BGS has drilled almost 600 boreholes to prove seismic interpretations of the marine Quaternary geology and bedrock from the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). The collection also includes additional third party data and has assisted in the creation of BGS Marine Geology Maps. The boreholes penetrate beneath the sea bed to depths ranging from about 10m to over 300m depending on the target depth or technical problems associated with drilling the borehole. The data includes descriptive geological core logs and data which has been captured from these and in some cases natural gamma logs. A variety of analyses has been conducted on the core material such as Particle Size Analysis, micropalaeontological, geotechnical, palaeomagnetic and age dating. Core material are managed as part of the BGS Materials collection and are available for examination and subsampling. The data are stored as part of the National Geoscience Data Centre (NGDC) and the Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) Data Archive Centre (DAC) for Geology and Geophysics. Data are delivered via the BGS Offshore GeoIndex http://www.bgs.ac.uk/GeoIndex/offshore.htm. The activity and scan layers contains location information, metadata and links to scanned borehole logs, and the geological data layers contain observations and/or measurements as digital values. The data are applicable to a wide range of uses including environmental, geotechnical and geological studies. Reference: Fannin, NGT. (1989) Offshore Investigations 1966-87 British Geological Survey Technical Report WB/89/02, British Geological Survey.

Linear features (shown as polylines) represent six classes of geological structural features e.g. faults, folds or landforms e.g. buried channels, glacial drainage channels at the ground or bedrock surface (beneath superficial deposits). Linear features are associated most closely with the bedrock theme either as an intrinsic part of it for example marine bands or affecting it in the case of faults. However landform elements are associated with both bedrock and superficial deposits. The linear features are organised into seven main categories: Alteration area indicating zones of change to the pre-existing rocks due to the application of heat and pressure that can occur round structural features such as faults and dykes. Fault where a body of bedrock has been fractured and displaced by a large scale process affecting the earth's crust. Fold where strata are bent or deformed resulting from changes or movement of the earth's surface creating heat and pressure to reshape and transform the original horizontal strata. Folds appear on all scales, in all rock types and from a variety of causes. Fossil horizons where prolific fossil assemblages occur and can be used to help establish the order in which deposits were laid down (stratigraphy). These horizons allow correlation where sediments of the same age look completely different due to variations in depositional environment. Mineral vein where concentrations of crystallised mineral occur within a rock, they are closely associated with faulting, but may occur independently. Landforms define the landscape by its surface form; these include glacial features such as drumlins, eskers and ice margins. Rock identifies key (marker) beds, recognised as showing distinct physical characteristics or fossil content. Examples include coal seams, gypsum beds and marine bands. The data are available in vector format (containing the geometry of each feature linked to a database record describing their attributes) as ESRI shapefiles and are available under BGS data licence.

The 1:250k Geological Maps of Northern Ireland comprise the Superficial Deposits Map (Drift, 1991) and the Bedrock Map (Solid Geology, 1997). These maps identify landscape areas based on their lithology. The scale of the maps is 1:250 000 and provides a simplified interpretation of the geology that may be used as a guide at a regional level, but should not be relied on for local geology. Superficial deposits are younger geological deposits formed during the most recent geological time; the Quaternary. These deposits rest on older rocks or deposits referred to as bedrock. The superficial deposits theme defines landscape areas with a geological name and their deposit-type or lithological composition. The Superficial map shows the deposits within the extent of the six Counties of Northern Ireland. The Bedrock map comprises the bedrock geology and contains dykes and geological faults. Bedrock geology describes the main mass of solid rocks forming the earth's crust. Bedrock is present everywhere, whether exposed at surface in outcrops or concealed beneath superficial deposits or water bodies. Geological names are based on the lithostratigraphic or lithodemic hierarchy of the rocks. The lithostratigraphic scheme arranges rock bodies into units based on rock-type and geological time of formation. Where rock-types do not fit into the lithostratigraphic scheme, for example intrusive, deformed rocks subjected to heat and pressure resulting in new or changed rock types; then their classification is based on their rock-type or lithological composition. This assesses visible features such as texture, structure, mineralogy. Dykes defines small, narrow areas of a specific type of bedrock geology; that is igneous rocks which have been intruded into the landscape at a later date than the surrounding bedrock. Geological faults occur where a body of bedrock has been fractured and displaced by large scale processes affecting the earth's crust (tectonic forces). The Bedrock map shows the main bedrock geological divisions in Northern Ireland and coverage extends to the west into the Republic of Ireland. The printed map includes a stratigraphic column. Digital datasets have been derived from the maps and comprise three layers. 1. Superficial polygons, 2. Bedrock polygons and 3. Linear features. Attribute tables describe the polygon features. These data are generalised and superseded by the 1:10k Geological Maps of Northern Ireland.

