evolved over time, originally being a series of discrete databases. These databases have now been aggregated into a single dataset. BGS published maps, as well as 1:10 560 and 1:10 000 large-scale geological maps of England and Wales, and Scotland, are available through the BGS Maps Portal. Field slips and some thematic maps are not included on the BGS Maps Portal. The information about a map is normally a transcription from the map itself. Sometimes key information such as the title may not be actually printed on the map. Where this is the case the information is supplied in square brackets, e.g. [Kirk Maiden]. Information in square brackets means the information is supplied by the cataloguer and is not transcribed from the item.

The Collapsible Ground dataset provides an assessment of the potential for a geological deposit to collapse (to subside rapidly) as a consequence of a metastable microfabric in loessic material. Such metastable material is prone to collapse when it is loaded (as by construction of a building, for example) and then saturated by water (as by rising groundwater, for example). Collapse may cause damage to overlying property. The methodology is based on 'BGS Geology' (Digital Map) and expert knowledge of the origin and behaviour of the formations so defined. It provides complete coverage of Great Britain, subject to revision in line with changes in DiGMapGB lithology codes and methodological improvements. The storage formats of the data are ESRI Shapefiles and MapInfo but other formats can be supplied. The GeoSure datasets and related reports from the British Geological Survey provide information about potential ground movement due to six types of natural geological hazard, in a helpful and user-friendly format. The reports can help inform planning decisions and indicate causes of subsidence.

This dataset contains scans of Applied Geology Maps (AGMs) and sections, which are also known as thematic maps, Environmental Geology Maps (EGMs) or Planning for Development Maps (PfD). They were produced as part of 'Geological Background for Planning and Development' and preliminary sand and gravel projects carried out by the British Geological Survey for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR), the Scottish Development Department and Scottish Office from 1975 to 1996. The maps and sections cover a number of themes (up to 22) for specific areas relating to the project area within the United Kingdom (which are mostly urban areas). Themes include simplified bedrock and superficial maps, drift thickness, drift lithology, rockhead contours and a range of mining-related themes. Each area had its own custom set of maps and were issued with an accompanying BGS Technical Report. The maps and report were sometimes issued as a pack, but for some areas they were made available separately. The geological linework and the methods used to produce the maps are those current at the time of production. Map scales are predominantly 1:10 000 or 1:25 000, with a few 1:50 000 maps. The maps have Ordnance Survey map bases and are bounded by the project area. The maps could be used for geological, engineering geological, environmental and resources research, as an information and reference resource and for inclusion in reports and papers. These maps are hard-copy paper records and digital scans, stored in the National Geoscience Data Centre (NGDC).

This dataset has now been superseded, please see the Measured Urban Soil Chemistry dataset. The BGS digital point source urban soil chemistry data (GB_PointSourceUrbanSoilPHE_v1) comprises the locations and concentrations (mg kg-1) of Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Nickel (Ni) and Lead (Pb) in urban topsoil samples. The data is derived from the national, high resolution urban soil geochemical data from the BGS Geochemical Baseline Survey of the Environment (G-BASE) project. The information is relevant for the first stage of any assessment of risks to human health required by regulatory authorities in relation to land use and also for assessing ecological risk. Although point source PHE (Potentially Harmful Element) concentrations above respective SGVs (Soil Guideline Value) do not necessarily imply a significant health risk, they do highlight the need to consider whether or not there may be a risk. The urban soil chemistry data can be used to assist Local Planning Authorities to identify those areas where a risk assessment may need to be carried out by developers. Comparison of this spatially referenced geochemical data with information on current or historic land use and geological information might help environmental professionals decide whether high PHE concentrations in topsoils can be attributed to geogenic or anthropogenic sources. The point source data is based on an interpretation of the records in the possession of the BGS at the time the dataset was created.

The data comprises GIS layers representing the permeability of artificial deposits for Great Britain. The permeability data has been derived from DiGMap-GB (Digital Geological Map Data of Great Britain), and therefore reflects the scale of DiGMap-GB. For the majority of the Great Britain, the scale is 1:50,000. The data is updated annually, or after a major new release of DiGMap-GB. The permeability data describes the fresh water flow through these deposits and the ability of a lithostratigraphical unit to transmit water. Maximum and minimum permeability indices are given for each geological unit to indicate the range in permeability likely to be encountered and the predominant flow mechanism (fracture or intergranular). Neither of the assigned values takes into account the thickness of either the unsaturated or saturated part of the lithostratigraphical unit. The data can be used freely internally, but is licensed for commercial use. It is best displayed using a desktop GIS, and is available in vector format as ESRI shapefiles and MapInfo TAB files.

