The map show the broad distribution of the industrial, including construction, mineral resources of Britain and the main sites where these are worked. Over extensive areas bedrock is covered by superficial deposits, including economically important sand and gravel resources. These superficial deposits are not shown on the map. Resources have been defined by dominant lithology (rock type). The map is a synthesis of the mineral resources and mineral working data held by the BGS in 1996. The published (paper) map has not been superseded however the digital mineral resources and mineral workings data has since been superseded. The map is logically consistent throughout.

The Borehole Geology database holds downhole lithological / lithostratigraphical data (with unit-bound lithological properties where appropriate) for boreholes identified within the Single Onshore Borehole Index (SOBI), which covers onshore and nearshore Great Britain. The database can store multiple interpretations for each borehole and properties assigned to each coded lithological unit. Available borehole geology properties include porosity, Munsell colour, grainsize, water struck, etc, and other valid property-types can be included when/if required.

Paper records and photos used to create the Nottingham Caves digital register and maps. Includes archival material of the caves known to BGS, around northern and central Nottingham. Data mainly captured in 1989, infrequent since then approximately 1 per year.

This dataset contains parametric data (epicentre, magnitude, depth, etc) for over one million earthquakes worldwide. The dataset has been compiled gradually over a period of thirty years from original third-party catalogues, and parameters have not been revised by BGS, although erroneous entries have been flagged where found. The dataset is kept in two versions: the complete "master" version, in which all entries for any single earthquake from contributing catalogue are preserved, and the "pruned" version, in which each earthquake is represented by a single entry, selected from the contributing sources according to a hierarchy of preferences. The pruned version, which is intended to be free from duplicate entries for the same event, provides a starting point for studies of seismicity and seismic hazard anywhere in the world.

Three volumes of SAM samples (SAM1-SAM4789) exist. They represent the work of FW Anderson in the 1950s and 1960s. All samples were re-registered into other datasets. They are predominantly from the Cretaceous and Tertiary. Sample number, fossil type, locality and geological details are given, including borehole name and depth where appropriate.

The database contains basic tabulated field data resulting from the work of the BGS East Grampians Project in the early 1980s to mid 1990s. Records include the locations of stations at which field observations were made, structural measurements and sample locations. To this end, the database provides an index to locations and structural data. However, it needs to be stated clearly that labels given to structural elements are largely subjective beyond the identification of bedding. This means that the structural data are largely unusable without a clear understanding of their context and with regard to the primary paper record on which descriptions of the observed structures are recorded. The data are held in MS ACCESS tables which are related via the Station number as the primary key. The coverage is mainly confined to the North East Grampian Highlands of Scotland. The database is currently unused and has not been added to since the end of the East Grampians Project. The station location and structural data are effectively complete. However, fields in the sample database, such as the sample stratigraphy, are largely incomplete because, at the time the data were acquired, the stratigraphy at each station was formally undefined. The most effective way of presenting and investigating the data is via GIS.

Data on the physical properties (transmissivity, storage coefficient, porosity and permeability) of aquifers in England and Wales. Compiled by BGS staff from paper records of field and laboratory testing held by BGS, the Environment Agency and other organisations. Contains summary data on approximately 20,000 pump tests at over 2000 discrete locations. Raw data may be available on request. The majority of BGS and EA pump test data is included for both major and minor aquifers, but in minor aquifers this is complemented by data on specific yield. Laboratory determinations of porosity and permeability are limited to open file BGS data only. All data subject to similar processing and interpretation, but raw data highly variable.

The National Seismological Archive (NSA) is the United Kingdom national repository for seismological material. It was created principally to preserve data from seismological observatories in the UK that have now closed. In many cases in the past records have been lost or destroyed when there is no longer anyone to look after them; the NSA provides a permanent home for these historical scientific documents, to preserve them for posterity. The principal collection consists of the seismograms stores from defunct observatories; also bulletins and reports from all over the world dating from the 1890s onwards, held in a variety of media, including earthquake-related newspaper cuttings, glass slides, microfilm, and comprehensive UK earthquake research material collected over a 30 year period. The archive has a public access room available for researchers and welcomes visiting scientists who wish to study material held in it. If it is impractical to visit, we may be able to supply data from it, subject to staff availability. One of the major projects of the archive has been the presentation of current knowledge of UK historical earthquake seismology material in a short series of reports, easily accessible to researchers. These are available for download as Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format files (.pdf) from the NSA download page.

Magnetograms are used to record variations in the strength and direction of the Earth’s magnetic field. In the UK measurements were made at eight long-running observatories; Abinger, Eskdalemuir, Falmouth, Greenwich, Hartland, Kew and Lerwick. Original paper magnetograms were recorded using photographic techniques at Kew, Greenwich, Abinger, Hartland, Eskdalemuir and Lerwick Observatories. The magnetogram collection, one of the longest running geomagnetic series in the world, provides a continuous record of more than 160 years of UK measurements. These magnetograms start in the 1840s and end in 1986 at which time digital recording of the magnetic field took over and magnetograms can be produced by computer graphic. The plots show variation in the Earth's magnetic field, typically over a 24-hour period. The collection is a valuable, partly untapped data resource for studying geomagnetic storms, space weather and the evolution of the Earth’s magnetic field. The magnetograms provide insight into: • the Earth’s outer core: long-term change (years to centuries) in the dynamo that sustains our magnetic field • space weather: short-term changes (seconds to days) in near-Earth space and on the ground • space climate: long-term change (decades to centuries) in solar activity and consequences for Earth’s environment All the above have an impact on human activities. For example, bad space weather affects technologies that we increasingly rely on, such as electrical power and GPS networks. In January 2009, the BGS began a project to capture high-quality digital images of the magnetogram collection to provide a back up to the photographic paper originals. The images captured so far are available to search online. Scientists and the general public around the world can now gain easy access to this historical dataset.The programme of work to complete the magnetogram digitisation is ongoing and more will be added, observatory by observatory.

Digital hourly mean values of the Geomagnetic field elements from Lerwick, Eskdalemuir, Abinger and Hartland Observatories. Eskdalemuir data are available from 1911, Lerwick from 1926, Hartland from 1957 and all three are available up to yesterday's date. Values from Abinger (1926-1956) are available on request. Most data are definitive, but recent data (within the last 203 years) are provisional and may be corrected in the future. Values of declination (D), horizontal intensity (H) and vertical intensity (Z) are available. The units of declination are degrees. Declination is negative when west of true north. The units of horizontal intensity and vertical intensity are nT (nanotesla). Vertical intensity is positive in the downwards direction. The data from these observatories will not only aid scientific research into rates of change of the magnetic field and increase the accuracy of the BGS Global Geomagnetic Model, but will also provide data to exploration geophysicists engaged in current and future oil exploration.