The BGS BritPits version 4 is derived from a BGS database, which contains records of mineral workings covering the Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. The coverage includes active, inactive, dormant and ceased sites and a range of mineral operations, including mines, quarries, onshore oil and gas fields, together with wharfs and rail depots handling mineral products and industrial processes which produce a mineral product. The information on currently active sites is continually updated with the cooperation of both local authorities and the minerals industry.
INSPIRE Implementing rules laying down technical arrangements for the interoperability and harmonisation of Geology
Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services
Citation Information - Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
British Geological Survey. (2026). BGS BritPits version 4. British Geological Survey. (Dataset). https://doi.org/10.5285/f6b41d3c-b881-4f3d-8e10-40dc7262de1a
This digital archive of mining records held by the BGS, includes information from the Memoirs of the Geological Survey and Museum of Practical Geology (1846 -1872); the Mineral Statistics publications (1855 - 1986); the Inspectorate of Mines (1897, 1948 - 1993); the Directory of Mines and Quarries (1984 onwards) and the BGS Geology 50 (Geological mapping at 1:50,000 scale). The BritPits version 4 dataset is processed following the instruction provided in document ‘BGS BritPits version 3 Methodology Report’ Internal Report: IR/24/026
Dental Microwear Texture Analysis (DMTA) of tooth surfaces of fossil wolves from Britain and modern wolves from Poland version 2
Two Excel workbooks reporting dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) raw data. These are values from scale-sensitive fractal analysis (SSFA), and areal surface texture analysis (based on a suite of parameters, most of which are defined by ISO-25718-2) for dental microwear texture analysis of tooth surfaces of wolves from Britain (MIS Se & MIS 7 a-c) and modern Poland wolves. This study examines the dietary adaptability of European grey wolves using dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA). These datasets offer new insights into the palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental conditions under which grey wolves endured climate change in the past, free of anthropogenic influence. They further allow the identification of hitherto-hidden ecological stress today, thereby highlighting potential vulnerabilities in modern populations under current and future climate change. Tooth surface casts were produced using high-resolution, which is optimised for imaging purposes. Epoxy tooth replicas were scanned with a Sensofar S neox. MountainsMap Imaging Topography was utilised to quantify dental microwear texture parameters from Sensofar scans.
Burtt, A., Schreve, D. (2026). Dental Microwear Texture Analysis (DMTA) of tooth surfaces of fossil wolves from Britain and modern wolves from Poland version 2. NERC EDS National Geoscience Data Centre. (Dataset). https://doi.org/10.5285/0aa0e3e8-d668-4dd4-9089-7bd0ede798d7
Tooth surface casts were produced using high-resolution, which is optimised for imaging purposes. Epoxy tooth replicas were scanned with a Sensofar S neox. MountainsMap Imaging Topography (version V10, Digital Surf, Besançon, France) was utilised to quantify dental microwear texture parameters from a Sensofar S neox profiler. The scan processing protocol comprises: 1) levelling with least squares plane (LSPL) to correct surface inclination, 2) threshold application to eliminate the upper and lower 0.1% of data, 3) filling of non-measured points using the smooth shape calculated from neighbours function, 4) surface point retouching followed by smooth shape fill of missing data points, 5) level again for generating SSFA parameters, 6) form removal with polynomial of degree – 2 (7) spatial filtering (robust Gaussian, order 0 (ISO 16610-71); with a cut-off value of 0.025 ?m) for generating areal texture parameters.
Dental Microwear Texture Analysis (DMTA) of tooth surfaces of fossil wolves from Britain
One Excel workbook reporting dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) raw data. These are values from scale-sensitive fractal analysis (SSFA), and areal surface texture analysis (based on a suite of parameters, most of which are defined by ISO-25718-2) for dental microwear texture analysis of tooth surfaces of wolves from Britain (MIS 2, MIS 3, MIS 5a). This study examines the dietary adaptability of European grey wolves using dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA). These datasets offer new insights into the palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental conditions under which grey wolves endured climate change in the past, free of anthropogenic influence. Tooth surface casts were produced using high-resolution, which is optimised for imaging purposes. Epoxy tooth replicas were scanned with a Sensofar S neox. MountainsMap Imaging Topography was utilised to quantify dental microwear texture parameters from Sensofar scans.
