Any views expressed within media held on this service are those of the contributors, should not be taken as approved or endorsed by the University, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University in respect of any particular issue.
Digimap is an online map and data delivery service, available by subscription to UK Higher and Further Education establishments. Operated by EDINA at the University of Edinburgh, Digimap offers a number of data collections, including Ordnance Survey, historical, geological, aerial photography, LiDAR, marine maps, land cover mapping, global mapping and census data. For more information about Digimap go to our website: https://digimap.edina.ac.uk Background image Contains OS data (c) Crown Copyright and database right 2022
We have now reached the end of the Lidar Digimap Preview. We hope that everyone who has used the service has found it a great way to access the Lidar data available. From now on the service will continue to be available to Digimap Users whose institution subscribes to the Aerial Digimap service.
Lidar Point Cloud Forth Rail Bridge. Crown copyright Scottish Government, SEPA and Scottish Water (2012).
Despite the addition of Lidar Digimap, Aerial Digimap subscription prices will not be increased for the 17/18 academic year. We will also be looking to add further datasets to Lidar Digimap over the next 12 months, these include:
Additional Point Cloud datasets ideal for use in CAD software for creating 3D models like this one of the Forth Rail Bridge
Photography; aerial images captured at the same time as the Lidar data
We’d also like to thank the hundreds of people who took the time to fill in our user feedback survey on Lidar Digimap, we have seen a huge range of uses for the data across a very broad range of disciplines. This feedback exercise has been very successful and we will be making the draw to see who has won the Amazon vouchers very soon. Keep watching the blog for the announcement in the coming weeks.
If you would like any more information about the Lidar or Aerial Digimap collections or details on how to subscribe then please do not hesitate to contact us:
Today we have made a huge amount of archived Land-Line data available to download from Digimap. You access the data through the Data Download application in the Digimap: Ordnance Survey Collection. Land-Line was the pre-cursor to the OS MasterMap Topography Layer, and was the most detailed topographic mapping available from Ordnance Survey at the time. The archive released consists of annual snapshots of the whole of Great Britain from 1999 to 2006. This data will be vital for researchers who are undertaking longitudinal studies, examining how areas have changed over time.
Land-Line.Plus showing Edinburgh’s Quartermile area from 1999OS MasterMap showing Edinburgh’s Quartermile area from 2017
The data can be found in the Withdrawn Datasets category in the Data Download interface and is currently available in its original tiles and format.
Land-Line comes on 500m, 1km and 5km tiles depending on whether the area is Urban, Rural or Moorland. It is supplied in National Transfer Format (NTF) which was the standard format of the time. We have put together a short help page that explains how to import this data in to common GIS and CAD applications which may be of use for anyone unfamiliar with this format of data.
IMPORTANT: Between 2001 and 2006 Ordnance Survey carried it’s Positional Accuracy Improvement (PAI) programme. This means that there will be discrepancies in the positions of features on these maps and the OS MasterMap data: Read more on PAI
The Land-Line data that we have made available significantly bolsters the amount of detailed topographic data that is available for download from Digimap. The most detailed topographic mapping currently available from Digimap, OS MasterMap Topography Layer, is available for download going back to 2007. The addition of Land-Line data to Digimap means that users now have access to download the most detailed topographic mapping data for Great Britain going back a further eight years to 1999.
We hope you find this new addition of recent historic data useful, if you have any questions about the data please contact us:
Today we have launched our new Lidar Digimap Collection. The new Collection is available to preview for all Digmap users until the 31st of July 2017. Lidar data can be downloaded through the Lidar Download for use in GIS and CAD applications; there is no Lidar Roam application for viewing the data.
Lidar Point Cloud Forth Rail Bridge. Crown copyright Scottish Government, SEPA and Scottish Water (2014).
The service allows you to download current and past Lidar data from the Environment Agency (EA), Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA).
There is already a large amount of data available in the service but we are still processing some of the datasets. Once it has all been processed the service aims to have complete coverage of all the data available from these agencies, including the raw LAS point cloud data and Orthophotography captured during the flights (where available).
