Seabed geology data: results from stakeholder consultation

The Crown Estate uses cutting-edge data to create safe, sustainable and cost-effective new opportunities for future developments, in line with commitments to net zero and nature recovery. BGS was approached by The Crown Estate to undertake a project aimed at better understanding the current and future requirements for national-scale seabed geology and shallow subsurface information across multiple marine sectors, focusing on offshore renewables, linear assets and nature.

The project built on previous collaboration between BGS and The Crown Estate in 2014, which developed a series of geological factor maps relevant to offshore seabed activities. The availability of new data and techniques provides a timely opportunity to review evolving needs.

Part of the project involved an online survey, which included more than 80 participants from at least 60 different organisations. Participants provided feedback about access and use, seabed geology information, thematic data needs, and where improvements to existing datasets or addition of new datasets could be made. Alongside the survey, we undertook a review of existing seabed geology datasets and used it in conjunction with the survey results to inform recommendations for a potential new data compilation.

We would like to thank all participants for their input to the survey. If you have any questions, please contact the BGS Offshore Data Team (offshoredata@bgs.ac.uk).