Other news

iCoast: New project to help predict the future UK coastline

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:00:00 GMT

Future management of coastal erosion and flooding is the focus of a new collaborative project, iCoast. The research consortium includes the BGS, University of Southampton, University College London, Oxford University, Manchester University, Swansea University, Cardiff University, Haskoning, HR Wallingford, National Oceanography Centre and Channel Coastal Observatory. The iCoast project will develop new methods that will characterise and forecast long-term changes to coastal geomorphic systems. This work is funded by the National Environmental Research Council and is partnered by the Environment Agency who will use these methods to improve long-term management of the UK coast.

Some amount of climate change is inevitable, this much we know. What we don't know is how sensitive the UK coast is to changes in the climate, to the direction that the waves come from, to the degree of storminess. We need the science of coastal geomorphology - the science of landscape change - to tackle this important socio-economic problem. The iCoast consortium and the BGS coastal research team, will provide significant and comprehensive solutions to this societal problem.

For further information contact Dr Michael Ellis

University of Southampton press release: New project to help predict the future of the UK's coastline

Islay Earthquakes February 2012

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 08:00:00 GMT

Since the beginning of February, a sequence of at least nine small earthquakes has struck the island of Islay on the west coast of Scotland. The largest of the earthquakes had a magnitude of 2.8 ML, while two others had magnitudes in excess of 2.0 ML. Eight of the earthquakes were felt by local residents.

More about the recent Islay earthquakes

BGS to validate ESA's geophysical Swarm data

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:00:00 GMT

The BGS has successfully bid to join the European Space Agency (ESA) Swarm magnetic survey satellite mission validation team as a principal investigator. We will participate, along with ESA, in the geophysical validation of Swarm data products.

Swarm is a three-satellite 'mini constellation' that will provide unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution of the magnetic fields of the Earth.

Launch date is currently set for 17 July 2012, with a mission duration of up to five years.

More about ESA's magnetic field mission Swarm

BUFI student wins Mike Coward Prize

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:00:00 GMT

Keele University student, Michael Kelly, won the Mike Coward Prize for the Best Postgraduate Talk at the Tectonic Studies Group (TSG) AGM Conference at Our Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh, in January 2012. He was also awarded the Shell Prize for Best Postgraduate Overall Presentation at TSG.

Michael presented aspects of his PhD work in the North West Highlands of Scotland: Cross-strike Discontinuities: The development of the Loch Maree Transverse Zone. His paper was complimented with a poster that examined his development of A new method for analyzing cross-strike discontinuities (CSDs) and transverse zones in Displacement Vector Analysis. This new method is derived from Michael's work in Scotland, Cantabria in Spain, and in the Appalachian Thrust Belt, USA.

This research is a spin-off from BGS work on the classic Moine Thrust Belt. Michael adopted BGS digital mapping methodologies (SIGMA) and is now modelling the transverse Loch Maree sector of the Moine Thrust Belt in 3D. The research is jointly supervised and funded by BGS's BUFI (Dr G Leslie) and Keele University (Dr Stuart Clarke and Prof. Graham Williams).

The Royal Society Scientist | Civil Servant Pairing Scheme 2011

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:00:00 GMT

During November 2011 Dr Kathryn Goodenough, a senior geologist at BGS, took part in the Royal Society Scientist: Civil Servant Pairing Scheme. Kathryn was paired with Beverley Okoye, a Policy Adviser from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS); both have interests in developing international scientific research and collaboration.

Several Pairing Scheme scientists spent a 'week in Westminster' that included tours of the Houses of Parliament, talks from the leaders of the various parliamentary science groups including the Chief Scientific Advisor and interactive sessions on scientific advice in emergencies.

Beverley Okoye made a reciprocal visit to BGS HQ at Keyworth, meeting the BGS international team and discussing how further collaboration between BGS and BIS could be mutually beneficial.

The UK Government aims to promote and strengthen UK scientific expertise, innovation and collaboration worldwide, and is thus supportive of the BGS as a world leader in research and delivery of applied geoscience across the globe.

Critical metal resources in Scotland

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:50:00 GMT

BGS geologists presented their latest research on critical metals at the Geores 2011 Scottish Minerals meeting at Murchison House, in Edinburgh on Tuesday 15 November.

The EU and the UK are heavily dependent on imports of many metals. Some of these, which are economically important and yet potentially vulnerable to supply disruption, are termed ‘critical metals’. These include the rare earth elements, the platinum group metals, cobalt and tungsten all of which are being used in increasing amounts globally. They are particularly important in a range of emerging technologies, such as clean energy where they are used in wind turbines, electric vehicles and photovoltaics.

