What lies beneath Liverpool?

The ground beneath our cities and towns is becoming increasingly important in a number of sectors. This is not only due to pressures from housing, transport, and utility infrastructure, but also from optimising the use of natural resources such as groundwater and heat.

The Urban Interactive 3D models tool, hosted within BGS GeoIndex (onshore), was launched as a free to view service in 2021. It already includes conceptual models of London and the Thames valley, Cardiff, and the greater Glasgow region; now, a model featuring Liverpool and Warrington has also been made available.

The tool provides a 3D characterisation of the rocks and deposits beneath the area that make up the upper tens to hundreds of metres of the below ground. This data provides a vital understanding of where certain geology is and can assist different sectors in their planning within urban areas. For example, it gives a heads-up to local authorities and engineering consultancies of where they should consider the management of groundwater, and identifies potential geological resources, such as geothermal energy, when it comes to the planning and development of the area.

The BGS are striving to synthesise all the 3D geological model stock it holds into easily accessible and usable information. We hope that by providing this data, users can get an appreciation of the types of soil and rocks they live on and work with.

Ricky Terrington, Geospatial Data and Technologies Lead at BGS

Further information

• 3D urban geology, including further information about the Liverpool model
• How to use the GeoIndex 3D urban interactive model tool (video)

Contact

For more information, please contact BGS press (bgspress@bgs.ac.uk) or call 07790 607 010.