Accessing data

NGDC holds a wealth of geoscience data and information, deposited via our ingestion portal or produced as a result of BGS/NERC-funded activities. We make this data available through a number of digital data portals, the National Geological Repository (NGR) visitor service and the BGS enquiries system.  

Where possible, the data we make accessible is freely available under an Open Government License, though specific terms and conditions may apply and will be stipulated along with a dataset.  

NGDC deposited data search  

Use the deposited data search to view all data deposited with the NGDC since 2015, which includes NERC-funded grant data and borehole records from UK drilling operations, as well as pre-2015 BGS collections as a result of retroactive cataloguing activities. This text-based search is the primary catalogue of the NGDC data holdings and direct online access to the data is made available as much as possible. To find out about accessing any physical data holdings indexed in this search either via the scan-on-demand service or by visiting one of our sites, please contact the BGS enquiry service

Geoindex spatial search 

Visit the BGS Geoindex onshore to access a spatial search of deposited borehole records. The Geoindex offers free, direct, online access to NGDC’s collection of over a million onshore scanned boreholes, shafts and well records, as well as various other BGS-produced data layers. 

Physical material: core, samples and specimens 

The National Geological Repository (NGR) pages give information on accessing borehole core, samples and other physical material. The majority of the physical collections are available for study and subsampling by bona fide academics and commercial companies. There will be a fee for commercial companies, whilst academics will need to complete an academic waiver form. Boreholes can be selected using the GeoIndex or the borehole materials database, which also provides information on available sample depths and types.

For all NGR enquiries, including visitor bookings and available dates, please contact NGR (kwcorestore@bgs.ac.uk). 

Material is also held in the BGS Library, including BGS publications, and the BGS corporate archives

Finally, a large number of BGS data-access portals, which include NGDC-held data, are available through the BGS website, including: 

For all other enquiries about accessing data, please contact the BGS enquiry service

Deposited data search

This is the primary catalogue for all digital and paper data deposited with the BGS since 2015.  It also contains older collections that have been catalogued since 2015.

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GeoIndex

An easy-to-use, searchable map interface that enables users to find all data and information held by BGS and NGDC for any part of the UK, both onshore and offshore.)

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Onshore borehole materials database

Holds information of core and sample types and depths from onshore boreholes.

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UKCS (offshore) hydrocarbon well collection database

Holds information of core and samples types and depth from offshore hydrocarbon wells.

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Britrocks

The primary catalogue of the BGS mineralogy and petrology collections, including thin sections.

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Palaeosaurus

The primary catalogue of the BGS palaeontology and biostratigraphy collections

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Cited data catalogue

A list of all the formally cited datasets held by NGDC showing the title, author(s) and the digital object identifier (DOI), which links to the landing page with metadata links and direct access to the data, where appropriate.

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GB3D

A database of the type specimens of macrofossil species and subspecies found in the UK that are held in BGS’s British collections. Includes photographs and a selection of 3D models.

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BGS metadata catalogue

Browse the BGS metadata catalogue with over 1500 datasets, services and maps

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