Lidar data is very useful when creating 3D terrains and models as can be seen from the images to the left and below. For creating 3D scenes such as the one below, it is very useful to use a Digital Surface Model (DSM) to create a surface and hillshading from which you can drape other data over, such as the imagery from Aerial Digimap in this example:
The following datasets are available through Lidar Digimap at present:
Dataset
Availability and publication date
Digital Terrain Model and Digital Surface Model (DTM and DSM)
England
25cm: 2009-2015
50cm: 2009-2015
1m: 2010-2016
2m: 2010-2015
Scotland
Phase 1 (1m): 2011-2012
Phase 2 (1m): 2013-2014
Wales
25cm: 2015
50cm: 2009-2016
1m: 2010-2016
2m: 2010-2016
Point Cloud
Scotland
Phase 1: 2011-2012
Phase 2: 2013-2014
We are currently processing the following datasets and hope to have them available in the service shortly:
Dataset
Availability and publication date
Digital Terrain Model and Digital Surface Model (DTM and DSM)
England
Historical data: 1998-2015
Scotland
50cm
2m
Point Cloud
England
2005-2016
Orthophotographs
England
2006-2015
The data was collected for flood risk analysis and modelling and primarily follows water courses and coastal habitats. The data covers approximately 72% of England, 20% of Scotland and 70% of Wales. The image below shows the 1m resolution DTM coverage in England:
1m DTM Lidar coverage in England [click to expand]We are also very keen to know what you have been doing with Lidar data in the past or what you plan to do with the Lidar data you are going to get from the new service. To find out this information from you we have put a survey in the interface and you have the chance to win a £20 Amazon just for filling it in!
May was one of the busiest in terms of dataset updates in the history of Digimap. Around 20 separate datasets have been updated bringing them bang up to date with the most recent data available from the data suppliers. All the updates are listed in the tables below, broken down by the Collection and service that they can be found in.
Withdrawn Datasets (OS Collection):
OS Download Withdrawn Datasets [click to expand]Along with the updated data, Ordnance Survey have recently withdrawn three datasets:
These withdrawn datasets are still available to download through the Ordnance Survey Data Download application in Digimap, but users should be aware that they are no longer updated by Ordnance Survey. Withdrawn datasets have their own separate category in the Select Data panel in OS Data Download, as shown by the image on the left hand side.
OS Roam:
Product Name
OS Publication Date
1:50,000 Colour Raster
March 2017
OS Open Map – Local (vector)
April 2017
VectorMap Local (vector)
April 2017
VectorMap District (vector)
March 2017
VectorMap Local Raster
April 2017
VectorMap District Raster
March 2017
OS Download:
Product Name
OS Publication Date
VectorMap Local Raster
April 2017
VectorMap District Raster
March 2017
VectorMap District (vector)
March 2017
OS Open Roads
October 2016 and April 2017
OS Open Map – Local (raster)
April 2017
OS Open Map – Local (vector)
April 2017
OS Terrain 5 DTM
April 2017
OS Terrain 5 Contours
April 2017
OS Open Names
April 2017
VectorMap Local (vector)
April 2017
Code-Point with Polygons
April 2017
OS Open Rivers
April 2017
Geology Download:
Product Name
BGS Publication Date
Borehole index
April 2017
The datset update pages are kept up to date with all dataset updates in the collections:
GeoForum is a free all day event aimed at lecturers, researchers and support staff who promote and support the use of geospatial data and services at their institution. Throughout the day we there will be talks and demonstrations to inform you of current geospatial developments at EDINA and the wider community. It is also an opportunity to offer feedback on the services EDINA provides and discuss geospatial issues with the team.
This year we will be introducing some new features to the Digimap Collections and looking at future developments. Come along to have your say and find out more!
Full details of this years event will and the programme will appear on the GeoForum website when available; you can also find out what happened at last year’s event: GeoForum 2016.
Location: the Geological Society, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BD
As part of our continuous work to improve Digimap and make it more user friendly, we recently added a new Contact Us system. The new system is available in all Digimap Collections and guides you to useful help resources based on what it is you want to know:
Contact Us – stage 1
If you are not able to find the answer to your question using the resources then you are asked to complete a short form outlining the problem you are experiencing:
Contact Us – stage 2
If you are logged in to Digimap you have the option to submit the completed form to either the local Digimap support team at your institution or to the Digimap Helpdesk at EDINA. All queries submitted by users who are not logged in to the service are automatically routed to the EDINA Digimap Helpdesk. The details are sent by email, and copied to you so that you have a full record of what was asked. The new system has been available since the beginning of May and is available from the all Contact Us links in the Roam and Data Download clients, as well as the Contact Us link on the footer of the Digimap home page:
Contact Us Link in Data DownloadContact Us Link in Roam
We hope you like using this improved feature, but if you have any questions or comments regarding this or anything else to do with Digimap, please get in touch using the email address below, or try out the new Contact Us form in Digimap!