Burtt, A., Schreve, D. (2026). Dental Microwear Texture Analysis (DMTA) of tooth surfaces of fossil wolves from Britain. NERC EDS National Geoscience Data Centre. (Dataset). https://doi.org/10.5285/3d4a8583-ebc7-4cce-ad06-c4f844a52d05
Epoxy tooth replicas were scanned with a Sensofar S neox. MountainsMap Imaging Topography (version V10, Digital Surf, Besançon, France) was utilised to quantify dental microwear texture parameters. Scan processing protocol: 1) levelling with least squares plane (LSPL) to correct surface inclination, 2) threshold application to eliminate the upper and lower 0.1% of data, 3) filling of non-measured point using the smooth shape calculated from neighbours function, 4) surface point retouching to manually edit dust and extraneous particles followed by filling of missing data points using the smooth shape calculated from neighbours function, 5) level again for generating SSFA parameters, 6) form removal with polynomial of degree – 2 (7) spatial filtering (robust Gaussian, order 0 (ISO 16610-71); with a cut-off value of 0.025 ?m) for generating ISO parameters.
Dental Microwear Texture Analysis (DMTA) of tooth surfaces of fossil wolves from Britain and modern wolves from Poland
This dataset has been superseded, the latest version is version 2, http://data.bgs.ac.uk/id/dataHolding/13608613 Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) raw data. These are values from scale-sensitive fractal analysis (SSFA), and areal surface texture analysis (based on a suite of parameters, most of which are defined by ISO-25718-2) for dental microwear texture analysis of tooth surfaces of wolves from Britain (MIS 5e & MIS 7 a-c) and modern Poland wolves. This study examines the dietary adaptability of European grey wolves using dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA). We compare modern Polish wolf populations from the present interglacial (Holocene), with fossil specimens from two contrasting Pleistocene interglacials: the warmer Last Interglacial (Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage [MIS] 5e) and the cooler Penultimate Interglacial (MIS 7a–c). These datasets offer new insights into the palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental conditions under which grey wolves endured climate change in the past, free of anthropogenic influence. And allows the identification of hitherto-hidden ecological stress today, thereby highlighting potential vulnerabilities in modern populations under current and future climate change.
Burtt, A., Schreve, D. (2025). Dental Microwear Texture Analysis (DMTA) of tooth surfaces of fossil wolves from Britain and modern wolves from Poland. NERC EDS National Geoscience Data Centre. (Dataset). https://doi.org/10.5285/bfb67ae1-cd30-4e4f-8cb5-aa6cf53a8572
Tooth surface casts were produced using high-resolution, which is optimised for imaging purposes. Epoxy tooth replicas were scanned with a Sensofar S neox. MountainsMap Imaging Topography was utilised to quantify dental microwear texture parameters from Sensofar scans. Nonparametric statistical tests were used on untransformed raw data for analysis. Our hypotheses were tested using Wilcoxon two-sample tests for comparisons between two groups, or Kruskal-Wallis tests between three groups. Nonparametric Steel-Dwass pairwise tests were used following Kruskal-Wallis tests to test for significant differences between pairs of groups. PCA was used to test whether Pleistocene (MIS 5e and MIS 7a-c) and modern wolf groups (Poland) occupied statistically different areas of multivariate texture-dietary space.
Major element, trace element and Nd isotopes of cumulate plagioclase and clinopyroxene in lower crustal gabbros from Hess Deep oceanic crust, East Pacific Rise, with elemental maps of all studied samples
We collected major element, trace element and Nd isotopes of cumulate plagioclase and clinopyroxene in lower crustal gabbros from Hess Deep oceanic crust (~2°15'N, 101°30'W) to investigate the Nd isotopic heterogeneity of melts delivered to a complete section of Hess Deep oceanic crust, accreted at the fast-spreading (133 mm/yr) East Pacific Rise (EPR). These data are presented in Cooper et al. (2025) (https://doi.org/10.1130/G52872.1). Elemental maps of 58 samples were initially obtained prior to selecting a subset of 25 samples for in-situ microanalysis. We targeted the Nd isotope record of cumulate plagioclase and clinopyroxene from lower crustal gabbro samples, representing early crystallisation products of melts delivered to the crust. These samples were collected in several expeditions: Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 147; RSS James Cook cruise JC21; Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 345 (Site U). Combined, these studies provide the most complete composite section of fast-spreading EPR crust to date (stratigraphic depth of 4350 m to 25 m). In our study, we selected 25 samples for in situ Nd isotope microanalysis, covering the range of mineralogy and textural diversity, and over the full stratigraphic depth. For a comparison to local MORB compositions, we selected a set of 13 upper-crustal sheeted dikes collected on the RSS James Cook cruise JC21. Our data reveal that the mantle is heterogeneous at the scale of melt extraction, and the crystal record from the lower crust shows greater 143Nd/144Nd heterogeneity than the overlying MORB. Hence, Pacific MORBs do not reflect the full heterogeneity of their mantle source, and some aggregation of melts occurs within the crust. Data was collected between 2020 and 2023 by George Cooper, Johan Lissenberg and Max Jansen at Cardiff University, UK, as part of NERC Grant NE/T000317/1:HiDe: A Highly Heterogeneous Depleted Upper Mantle? Mineral isotopic analyses were performed on a Thermo Scientific TRITON Plus at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. The long-term average and reproducibility (2019–2022) for the JNdi-1 standard is 0.512094 ± 0.000011 2 SD (standard deviation; n = 28) with 1011Ω resistors (used for clinopyroxene) and 0.512105 ± 0.000044 2 SD (n = 45) with four 1013Ω resistors (used for plagioclase). Full methodology can be found within the supplemental Material of Cooper et al. (2025) at https://doi.org/10.1130/GEOL.S.28485770 The DOI is a supplement to https://doi.org/10.1130/G52872.1 Methodology: https://gsapubs.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Supplemental_Material_Crustal_versus_mantle-level_aggregation_of_heterogeneous_melts_at_mid-ocean_ridges/28485770?file=52665137
