British Geological Survey

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View over the BGS headquarters in Keyworth
BGS district in Edinburgh ( Murchison house) until 2015

The British Geological Survey (BGS) is a partially publicly funded body that promotes geoscientific knowledge of the UK land surface and the offshore continental shelf by systematically surveying, monitoring and researching. The BGS is headquartered in Keyworth , Nottinghamshire , with other offices in Belfast , Cardiff , Edinburgh , Eskdalemuir , Hartland , Lerwick ( Shetland ), Loanhead , London and Wallingford . The current motto of the BGS is: Geoscience for decision making ( geoscience as the basis for decisions ). The current director of the BGS is John Ludden and thus the superior of 730 employees of this agency.

history

The Geological Survey was founded in 1835 by Henry Thomas de la Bèche as Ordnance Geological Survey , making it the world's oldest geological survey . In 1965 the Ordnance Geological Survey was merged with the Geological Museum and the Overseas Geological Surveys under the name "Institute of Geological Sciences". On January 1, 1984, this was renamed "British Geological Survey".

Since 2009 the management has been located in the William Smith Building in Keyworth. The official opening of this energy-efficient (BREEAM) structure took place on June 25th with the participation of a member of the British royal family. The building was clad with elements made of cedar wood and terracotta, the thermal insulation is ensured by sheep's wool elements . The partially curved window panes are made of ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene .

The BGS office in Edinburgh, including its predecessor institution, was housed in Murchison House from 1977 to 2015 , an innovative structure on the King's Buildings campus of the University of Edinburgh . The facility is now located in The Lyell Center , a newly built complex of buildings on the Heriot-Watt University campus in Riccarton , in the west of the city.

tasks

The BGS advises the British government on all geoscientific issues and is available to the public, science and industry as an impartial advisor on such issues. The BGS is a subsidiary of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), which is the UK's leading organization in the field of environmental science and is responsible for both fundamental and strategic monitoring and research of the environment.

The main areas of work of the BGS include the publication of geological , geophysical , geochemical and hydrogeological maps , the publication of regional geological descriptions and the provision of digital data and databases related to these subject areas . One of the main goals of the BGS for the next decade is the transition from two-dimensional cartography to three-dimensional data acquisition and modeling using CAD and GIS systems.

The BGS has an annual budget of £ 57 million . Half of this comes from the government's science budget, the other half is generated by BGS through commissioned work for public and private clients.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b The Gazetteer for Scotland: Murchison House . at www.scottish-places.info (English)
  2. ^ BGS Staff . BGS website
  3. ^ BGS: William Smith Building (WSB), British Geological Survey, Keyworth . on www.bgs.ac.uk (English)
  4. ↑ Reiach and Hall Architects: Murchison House Refurbishment Edinburgh . on www.reiachandhall.co.uk (English)
  5. ^ BGS Scotland: The Lyell Center . on www.bgs.ac.uk (English)

Coordinates: 52 ° 52 ′ 43.3 "  N , 1 ° 4 ′ 40.8"  W.