Canworthy Solar Farm, which became operational in 2014 and covers approximately 55 hectares (~67 football fields)
Aerial Digimap updates
March/April 2017 has been a busy couple of months for the Data Team who have been working hard to process a huge area of updated aerial imagery data from the data supplier, Getmapping. The update consists of around 80,000 individual 1km tiles, all captured in 2015, which is approximately 30% of the country.
Prior to the update just over 50% of the data was from 2013 or later; after the update 77% of the data is from 2013 or later.
This means that more up to date imagery is now available for viewing and download through Aerial Digimap for a significant proportion of the country.
The map below shows the approximate distribution of the updated data.
Click on map to view larger version
This is the first update we have received from Getmapping, but we are expecting another update later this year containing imagery captured in 2016.
Cruise liner in the Firth of Forth
We will add this to the service as quickly as we can to ensure that the most up to date data is always available to Aerial Digimap users. In order to make it clear where the data has been updated, we will add an Availability/Reference Grid to Aerial Download so that users can easily identify if the imagery has been updated in their study area(s). This grid will be added to the system in the next couple of weeks.
We are still investigating the best way to make previous versions of the data available, but in the mean time only the most recent data is available through Aerial Roam and Aerial Download.
Webinar resources
We recently ran a webinar highlighting the data and showcasing a number of potential uses for the imagery. The webinar was recorded in full and is available on our YouTube channel. The slides used during the webinar and a transcript of all questions and answers are available on our help page.
3D model using Aerial Imagery, OS Terrain 5 DTM and MasterMap Building Height Attribute
Data information
The aerial imagery data in the service is 25cm resolution vertical aerial orthophotography supplied by Getmapping PLC, and is the most detailed aerial imagery available for the whole of Great Britain. As well as being a really interesting dataset the imagery also has a number of practical uses across a wide range of disciplines from urban planning and 3D modelling to land use and archaeological studies.
Subscribing
To see if your institution already subscribes to Aerial Digimap, please see our subscribing institutions help page. Information on how to subscribe to the new service is available on the Aerial Digimap Subscription page.
If you have any questions about the service please consult the dedicated Aerial Digimap help pages or contact the Digimap support team using the details below.
Dataset updates in Ordnance Survey Digimap
OS Data Download:
Product Name
OS Publication Date
Code-Point
February 2017
1:25,000 Colour Raster
March 2017
1:50,000 Colour Raster
March 2017
Points of Interest
March 2017
OS Roam:
Product Name
OS Publication Date
1:25,000 Colour Raster
March 2017
The OS data update page is kept up to date with all dataset updates in the collections.
If you have any questions about the dataset updates or Digimap please contact us:
Digimap will be making use of an extended “at risk” period on Tuesday 16th May 2017 and will be UNAVAILABLE between 08.30 and 12.00 hours.
We will endeavour to restore full service as quickly as possible. However, during this period it will not be possible to log in to Digimap or to retrieve requested data. Any data orders submitted which have not completed prior to the outage will be continue to process once the service has been restored.
In March 2017 Ordnance Survey withdrew the Meridian 2 dataset from their portfolio. It remains available within Digimap, but has moved within the Data Download application from Vector Data to the Withdrawn Datasets category.
Both national and tiled coverages are still available here. Documentation about this dataset can also be found in the help pages: Meridian 2 Data
The Digimap team are hosting a free webinar, on Wednesday 26 April 2017, from 1-1:30pm.
3D model showing bedrock geology of the Cuillin hills in Skye with Aerial Imagery draped over OS Terrain 5 DTM.
The session will give an overview of how to create 3D models in common GIS and CAD packages (ArcGIS Pro, QGIS and AutoCAD) using data downloaded from Digimap.
The session will look at the datasets available from Digimap that are of use for 3D modelling.
You will also have the opportunity to ask questions on any aspect of Digimap.
Registration is required – please note that spaces are limited, so it’s advisable to register early.
Today we have launched our new Lidar Digimap Collection. The new Collection is available to preview for all Digmap users until the 31st of July 2017. Lidar data can be downloaded through the Lidar Download for use in GIS and CAD applications; there is no Lidar Roam application for viewing the data.