Cooper, G. F., Lissenberg, C. J., Koorneef, J. M., Jansen, M. N., Millet, M.-A. (2025). Major element, trace element and Nd isotopes of cumulate plagioclase and clinopyroxene in lower crustal gabbros from Hess Deep oceanic crust, East Pacific Rise, with elemental maps of all studied samples. NERC EDS National Geoscience Data Centre. (Dataset). https://doi.org/10.5285/7cac54fd-7530-48f6-bb1e-3c103d9e4b23
Elemental maps of all studied samples were carried out on a Zeiss Sigma HD field emission gun scanning electron microscope (SEM) at Cardiff University, UK. Mineral trace element concentrations were measured by laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) (Applied Spectra Inc. RESOlution S-155 laser coupled to an Agilent 8900 ICP-QQQ). Nd concentrations were used to predetermine the sample volume needed to be recovered from micromilling. Typical Plagioclase and Clinopyroxene cores from each sample were drilled using a New Wave™ Research MicroMill. Milled powders were digested in HF and HNO3 prior to Nd separation by column chemistry. Mineral Isotopic analyses were performed on a Thermo Scientific TRITON Plus at the Vrije Universiteit, and whole-rock dike samples were measured on a Nu plasma II multicollector ICP-MS at Cardiff University.
Data identifying landscape areas (shown as polygons) attributed with geological names. The scale of the data is 1:625 000 providing a simplified interpretation of the geology and may be used as a guide at a regional or national level, but should not be relied on for local geology. Onshore coverage is provided for all of England, Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland. Data are supplied as four themes: bedrock, superficial deposits, dykes and linear features (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. 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 (shown as polygons) attributed with a geological name and their deposit-type or lithological composition. The dykes theme defines small, narrow areas (shown as polygons) 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. They are presented as an optional, separate theme in order to provide additional clarity of the bedrock theme. The bedrock and dykes themes are designed to be used together. Linear features data (shown as polylines) represents geological faults at the ground or bedrock surface (beneath superficial deposits). 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 faults theme defines geological faults (shown as polylines) at the ground or bedrock surface (beneath superficial deposits). All four data themes are available in vector format (containing the geometry of each feature linked to a database record describing their attributes) as an OGC GeoPackage and are delivered free of charge under the terms of the Open Government Licence.
OneGeology cookbook exemplar service for vector data, using BGS Bedrock and Superficial onshore 1:625k geology
A new 1:625 000 scale (5th edition) printed geological map of the United Kingdom, published in 2007, was prepared digitally and these data were then used to create the replacement DiGMapGB-625 Bedrock Version 5. The 1:625 000 Bedrock data were created from two main sources. The geology for England & Wales, Scotland and the Isle of Man is generalised directly from the 1:50 000 scale DiGMapGB-50 V3 data released in 2006 with ongoing revisions through to 2007 incorporating selective interpretations from new 50k maps, anticipating their release as V5 tiles in 2008. The data for Northern Ireland were derived by minor simplification from the 1:250 000 scale geological map of Northern Ireland, published in 2007. Holes in the 50k data were filled using information from other sources. The version 5 data of the 1:625 000 dykes data was created primarily from the 1:50 000 scale Digital Geological Map of Great Britain (DiGMapGB-50) version 3 dataset (released in 2006) by generalisation involving cartographic selection, modification, simplification or exaggeration and matches that shown on the BGS poster maps of the UK (North and South) published in 2008. The attributes and nomenclature used follow those on the printed maps. The version 5 data of the 1:625 000 linear features data was created primarily from the 1:50 000 scale Digital Geological Map of Great Britain (DiGMapGB-50) version 3 dataset (released in 2006) by generalisation involving cartographic selection, modification, simplification or exaggeration and matches that shown on the BGS poster maps of the UK (North and South) published in 2008. The attributes and nomenclature used follow those on the printed maps. The linear features were fitted to a relevant topographic base at the time of production. The 1:625 000 Superficial data were compiled from two main sources: the latest available 1:50 000 data (together with other information used to fill in the ‘holes’) and the 1:250 000 published Quaternary map of Northern Ireland.
