Browsing the BGS News Archive - News Releases

The British Geological Survey (BGS) welcomes the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: The Physical Science Basis 4th Assessment Report published on 2 February 2007.

Hi-tech crime fighting is on the agenda at a major meeting in Nottingham this week.

As part of a nationwide mapping of chemical elements in the surface environment a study of soil chemistry within and around the City of Sheffield has highlighted our long-term impact on the urban environment. A comprehensive survey undertaken by the British Geological Survey (BGS), and results studied in collaboration with Rothamsted Research, has shown that average lead concentrations in urban soils are approximately twice that of the surrounding rural soils, equating to a cumulative load of around 20 tonnes of lead per square kilometre across the City. The dominant sources of lead include historical industrial activity and vehicle exhaust emissions. Despite our reliance on urban soil to filter water and as a medium to grow vegetables, the magnitude of diffuse pollution has not been established before. The survey provides a basis for investigating the impact of this extra lead on the urban population and the extent of its effect on human health. The study involved collecting a total of 569 samples of soil from a range of land use types across the City and measuring their total metal concentrations. Given the historical legacy, particularly that of steel manufacturing in the City, the study focussed on three metals; lead, nickel and chromium. Those sites with unusually large metal concentrations due to point contamination were identified using a robust statistical procedure and treated separately from the majority of sites at which the concentrations reflect the natural soil composition plus diffuse pollution. Point contamination of chromium and nickel, presumably related to steel manufacture and processing, was common in former industrial areas to the north-east of City. Thirty-five hotspots also occurred in residential gardens. These require further investigation before any potential threat to human health can be assessed. The BGS has surveyed the soil of other towns and cities in the UK but the results have not yet been subjected to the same detailed statistical analysis as those from Sheffield. Such analysis will put the level of point and diffuse pollution in Sheffield into context, and indicate whether the magnitude of pollution reflects its long industrial legacy. The full results of the current study are published in the journal Soil Use and Management.

On 20 February 2004, the Court of Appeal struck out a claim by a Bangladeshi resident in a test case against the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Leigh, Day & Co represented the Claimant in the case. It was alleged that the British Geological Survey, which is part of NERC, was negligent in its conduct and /or reporting of a pilot research study into the hydrochemistry of groundwaters in central and north-eastern Bangladesh in 1992 . The Court of Appeal considered that the claim would be bound to fail if it were allowed to go to trial because there was insufficient proximity between the parties for NERC to owe a duty of care to the Claimant. Leigh, Day & Co. have been granted leave to appeal against this decision. The appeal will be heard in due course. This website will be updated as more information becomes available.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) and the Geological Survey of Finland (Geologian Tutkimuskeskus, GTK) have joined forces to operate a geophysical survey aircraft and develop improved airborne survey techniques to meet the future needs of both organisations. The new Joint Airborne-geoscience Capability (JAC) will provide both partners with a cost effective, state-of-the-art capability for acquiring high resolution airborne geophysical data for their respective national strategic science programmes and will also be available for a period of time each year for use by third parties. GTK has a long-established track record in airborne geophysics and sees a continuing need to develop airborne geoscience to address a range of new applications. At the same time, BGS plans to acquire a new generation of high-resolution airborne data across the UK to define the properties of the shallow subsurface in relation to sustainable development and environmental protection. The rationale behind developing a joint capability is to share the cost of ownership, maximise the utilisation of the facility, share the cost of technical R&D and maximise collaborative scientific opportunities. The joint facility will be based initially on GTK's existing 'Three-in-One' fixed wing technology comprising a dual frequency electromagnetic (EM) system designed and built by GTK, a multi-channel gamma spectrometer and a magnetic gradiometer. BGS has purchased the deHavilland Twin Otter aircraft, previously leased by GTK from Finnair Cargo Oy /Malmilento, and assigned it exclusively for use by the JAC. An early second phase of the co-operation will see the upgrade of the EM system to four frequencies, covering the range 900 to 25,000 Hz, together with the installation of enhanced GPS, laser altimetry and flight path video systems to be jointly funded by the partners. In addition to the 'economies of scale', the need for the JAC is driven by the changing role of national Geological Survey organisations such as BGS and GTK. As well as their traditional roles of mapping geology and natural resources, the emphasis is increasingly on providing information to support protection of the environment and sustainable land-use management, driven by the need to meet national environmental regulations and EU environmental directives. This requires a much more detailed understanding of the structure of the near surface, contamination of the land from human activities and the movement of pollutants through the subsurface. Airborne electro-magnetic (EM) data provide information on the electrical conductivity of the sub-surface related to water quality, pollution and mineral content; magnetic data provide information on sub-surface structure and mineral resources; and radiometric data provide information on the natural and man-made radioactivity. Together, the three data sets acquired by the aircraft provide a cost-effective and non-invasive means of studying the near surface and providing essential new information to address both environmental and sustainable resource issues. One aspect of the co-operation that both partners find particularly exciting is the European dimension. As far as we are aware, the JAC is the first example of two European geological survey organisations joining together to operate a major geoscientific survey and research facility. It has the potential to expand to include additional partners and provide essential data sets to enable the nations of the European Community to address important environmental and land-use issues on a European scale. Dr Michael Lee British Geological Survey Tel: +44 (0)115 936 3356 E-mail: mklee@bgs.ac.uk Mr Harry Sandstrom Director of Geoservice Centre Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) Tel: +358 (0)400 709899 Email: harry.sandstrom@gtk.fi