There are no economic deposits of critical metals known in Scotland at present. However, there are indications in several areas that resources of some of these metals might exist. For example, high concentrations of rare earths have been identified in rock samples near Tongue in Sutherland and of platinum-group metals in Shetland and Aberdeenshire.

BGS Principal Economic Geologist, Gus Gunn, said: 'BGS is currently undertaking research to understand the processes responsible for the rare earth enrichments in Sutherland, although considerable further work would be required to identify any economic deposits of critical metals in Scotland.'

More about Geores 2011

BGS wins Defra contract on soil background concentrations

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 10:00:00 GMT

The BGS has won a contract from Defra (SP1008) to determine the typical background concentrations of contaminants in soils.

The Background Concentrations of Contaminants in Soils (BCCS) Project will use the significant soil chemistry data sets that are now available from England for rural and urban areas to determine 'normal' soil concentrations for contaminants.

The 60 000 BGS G-BASE soil samples will form an important part of this project.

The work is part of the process to simplify the contaminated land statutory guidance which supports Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. As part of this project a definition of a contaminant's normal background concentration in soil will be developed to help to more clearly define soils that are not contaminated land in the legal sense, and help focus resources on dealing with land that may pose a significant environmental and health risk.

The project started in November 2011 and will last for six months.

More about Background Concentrations of Contaminants in Soils (BCCS) project

BGS awarded major potash contract

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 11:00:00 GMT

As part of the process to evaluate a potential potash deposit in North Yorkshire, the BGS has been contracted by York Potash Ltd, a part of Sirius Minerals Plc to characterise core material recovered from a series of six exploration boreholes.

Potash provides a critical source of potassium for fertilizers which are increasingly in demand to boost crop yields and resistance to disease to satisfy the escalating world population.

Sirius Minerals holds various onshore and offshore mineral rights agreements covering 621 km² between the towns of Whitby and Scarborough. Based on an analysis of existing data, a JORC Exploration Target¹ of between 3.3 and 6 billion tonnes of 67% to 94% polyhalite (19% to 27% K2SO4) has been established for the currently contracted area. Likewise, a JORC Exploration Target of between 330 and 400 million tonnes of 35% to 40% potassium chloride (KCl) has also been established for the project.

The boreholes are planned to intersect the Permian evaporite sequence at depths between 1150 and 1700 m, and three potash-bearing horizons in particular: the Sneaton Potash Seam, the Boulby Potash Seam and the Fordon Polyhalite Seam. The polyhalite is the primary target of the exploration and the two potash horizons are secondary targets.

BGS was contracted to carry out the work on the basis of its expertise, reputation and impartiality and that it could offer the full range of required core curation, inspection and photography facilities as well as state-of-the art mineralogical and geochemical analyses at its Keyworth headquarters.

¹ The JORC Exploration Target estimates of quantity and grade are conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define a Mineral Resource on the property and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in discovery of a Mineral Resource on the property. The estimates are not a Reserve or Resource statement in accordance with an AIM recognised Standard and should not therefore be relied upon as such.

WorldSkills London 2011

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 07:00:00 GMT

Prospect, the union for over 34 000 engineering and science specialists in government and the private sector have organised the first ever union-led competition at WorldSkills London 2011 event this week at the ExCel Centre in London.

Prospect has worked with a range of partners, including members at the British Geological Survey, and supported by WorldSkills UK, to devise an environmental science competition.

Five teams from the UK and one from the Netherlands will have to: design a sustainable energy solution for an island community build a renewable energy generator and present a report to judges justifying their solution and winning over members of the local community.

More about the Prospect environmental science competition and WorldSkills London 2011

New Training Academy for the CCS industry

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:00:00 GMT

On 22 September 2011, CCS TLM Limited and The National Centre for CCS (NCCCS) launched an academy to offer training courses in the vital new area of carbon capture and storage.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between CCS TLM Limited and NCCCS to develop and jointly run a series of short (2-3 day) training courses aimed at improving knowledge and understanding of the CCS business across all CCS stakeholders. These courses will give delegates access to a CCS TLM team with extensive experience and capabilities in the technical, commercial and financing aspects of large-scale fully integrated CCS projects combined with the NCCCS that brings together the expertise and talents of geologists from the British Geological Survey and capture and pipeline engineers from the University of Nottingham.

The courses on offer from the Academy will be targeted at personnel in industry and other key stakeholders who will likely be involved in CCS in the future, or those who need to have a technical overview about CCS but are not able to undertake lengthy periods of training.

More about the CCS TLM Academy