BGS Geology - 625k (DiGMapGB-625) Superficial version 4
Data identifying landscape areas (shown as polygons) attributed with geological names and rock type descriptions. The scale of the data is 1:625 000, providing a simplified interpretation of the geology which may be used as a guide at a regional or national level, but should not be relied on for local geology. Onshore coverage is provided for all of England, Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland. Superficial deposits are the youngest geological deposits formed during the most recent period of geological time, the Quaternary, which extends back about 2.58 million years from the present. They lie on top of older deposits or rocks referred to as bedrock. Superficial deposits were laid down by various natural processes such as action by ice, water, wind and weathering. As such, the deposits are denoted by their BGS Lexicon name, which classifies them on the basis of mode of origin (lithogenesis) with names such as, 'glacial deposits', 'river terrace deposits' or 'blown sand'; or on the basis of their composition such as 'peat'. Most of these superficial deposits are unconsolidated sediments such as gravel, sand, silt and clay. The digital data include attribution to identify each deposit type (in varying levels of detail) as described in the BGS Rock Classification Scheme (volume 4). The data are available in vector format (containing the geometry of each feature linked to a database record describing their attributes) as an OGC GeoPackage and are delivered free of charge under the terms of the Open Government Licence.
BGS Geology: onshore digital geological map of Great Britain data
The BGS Geology datasets are digital geological maps of Great Britain based on the different series of published BGS geological maps.
The 1:625 000 Superficial data were compiled from two main sources: the latest available 1:50 000 data (together with other information used to fill in the ‘holes’) and the 1:250 000 published Quaternary map of Northern Ireland.
BGS Geology - 50k (DiGMapGB-50) Linear version 8
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.
British Geological Survey. (2016). BGS Geology - 50k (DiGMapGB-50) Linear version 8 [Data set]. British Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.5285/df063ba2-008a-49f7-8727-176eb25fa65c
The BGS Geology 50k dataset is a digital representation of the geology of Great Britain at 1: 50 000 scale (or 1:63 360 scale for areas surveyed and published prior to 1970). It is a compilation of digital tiles derived from previously published and unpublished maps, archive information and results of field mapping campaigns. The mapping, description and classification of rocks are based upon the interpretations and evidence available at the time of survey, or time of re-evaluation for modifications/correction. The data has been digitally captured from paper record, originally using Bentley MicroStation and latterly ESRI ArcGIS software. Post capture processing has occurred to combine geometry and attribution from existing BGS data resources. Quality control checks are run on individual data batches prior and subsequent to their integration into the main data mosaic. The source dataset is dynamic in nature with periodic comprehensive data releases.
BGS Geology - 50k (DiGMapGB-50) Mass Movement version 8
Data identifying landscape areas (shown as polygons) attributed with type of mass movement e.g. landslip. The scale of the data is 1:50 000 scale. Onshore coverage is provided for all of England, Wales, Scotland and the Isle of Man. Mass movement describes areas where deposits have moved down slope under gravity to form landslips. These landslips can affect bedrock, superficial or artificial ground. Mass movement deposits are described in the BGS Rock Classification Scheme Volume 4. However the data also includes foundered strata, where ground has collapsed due to subsidence (this is not described in the Rock Classification Scheme). Caution should be exercised with this data; historically BGS has not always recorded mass movement events and due to the dynamic nature of occurrence significant changes may have occurred since the data was released. 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.
British Geological Survey. (2016). BGS Geology - 50k (DiGMapGB-50) Mass Movement version 8 [Data set]. British Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.5285/33938fa8-16b1-44fd-baf2-5d2197a37e41
3D laser surface scan of ammonite, Metrolytoceras metretum. BGS GSM 37292
3D laser surface scan of a fossil held within the BGS Type and Stratigraphical Reference Collection. Sample number: BGS GSM 37292 Species: Metrolytoceras metretum (Ammonite) Age: Inferior Oolite Group, Jurassic Location: near Sherborne, Dorset
Harris, S., Contessi, M. (2023). 3D laser surface scan of ammonite, Metrolytoceras metretum. BGS GSM 37292. NERC EDS National Geoscience Data Centre. (Image). https://doi.org/10.5285/7d9146d0-798c-4e98-95c2-205c96be1985
Scanned with a Next Engine 2020i laser scanner.