Soils are the thin veneer of geology that humans live on. Increasing human populations, changing climates and the intensification in the use of our soils mean that we are in danger of losing or causing irreversible damage to a resource that takes thousands of years to produce. In addition, how we use our soils is a key factor in determining the quality of our ground and surface waters as well as well as the air we breathe.
The soils team at BGS has expertise in soil chemistry, particularly the biogeochemical cycles of major and trace elements, and soil physics, where we focus on understanding soil structure and understanding soil moisture dynamics in UK and African soils. In addition we try to understand these processes in relation to the properties that the soil parent material (i.e. the geology) provides the soil, including the lifespan of soils in relation to formation and erosion.
Sustainable soils work at the BGS currently focuses on delivering information that can help the management of soils both in the UK and internationally. We work with a range of researchers, including BGS colleagues in groundwater, at the Centre for Environmental Geochemistry and Health, the mineralogy and petrography laboratories, and externally with HEI establishments and research institutes. Recent and current external collaborators include the Environment Agency and the Welsh Government.
Find out more about our research
![Quaternary sediment](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/quaternarySediment_crop.jpg)
Resilient lowland Quaternary landscapes
Geological processes in the UK during the Quaternary have to varying degrees affected the properties and behaviour of the shallow subsurface geology.
![A38 Rest and Be Thankful pass](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/RABT_crop.jpg)
Upland landscape resources
Improving how near-surface geology can be characterised and predicted in upland environments.
![River with algae](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/phosphorusRiver.jpg)
Phosphorus in sediments
Recent work on phosphorus contamination in, and the role of soils on its transfer to, river sediments in the UK.
Our projects
![emma-simpson-mNGaaLeWEp0-unsplash_feature](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/emma-simpson-mNGaaLeWEp0-unsplash_feature.jpg)
Medical geology — measuring geochemical hazards
Understanding and assessing geochemical hazards in the environment has been a part of the BGS portfolio of research for over 50 years.
Related news
![Pale cliffs above a flat grassy area with ivy and trees growing across some of them. There are several, large and small caves in the cliffs.](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/geograph-6702517-by-Sandy-Gerrard.jpg)
Creswell Crags Museum collections offer insight into the past and future of wolves
12/07/2024
Bones found at the site are helping scientists to understand the diet of wolves and how they differ over time.
![Sophia and Job at BGS conducting specialist analysis of Pu in soils.](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Job_Sophia_Lab_T-Barlow_thumbnail.jpg)
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.
![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.
![The Lewes Nodular Chalk Formation contributes to the chemistry of overlying soils in Culver Down on the Isle of Wight. BGS © UKRI.](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/culver-down-p683813.webp)
How BGS is helping the farming sector of Great Britain
17/01/2024
New legislation concerning soil management and technology in modern farming has led to an increase in enquiries about BGS’s Soil Parent Material Model.
![The Codleteth Burn catchment with its outlet fan system and recent debris flow deposits near Talla Linfoots. BGS © UKRI.](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/P1038346-scaled-1-960x640.jpg)
Moving stones: faults, slopes and sediments
12/01/2024
Fractured rock along faults affects sediment movement on slopes with implications for the design of infrastructure.
![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.
![Sophia Dowell, PhD student at BGS, conducting her research in Kenya. BGS © UKRI.](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/sophia-dowell.webp)
The optimisation of plutonium separation
07/11/2023
BGS research leads to advancements in the detection of plutonium and ultimately the determination of soil erosion rates in tropical soils.
![Recording pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and temperature of groundwater](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Groundwater_testing.jpg)
Understanding Nottinghamshire’s groundwater microbial ecosystems
24/08/2023
PhD student Archita Bhattacharyya is undertaking a project focused on exploring the ecosystem of microorganisms in groundwater of England.
![Eight people sitting and standing at the sunshine and smiling; four standing at the back and four sitting on a bench at the front.](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Team_pic-1.jpg)
Five places in Yorkshire to assess key geological hazards
21/12/2022
A field trip to Yorkshire has helped our data products team improve their output.
![GB_2022_webthumb_v2](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GB_2022_webthumb_v2.jpg)
Updated radon map for Great Britain published
02/12/2022
The UK Health Security Agency and BGS have published an updated radon potential map for Great Britain.
![P608454](https://www.bgs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/P608454-960x645.jpg)
Understanding long-term burial of organic carbon deposits
07/11/2022
Carbon sequestration is one method of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, by capturing and storing it, contributing to climate change reduction.