Data identifies landscape areas (shown as polygons) attributed with type of artificial or man-made ground. It indicates areas where the ground surface has been significantly modified by human activity. Limited coverage within Great Britain, data exists for 167 10x10km tiles. Most primary geological mapping was carried out at 1:10 000 scale but in some areas of Wales and Scotland mapping at 1:25 000 was adopted as the norm including areas with complex geology or in some areas of classic geology. Types of artificial ground include: Disturbed ground areas of ill-defined shallow or near surface mineral workings where distinction cannot be made between made and worked ground. Infilled ground areas where original geology has been removed and then wholly or partially back filled includes waste or landfill sites. Made ground man made features including embankments and spoil heaps. Worked ground areas where ground has been removed including quarries and road cuttings. Whilst artificial ground may not be considered as part of the 'real geology' of bedrock and superficial deposits it does affect them. Artificial ground impacts on the near surface ground conditions which are important to human activities and economic development. Due to the shifting nature of land use and re-use caution must be exercised when using this data as it represents a snapshot in time rather than an evolving picture hence the data may become dated very rapidly. The data are available in vector format (containing the geometry of each feature linked to a database record describing their attributes) as ESRI shapefiles and are available under BGS data licence. Another batch of tiles was added to the data in 2012 to bring the total to 167 for this version 2 release.

Data identifies landscape areas (shown as polygons) attributed with type of artificial or man-made ground. It indicates areas where the ground surface has been significantly modified by human activity. Types of artificial ground include: Disturbed ground areas of ill-defined shallow or near surface mineral workings where distinction cannot be made between made and worked ground. Infilled ground areas where original geology has been removed and then wholly or partially back filled includes waste or landfill sites. Landscaped ground areas where surface has been reshaped includes former sand and gravel workings for recreation and amenity use. Made ground man made features including embankments and spoil heaps. Worked ground areas where ground has been removed including quarries and road cuttings. Whilst artificial ground may not be considered as part of the 'real geology' of bedrock and superficial deposits it does affect them. Artificial ground impacts on the near surface ground conditions which are important to human activities and economic development. Due to the shifting nature of land use and re-use caution must be exercised when using this data as it represents a snapshot in time rather than an evolving picture hence the data may become dated very rapidly. The data are available in vector format (containing the geometry of each feature linked to a database record describing their attributes) as ESRI shapefiles and are available under BGS data licence.

The data comprises information on the subsurface structure of stratigraphic levels and units in the United Kingdom, detailing depth to and thickness of the units. These result from projects in different parts of the UK performed at different times. Common working scales are 1:50 000 and 1:250 000 with appropriate differences in detail. Much mapping results from interpretation of seismic data, and as a result many of the structural maps are in time rather than depth, although some have been depth converted.

The map shows the location of excess sample materials from the G-BASE (Geochemical Baseline Survey Of The Environment) geochemistry project:- stream sediments, panned heavy mineral concentrates and soils are stored long term in the National Geoscience Data Centre and are available for use in other projects. The Minerals Programme (incorporating the Mineral Reconnaissance Programme) sample collection contains reference samples of drill cores, rocks, tills, soils, stream sediments and panned concentrates. These samples were collected in the period 1974 - to date in mineralised and potentially mineralised areas of the United Kingdom, principally in the northern and western Britain.

This layer of the map based index (GeoIndex) shows the locations where stream sediment samples are collected under the G-BASE (Geochemical Baseline Survey of the Environment) programme at an average density of approximately one site per 1.5 km square. Analytical data for the minus 150 micron fraction of stream sediment samples are available for some or all of the following elements by a variety of analytical methods (now predominantly XRFS): Mg, P, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, V, Cr, Co, Ba, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Pb, Bi, Th, U, Ag, Cd, Sn, Sb, Cs, La, Ce, Ge, Sc, Se, Br, Hf, Ta, W, Tl, Te and I. Stream sediment samples were also collected by the now defunct MRP programme and analytical data for the minus 150 micron fraction of samples is available for a variety of elements including Ag, As, Au, Ba, Bi, Ca, Ce, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sn, Sr, Ti, U, V, W, Zn and Zr. Some of the MRP samples may have undergone several stages of analysis, some for inclusion in the G-BASE project. The samples may have been assigned a different sample number but will plot at the same site. Data is available for most Great Britain, apart from some parts of Southern England which have yet to be surveyed.

THIS DATASET HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN **This dataset was created for the "Britain beneath our feet" atlas using information extracted from the Geochemical Baseline Survey Of The Environment (G-BASE) For The UK . For Uranium in stream sediment data please see Geochemical Baseline Survey Of The Environment (G-BASE) For The UK ** Geochemical Baseline Survey Of The Environment (G-BASE) coverage for Uranium in stream sediment. The G-BASE programme involves systematic sampling and the determination of chemical elements in samples of stream sediment, stream water and, locally, soil, to build up a picture of the surface chemistry of the UK. The average sample density for stream sediments and water is about one site per 1.5-2km square. Analytical precision is high with strict quality control to ensure countrywide consistency. Results have been standardised to ensure seamless joins between geochemical sampling campaigns. The data provide baseline information on the natural abundances of elements, against which anomalous values due to such factors as mineralisation and industrial contamination may be compared.

WESTLINE was acquired by BIRPS (the British Institutions Reflection Profiling Syndicate). The seismic data image the faulted conjugate margins of the Rockall Trough and the intrabasinal sediments. The seismic data were shot to 18 s two-way time along a single 450 km-long transect.