BGS works globally to help stakeholders make better decisions about geology and the role of geological processes in underpinning the economy, environment and society. We are the UK’s premier provider of geological data, information and knowledge to help address major global challenges. Our work helps to support UK foreign and trade policies and demonstrates how the UK is tackling global challenges.
BGS has a powerful brand based on more than 100 years of international collaboration. Our work supports the objectives of UK Government and is truly global, with a track record of projects across Europe, Africa, South-east Asia, and Latin America. We carry out commissioned research and have our own BGS International Geoscience Research and Development programme.
Find out more about our research
International geoscience research and development
The BGS is active across the globe delivering institutional strengthening programmes and applied research projects across a wide variety of sectors.
International commissioned research
BGS has a strong portfolio of commissioned international programmes, including applied research covering the breadth of the BGS strategy, and capacity building projects across the world.
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UK–Philippine partnership to help tackle the challenges of future water security in the Philippines
07/11/2024
New ‘hydrological hub’ to foster research and provide essential national water management datasets and tools.
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Juliane Huebert took in the fascinating sights of Beppu, Japan, while at a geophysics conference that uses electromagnetic fields to look deep into the Earth and beyond.
BGS collaborates with Icelandic colleagues to assess windfarm suitability
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Iceland’s offshore geology, geomorphology and climate present all the elements required for renewable energy resources.
Mining sand sustainably in The Gambia
17/09/2024
BGS geologists Tom Bide and Clive Mitchell travelled to The Gambia as part of our ongoing work aiming to reduce the impact of sand mining.
Visit by Indonesian Embassy representatives to BGS
27/08/2024
Strengthening BGS/Indonesia scientific research partnerships to address the complex challenges Indonesia faces from natural hazards and maximising opportunities from mineral resources and geothermal energy.
Extracting formation temperatures from stalagmites
14/08/2024
BGS’s Andrew Smith explores the karstic depressions of northern Spain in the quest to create a palaeothermometer.
Responsible extraction in South America’s Lithium Triangle
02/08/2024
A BGS team visited Argentina and Chile to investigate how to extract lithium more responsibly in the face of growing worldwide demand.
Nearly three million people in Indonesia’s second city could be affected by an earthquake
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BGS-led research reveals the number of people in the Bandung metropolitan region who could be exposed to a major earthquake.
The heat beneath our feet: BGS field visit to Tuscan geothermal systems
05/07/2024
BGS visits the active and fossilised geothermal systems of southern Tuscany, Italy.
Philippine National Hydrological Model
The first national-scale hydrological model of the Philippines.
Harnessing global collaboration: UK/Kenya partnership in soil erosion research
31/05/2024
Collaboration between scientists is vital in today’s interconnected world to further scientific progress. In environmental research, issues such as soil erosion demand collaboration on an international scale.
BGS awarded research grant to support potential offshore wind development in Iceland
13/05/2024
BGS has been awarded the NERC-Arctic grant for a collaboration project with Iceland GeoSurvey.
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National geoscience
The National Geoscience programme is a forward-looking investment in UK geology that provides relevant, coherent and enriched geoscience knowledge for our stakeholders.
Digital geoscience
The BGS is a data-rich organisation. Our data science and data infrastructure are fundamental to our future research and underpin our strategic challenges.