OpenGeoscience Web Mapping Service Serves Free UK Geology Data

REDLANDS, Calif., May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The British Geological Survey (BGS) ushers in a new era of geologic mapping services with the launch of its OpenGeoscience Web site, built on ESRI's ArcGIS technology. The Web site is the world's first Web map service built on vector data serving attributed geologic data for an entire country.

OpenGeoscience's Web interface gives site visitors viewing access to geologic maps of the whole of Great Britain at a scale of 1:50,000. Built on ArcGIS Server, OpenGeoscience enables resolution of geologic details to about 50 meters on the ground, which is essentially street level, a world first in terms of releasing countrywide attributed information at this scale.

"OpenGeoscience provides the public with a wealth of geological information and resources including maps, photos, digital data, research reports, and software," explained Richard Hughes, BGS director of information and knowledge exchange. "These can be combined with other environmental information to help people better understand their world."

BGS has been using ESRI's geographic information system (GIS) technology since 1996 to bring together a wide range of information for its programs. GIS enables BGS data users to visualize geologic data and study relationships such as mineral extraction, land use, and environmental concerns. The geologic geodatabase can be used to underpin planning, development, mineral resource extraction, hazard mitigation, and more.

"This Web site is not just a piece of cartography," said Ian Jackson, BGS operations director. "OpenGeoscience is a fully interpreted database. When you hover over a piece of rock on the GIS map, you can use the identification tool to read what the rock type is. You can enter a UK postal code and address and get an assessment of the stability of the land under your house and, more specifically, the geology under your house."

BGS also uses the Web site to host geologic maps for the UK's onshore and offshore earthquake location information and samples of ground stability hazard maps. BGS has been collecting images of geologic interest from around the UK since 1891. Approximately 50 thousand of these images are also accessible through the Web site.

OpenGeoscience is highly popular, with 38 million hits the month it launched. The Web site is easy to use, and people enjoy visiting it to interact with data inside the geologic environment at no cost.

For more information about ESRI's GIS solutions for geologic science and natural resources, visit www.esri.com/naturalresources.

About ESRI

Since 1969, ESRI has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS, ESRI software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. ESRI applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of Web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world's mapping and spatial analysis. ESRI is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at www.esri.com/news.

ESRI, the ESRI globe logo, GIS by ESRI, ArcGIS, www.esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of ESRI in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.

SOURCE ESRI

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED