The British Geological Survey (BGS) is a partly publicly funded body which aims to advance
geoscientific knowledge of the United Kingdom landmass and its
continental shelf by means of systematic surveying, monitoring and research.
The BGS
headquarters are in
Keyworth, Nottinghamshire
Keyworth is a large Village of Nottinghamshire, England. It is located about 6 miles (11 km) southeast of the centre of Nottingham. It sits on a small, broad hilltop about 200 feet above sea level which is set in the wider undulating bould ...
, England. Its other centres are located in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
,
Wallingford,
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
and London. The current motto of the BGS is: ''Gateway to the Earth''.
History and previous names
The Geological Survey was founded in 1835 by the
Board of Ordnance as the Ordnance Geological Survey, under
Henry De la Beche
Sir Henry Thomas De la Beche KCB, FRS (10 February 179613 April 1855) was an English geologist and palaeontologist, the first director of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, who helped pioneer early geological survey methods. He was the ...
. This was the world's first national
geological survey
A geological survey is the systematic investigation of the geology beneath a given piece of ground for the purpose of creating a geological map or model. Geological surveying employs techniques from the traditional walk-over survey, studying outc ...
. It remained a branch of the
Ordnance Survey
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for many years. In 1965, it was merged with the
Geological Museum
The Geological Museum (originally the Museum of Economic Geology then the Museum of Practical Geology), started in 1835 as one of the oldest single science museums in the world and now part of the Natural History Museum in London. It transfe ...
and Overseas Geological Surveys, under the name of Institute of Geological Sciences. On 1 January 1984, the institute was renamed the British Geological Survey (and often referred to as the BGS), a name still carried today.
Competences
![BGS-Roundel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/BGS-Roundel.png)
The BGS advises the
British government
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on all aspects of geoscience, as well as providing impartial advice on
geological
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...
matters to the public, academics and industry. BGS is a component body of
UK Research and Innovation
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom that directs research and innovation funding, funded through the science budget of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Str ...
which "works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish". The core outputs of the BGS include geological,
geophysical
Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' some ...
,
geochemical and
hydrogeological
Hydrogeology (''hydro-'' meaning water, and ''-geology'' meaning the study of the Earth) is the area of geology that deals with the distribution and movement of groundwater in the soil and rocks of the Earth's crust (commonly in aqui ...
maps
A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes.
Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...
, descriptions and related digital databases. Scientists at the BGS produced the first comprehensive map of African groundwater reserves.
One of the key strategic aims for the next
decade
A decade () is a period of ten years. Decades may describe any ten-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years.
Usage
Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement that "du ...
is to complete the transition from
2-D mapping to a
3-D modelling culture. The BGS has an annual budget of
£57 million, about half of which comes from the government's science budget, with the remainder coming from commissioned research from the public and private sectors.
See also
*
Geospatial Commission
The United Kingdom's Geospatial Commission is an expert group, established in 2018 as part of the Cabinet Office, responsible for promoting the use of geospatial data in the country.
The commission also defines UK's "geospatial strategy".
It work ...
*
Systems geology
References
External links
*
BGS Annual ReportLandslides at BGS.ac.uk
{{authority control
1835 establishments in the United Kingdom
Geological surveys
Geology of the United Kingdom
Natural Environment Research Council
National geological agencies
Organizations established in 1835
Rushcliffe
Science and technology in Nottinghamshire