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GB3D — 3D geological model for Great Britain v2014

Dataset title National Bedrock Fence Diagram of Great Britain - GB3D_v2014
Dataset creators British Geological Survey
Dataset theme Geoscientific Information
Dataset abstract

The 3D cross section or fence diagram, comprising the GB3D_v2014 dataset complements the existing BGS 1:625 000 scale map sheets utilising the same colour schema and geological classification. The model covers the onshore area of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and the Isle of Man and comprises 246 cross-sections with a total linear length exceeding 25800 km built to depths varying between 1.5–6 km.

Whilst the fence diagram is compatible with the geological linework of the 1:625 000 scale bedrock mapsheet (v5), UK North and South, some of the detail of faulting, minor intrusions and lithological variations within individual units have not been included in the cross-sections. The same stratigraphical schema has been followed and 300 units including intrusions and metamorphic suites are distinguished in the fence sections.

The sections have all been constructed in the GSI3D software many with the aid of raster backdrops of both maps and sections derived from existing bedrock models at resolutions varying from 1 : 1 Million to 1:10 000 and published literature. Additionally, short trimmed excerpts from sections depicted on the margins of the BGS 1:50 000 scale mapsheet series have been used to ensure that the geology depicted by the fence diagram is also consistent with the map sections. The result is a framework of sections that have been constructed intelligently by using all the available data. As a result, the fence diagram should contain a high degree of spatial accuracy as it is keyed into many previous interpretations themselves based on available data from deep boreholes and seismic lines. The fence diagram units have also been attributed with a variety of hydrogeological properties in England and Wales.

The dataset provides a useful educational resource for geoscience students and the general public and also the bedrock geology context and structure for national, regional, basin-wide and catchment scale studies.

Glossary

Lithostratigraphical classification: The organization of rock bodies into units on the basis of their lithological properties and their stratigraphical relations.

Lithological: The description of the macroscopic features of a rock, e.g. its texture, structure, mineralolgy.

Stratigraphical: Classification of sedimentary rock units in terms of the age and order of depostion.

Fence Diagrams: Fence diagrams are used for representing geological data in three dimensions.

Hydrogeological: dealing with the occurrence and distribution of underground water.

Dataset content dates 2009–2014
Dataset spatial coverage Great Britain
Dataset supply format The model is available for free download in a number of formats, including 3D PDF, 3D Shapefiles, KMZ (for Google Earth), in the bespoke BGS Viewer, and as files for use in specialist geological modelling packages.
Dataset language English-United Kingdom
Dataset discovery metadata record Yet to be published.
Dataset publisher British Geological Survey
Dataset publication date August 2014
Dataset digital object identifier (DOI) doi:10.5285/4d866cd2-c907-4ce2-b070-084ca9779dc2
Dataset citation text National Bedrock Fence Diagram of Great Britain - GB3D_v2014
Constraints and terms of use The GB3D geological model for Great Britain v2014 is available for free as a digital download; either as a 3D pdf, as a Google Earth layer (KMZ) or as part of a free BGS model viewer:
The GB3D downloads are delivered under the Open Government Licence, subject to the following acknowledgement accompanying the reproduced BGS materials: "Contains British Geological Survey materials © NERC [year]".
Free for commercial, research and public use. Acknowledge the material.
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Further information GB3D — 3D geological model for Great Britain v2014