The Centre for Environmental Geochemistry (CEG) focuses on the use of geochemistry in research, training and teaching. We investigate:
- environmental and climate change
- biogeochemical cycling including pollution typing/provenance
- science-based archaeology
- the use of geochemical tools for research into the subsurface
The centre has established collaborations with both the University of Nottingham and Heriot-Watt University.
Find out more about our research
![Geotechnical_RD_facility_fig2](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Geotechnical_RD_facility_fig2.jpg)
Science facilities
BGS operates and maintains a wide range of state-of-the-art laboratories and other facilities, which underpin virtually all of our research.
![Environmental change](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/feature_env_change.jpg)
Environmental change, adaptation and resilience
We are undertaking research aimed at reducing vulnerability, protecting resources and building resilience in response to substantial environmental changes.
Explore the Centre for Environmental Geochemistry
![stable isotope facility](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/feature_stable_isotope_1.jpg)
Stable Isotope Facility
We are the largest UK producer of stable isotope data, particularly specialising in climate, environmental and archaeological studies
![feature_dissolved_gases](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/feature_dissolved_gases.jpg)
Dissolved Gases and Tracers Facility
We are the UK’s leading organisation for groundwater dating and tracing, using a wide range of environmental agents, equipment and capabilities.
![Inorganic science facility](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/feature_IGF.jpg)
Inorganic Geochemistry Facility
The Inorganic Geochemistry Facility provides high-quality analytical expertise and specialist services for the production and geochemical interpretation of inorganic data.
![Soil physics facility](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/feature_soil_facilities.jpg)
Soil Physics Facility
Our facility provides a range of soil physical measurement services as well as complementary analyses to describe the degree to which soil organic matter is decomposed.
![feature_aquifer_properties](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/feature_aquifer_properties.jpg)
Aquifer Properties Facility
We undertake specialised core characterisation on drillcore and rock chippings from borehole samples for a wide range of hydrogeological purposes.
![Organic geochemistry facility](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/feature_Organic_geochemistry.jpg)
Organic Geochemistry Facility
We specialise in organic geochemical measurements at the bulk and molecular level in complex matrices, like rock, sediment, soil and water.
Related news
![P1038353](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/P1038353.webp)
Hungry like a wolf: new insights from old bones housed in the BGS museum collections
18/01/2024
BGS scientists are studying the diets of ancient British wolves and how they adapted to changing environments.
![Chris Bengt, PhD Student, in Stable Isotope Lab, Keyworth. BGS © UKRI.](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/chris-bengt-p1038345.webp)
Understanding nutrients in tropical rainforests
11/01/2024
Christopher Bengt talks about carrying out research for his PhD amongst the rainforests and volcanoes of the Philippines.
![Gold mining activities (milled ore washing and sluicing) and community drinking water downslope of ASGM activities. © Maureene Auma Ondayo.](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/gold-mining-activities-sluicing-p1038343-960x645.webp)
Linking geochemistry and health in artisanal and small-scale gold mining in the Kakamega-Vihiga gold belt, Kenya
09/01/2024
PhD candidate Maureene Auma Ondayo is investigating major and trace element exposure in the environment in Kenya, aiming to reduce exposure of humans to toxic chemicals.
![Charlotte Hopkins working in the National Environmental Isotope Facility (NEIF). BGS © UKRI.](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_3959.webp)
My role as a stable isotope research assistant
19/12/2023
Charlotte Hipkiss has recently taken up a new position in the National Environmental Isotope Facility at BGS and gives us a little insight into her new position.
![Glastonbury Tor rises above the low-lying wetlands of the Somerset Levels, one of the sample areas for the new research. BGS © UKRI.](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/P769823.jpg)
New method developed to identify wetland inhabitants
01/11/2023
BGS-led research has helped develop a method to identify ancient human and animal wetland inhabitants.
![Five students stand behind a sign for the British Geological Survey](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Students-BGS-sign-960x640.jpg)
Nurturing early career scientists: 20 years of undergraduate industrial placements at BGS
28/09/2023
Michael Watts, BGS Head of Inorganic Chemistry, and previous placement students reflect on their experiences working at BGS’s Inorganic Geochemistry Facility over the past 20 years.
![20230725_152425](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/20230725_152425.jpg)
Midlands Innovation TALENT placement at BGS
15/08/2023
Jodie Brown revisits her time at BGS’s Stable Isotope Facility as part of the Midlands Innovation TALENT project, which aims to increase the status of technicians.
![Vanessa in the stable isotopes lab at the British Geological Survey. BGS © UKRI.](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/vanessa-nowinski-945px.jpg)
My experience as an international PhD student visiting BGS
17/07/2023
PhD student Vanessa Nowinski describes her experience in the stable isotopes labs at BGS, while working on the famous Lake Suigetsu.
![The coast on the surface of the river is covered with a pellicle of blue-green algae](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/iStock-1272284836-960x640.jpg)
How does public water use influence the amount of phosphorus in the environment?
11/04/2023
New research looks at how phosphorus accumulates in public water systems in the USA.
![Four-hundred-year-old bear paw bone (metapodial) showing where it has been sampled for isotopes and ancient DNA analysis. BGS © UKRI.](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/7CB62E87-0791-4727-AB91-7B67BD71C5E3.jpg)
Exploring animal diets in Shakespeare’s London
31/03/2023
The ‘Box office bears’ project aims to understand more about the bears that were once a common sight in England. Prof Hannah O’Regan and Dr Lizzie Wright from the University of Nottingham explain what the project entails.
![Cattle grazing in green grass with a saltwater creek running between the animals.](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/cattle-grazing-saltmarshes.jpg)
When did the cows come home?
23/02/2023
PhD student David Osborne is exploring Bronze Age animal husbandry using isotopes and X-rays.
![Ancient neolithic stones,West Kennet Long Barrow, Wiltshire. Source: Neil Bussey/istock.](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/iStock-1344273389.jpg)
New lead isoscape map for archaeological provenance studies in Great Britain
28/10/2022
A new study aims to determine lead isotope ratios in soil and rock across Great Britain which could inform future archaeological studies about human and animal origins.