We have now added detailed 1:10,000 and 1:25,000 geological mapping data and 1:625,000 hydrogeological data to Geology Download. The mapping data is the most detailed geological mapping available from the British Geological Survey (BGS), consisting of four polygon layers:

• bedrock geology (‘solid’);
• superficial deposits (‘drift’ or Quaternary)
• mass movement (mostly landslide)
• artificial (or man-made ground)

…and one linear features layer, including:

• thin beds (such as coal seams and fossil bands)
• faults
• mineral veins
• some landforms

The products cover around 30% of the UK most of the which is provided by the 1:10,000 scale data (approx 28% of the UK), as the coverage is not complete we have added overlays to Geology Download to guide you to the areas where it can be found. The BGS have more map tiles in production for this dataset and we will add them to the service as they become available to us. The coverage of the data can be seen in the Download interface below as the dark blue areas of Great Britain.

The 1:25,000 has a much smaller coverage, but with little overlap with the 1:10,000 it makes a good companion dataset to fill in the gaps. The 1:25,000 data also fills the gaps in the 1:50,000 data in Wales, again the coverage can be seen in the interface below as the dark blue areas.

To access the coverage maps click on the double arrow to open the Show Grid / Overlay panel on the right side of the map; you can then add the grids to the map to see where data is available. We highly recommend you do this before selecting your area for download as it is not possible to add data to your basket if you choose a product with no coverage for your that area. If you find that the Add to Basket button remains grey after you have selected your products it probably means that one or more of them do not have coverage for the area you have chosen.  If you click on the grey button an error message will tell you which products are unavailable, either remove these from the order or switch on the overlay and choose a different location that has the data.

In addition to the 1:10,000 and 1:25,000 scale mapping datasets we have also added the BGS OpenData 1:625,000 scale digital hydrogeological data to Geology Download. This data can be used to indicate the aquifer potential of an area in generalised terms. Areas are categorised into one of three groups:

• those in which intergranular flow in the saturated zone is dominant
• those in which flow is controlled by fissures or discontinuities
• less permeable formations including aquifers concealed at depth beneath covering layers

The 1:625 000 scale data may be used as a guide to the aquifers at a regional or national level, but should not be relied on for local information.

The addition of these new datasets brings the total number of different BGS products in Geology Download to 14.  We hope to add the detailed mapping datasets to Geology Roam later in the year as well as some of the other types of data as overlays or basemaps.

If you have any questions about the new datasets or any requests for geology data we don’t yet have then please get in touch:

• Email: edina@ed.ac.uk
• Phone: 0131 650 3302