Geochemical Baseline Survey of the Environment (G-BASE) geochemical samples and analyses

The BGS Geochemical Baseline Survey of the Environment (G-BASE) was the national strategic geochemical mapping programme in Great Britain. The project set out to establish the chemistry of the surface environment by the collection and analysis of stream sediment, stream water and soil samples. Beginning in the late 1960s in northern Scotland and moving southwards across the country, the primary focus was mineral exploration, however, the project quickly developed to address important environmental concerns. The final G-BASE samples were collected in southern England in 2014. The outputs from the G-BASE project provide an invaluable, systematic baseline of geochemical information for Great Britain, serving as a marker of the state of the environment against which to measure future change. Sampling Stream sediments were the primary sample medium for G-BASE. The sediment was collected from the centre of the stream and sieved through two sieves (2 mm and 150 µm) to obtain a fine grain-size fraction of <150 µm. Excess material from the <2 mm fraction was panned to collect a heavy mineral concentrate. Stream water samples were collected also at each drainage site. Four different water samples were collected routinely: two filtered waters (for major and trace elements) and two unfiltered waters (for pH, conductivity and alkalinity). The routine collection of soil samples was introduced in 1986 in areas of poor drainage density, and urban soil sampling commenced in 1991. Further details of the sampling methodology can be found in the G-BASE field procedures manual ( https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/5190/). Sample analysis Stream water pH, conductivity and alkalinity were determined in the field. Water samples were returned to our laboratories and analysed by inductively coupled atomic emission and mass spectrometry (ICP-AES/MS), ion chromatography (IC) / ion selective electrode (ISE) for up to 50 chemical parameters. Waters were also analysed for non-purgeable organic carbon (NPOC) to determine dissolved organic carbon content. Most water samples were analysed for alkalinity, pH, conductivity, F and U and some for multi-element analyses including Al, Cl, Na, Si, SO4, NO4, and TOC. The <150 µm fraction of the stream sediment and the <2 mm fraction of topsoil were analysed by techniques including X-ray fluorescence (XRF) / direct reading optical emission spectrometry (DR-OES) to determine the concentration of up to 53 major and trace elements. Loss on ignition (LOI) and pH were determined in topsoil samples. Analytical data for the 150 micron fraction of soil and stream sediment samples are available for some or all of: Ag, As, B, Ba, Bi, Be, Ca, Ce, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Ga, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, Sb, Se, Sn, Sr, Th, Ti, U, V, Y, Zn, Zr. In later stages, the project also routinely determined the elements listed in the <2 mm fraction of surface soils. Sample storage and archive After preparation and analyses all soil, stream sediment and panned concentrate samples and excess material were stored and archived at the National Geoscience Data Centre (NGDC). The archive holds more than 40 years’ worth of material collected across the UK. Archived samples can be made available for further tests and analyses on request by contacting BGS Enquiries (mailto: enquiries@bgs.ac.uk).

Alternate title: G-BASE geochemical samples and analyses

Date (Creation): 1968

Citation identifier: http://data.bgs.ac.uk/id/dataHolding/13480412

Point of contact

Organisation name	Individual name	Electronic mail address	Role
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	enquiries@bgs.ac.uk	Distributor
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	enquiries@bgs.ac.uk	Point of contact
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	enquiries@bgs.ac.uk	Distributor
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	enquiries@bgs.ac.uk	Point of contact
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	not available	Distributor
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	not available	Point of contact

Maintenance and update frequency: Not planned

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0

Geology

BGS Thesaurus of Geosciences

Sampling
UK Location (INSPIRE)
Geochemical data
Sample analysis
Scottish SDI
Geochemistry
Geochemical sampling
Geology
Geochemical background
Geochemical mapping

dataCentre

Keywords

NERC_DDC

Access constraints: Other restrictions

Other constraints: no limitations

Other constraints: restricted

Other constraints: The dataset has been formally approved by BGS for access by external clients under a BGS Digital Data Licence, issued via BGS's IPR Section. The dataset must not be provided to, or be accessible by, an external client until the IPR Section confirms that signed licence documentation is in place. Refer to the IPR Section (DigitalLE@bgs.ac.) if further advice is required.

Other constraints: The dataset is made freely available for access, e.g. via the Internet. Either no third party data / information is contained in the dataset or BGS has secured written permission from the owner(s) of any third party data / information contained in the dataset to make the dataset freely accessible.

Use constraints: Other restrictions

Other constraints: The copyright of materials derived from the British Geological Survey's work is vested in the Natural Environment Research Council [NERC]. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the prior permission of the copyright holder, via the BGS Intellectual Property Rights Manager. Use by customers of information provided by the BGS, is at the customer's own risk. In view of the disparate sources of information at BGS's disposal, including such material donated to BGS, that BGS accepts in good faith as being accurate, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the quality or accuracy of the information supplied, or to the information's suitability for any use. NERC/BGS accepts no liability whatever in respect of loss, damage, injury or other occurence however caused.

Other constraints: The dataset is made available to external clients under BGS Digital Data Licence terms and conditions. Revert to the IPR Section ( iprdigital@bgs.ac.uk) if further advice is required with regard to permitted usage.

Other constraints: Available under the Open Government Licence subject to the following acknowledgement accompanying the reproduced NERC materials "Contains NERC materials ©NERC [year]"

Spatial representation type: Vector

Language: English

Topic category

Geoscientific information

Geographic identifier: GBN
ISO 3166_2 2009 revision

Geographic identifier: GREAT BRITAIN [id=139600]
British Geological Survey Gazetteer: Geographical hierarchy from Geosaurus 1979 creation

Begin date: 1968

End date: 2014

Supplemental Information: Regional geochemical mapping commenced in the Caithness and South Orkney areas carried out by the Institute of Geological Sciences (IGS, now BGS). The G-BASE project was completed in 2014. Soil samples average 1 per 2 km square and sediment samples average 1 per 1.75 km square. Geochemical mapping was carried out according to International Geochemical Sampling methods described by IGCP 259.

Unique resource identifier: OSGB 1936 / British National Grid (EPSG::27700)

Unique resource identifier: WGS 84 (EPSG::4326)

Distribution format

Name	Version

Distributor contact

Organisation name	Individual name	Electronic mail address	Role
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	enquiries@bgs.ac.uk	Distributor

Distributor contact

Organisation name	Individual name	Electronic mail address	Role
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	enquiries@bgs.ac.uk	Distributor

Distributor contact

Organisation name	Individual name	Electronic mail address	Role
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	not available	Distributor

OnLine resource

Protocol	Linkage	Name
WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link	https://www.bgs.ac.uk/geology-projects/applied-geochemistry/g-base/	Geochemical baseline survey of the environment (G-BASE)

Hierarchy level: Dataset

Other: dataset

Conformance result

Title: INSPIRE Implementing rules laying down technical arrangements for the interoperability and harmonisation of Geology

Date (Publication): 2011

Explanation: See the referenced specification

Pass: No

Conformance result

Title: 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

Date (Publication): 2010-12-08

Explanation: See http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:323:0011:0102:EN:PDF

Pass: No

Statement: Sampling and data collection procedures evolved over the course of the G-BASE project. More information may be found in the G-BASE field procedures manual (2005): https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/5190/. The G-BASE project was initially called the 'Regional Geochemical Reconnaissance Programme' (RGRP) and subsequently the 'Geochemical Survey Project' (GSP). All G-BASE data have been loaded into the BGS Geochemistry Database.