The GeoSure Insurance Product (GIP) dataset identifies potential natural ground movement hazard within Great Britain by postcode. These data are available in GIS point feature and database format, updated on a 6 monthly basis. The GeoSure Insurance Product represents the end of an interpretation process starting with the BGS Digital Geological Map of Great Britain at the 1:50,000 scale (DiGMapGB-50). This digital map is the definitive record of the types of rocks underlying Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland), as represented by various layers, starting with Bedrock and moving up to overlying Superficial layers. In 2003, the BGS published a series of GIS digital maps identifying areas of potential natural ground movement hazard in Great Britain, called GeoSure, demonstrating a grade of potential for 6 separate hazards: shrink-swell clays, slope instability, dissolution of soluble ground, running sand, compressible and collapsible deposits. These maps were derived by combining the rock-type information from DiGMapGB-50 with a series of other influencing factors which may cause the geological hazards (e.g. steep slopes, groundwater). In 2005, the BGS used the GeoSure maps to make an interpretation of subsidence insurance risk for the British property insurance industry, released as the GeoSure Insurance Product. This represents the combined effects of the 6 GeoSure hazards on buildings in a postcode database. The combined hazard is represented numerically in the database as the Total Hazard Score, with a breakdown into the component hazards. The methodology behind these data involves balancing the 6 GeoSure natural ground stability hazards against each other. The GeoSure maps themselves have a fivefold coding (A to E), and the balancing exercise involves comparing each level across the six hazards e.g. comparing a level C shrink-swell clay area with a level C running sand area. Each level of each of the hazards is given a 'hazard score' which can then be added together to derive a Total Hazard Score within a 300m radius from the population weighted postcode point.

Many mineral resource maps for areas of Great Britain at scales of 1:25 000 and 1:50 000 have been produced by the British Geological Survey and its predecessors. Many of these maps were produced by the Industrial Minerals Assessment Unit (IMAU) from 1971 to 1986. Most maps cover a single 10 km x 10 km grid square, but some cover larger areas. The majority of maps are sand and gravel resource maps, but conglomerate, limestone, dolomite and celestite are also covered in certain regions. The maps show the locations of IMAU mineral resource blocks, the locations and categories of resource deposits and the locations of boreholes with indicative logs. A series of technical reports (Mineral Assessment Reports, MARs) was also created alongside the maps. Refer to the metadata entry for the Mineral Assessment Reports for more information. The maps are intended to be used for resource development, strategic planning, land-use planning, the indication of hazard in mined areas, environment assessment and as a teaching aid. The data was originally published in printed map form. The printed maps have been scanned and added to the BGS Maps Database.

A collection of small-scale non-series maps which offer whole-country coverage of the United Kingdom 1856-2013. Included in the collection are geological, tectonic, structural, mineral resource and geophysical maps, together with a small number of historical facsimile maps. Key geological maps included in the collection which ran to many editions are Geology of the British Islands 1:584 000 and the Geological Map of Great Britain 1:625 000. These maps are hard-copy paper records stored in the National Geoscience Data Centre (NGDC) and are delivered as digital scans through the BGS website.

The Digital Terrain Model (DTM) is a bare earth model, posted at 5m with a vertical accuracy of less than 60cm RMSE (root mean square error). The model represents the bare ground surface without any objects like trees and buildings. The dataset covers Great Britain. The first surface model, the Digital Surface Model (DSM), which represents the earth’s surface including all objects on the surface, is produced using the digital stereo aerial photography acquired by Getmapping. The DSM is edited to produce a 5m DTM product. A suite of algorithms have been applied to semi-automatically edit the DSM and remove unwanted surface features such as buildings and vegetation. These algorithms include a routine which reduces the woodland canopy areas based on a bounding polygon. This requires some manual intervention to create bounding polygons for woodland extents and identify true ground level. In addition, break lines are captured where required to ensure true terrain features are not removed and that bodies of water, such as lakes, remain flat. The PGA Elevation data offers improved spatial resolution compared to the NEXTMap data. The data is from the Pan Government Agreement (PGA) and an in-perpetuity license has been granted to BGS. The data is being managed by the Earth and Planetary Observation and Monitoring (EPOM) Team in support of the wider BGS Programme.