AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Timing and Rates of Ice Sheet Thinning in the Ellsworth Mountains, Weddell Sea Embayment: Constraints on West Antarctic Ice Sheet Dynamics

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. The overall aim is to establish the timing and rate of thinning of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) from its maximum extent in an area inland of the Weddell Sea embayment. The specific objectives are (a) to date geomorphological evidence of ice sheet thinning in the Ellsworth Mountains using in situ cosmomogenic nuclides and (b) to infer WAIS dynamics (specifically grounding line and ice volume changes) in the Weddell Sea embayment through high-resolution glaciological modelling, constrained against the geomorphological record of elevation change through time. The importance of the project is that the past dynamics of the WAIS have implications for its future behaviour, and thus global sea level change.

Tags: Climate change, Glacial erosion, Glaciers, NERC_DDC, Natural hazards, Quaternary
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
Integrated assessment and modelling of soil contaminant behaviour, transport and impact at remediable urban sites

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. In process-controlled remediation of contaminated land the prospects for lasting success of a particular technique are often governed by the physicochemical properties and composition of the soil environment. Using a range of physical, chemical and biological techniques, this project will investigate these parameters and the key determinants at separate chromium- and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-contaminated sites in central Scotland. The data will then be used to generate, for the specific types of sites and remedial approaches, customised linked chemical/physical transport models within which the influence of these parameters on site stability and remediative effectiveness can be tested. The latter will be further assessed via post-remedial screening of soil microbiological activity.

Tags: Environmental science, NERC_DDC, Pollution, Public health, Soils, Water quality
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
Long-Term Mobility of Gravel in Rivers: Remapping the Allt Dubhaig Tracer Pebbles

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. The long term mobility of different sized pebbles under different hydraulic conditions will be investigated by re-mapping 1220 magnetically tagged pebbles which have been dispersing since 1991 from 6 points in a Scottish river. Travel distances and burial depths of recovered tracers will be analysed in relation to pebble size, local bed grain size, and local mean shear stress. The travel distance results will show whether shorter term relationships (including one from a 1991-3 study of these tracers) apply over the longer term or are distorted by deep burial and bar storage. The data will also give insight into long term mixing depths (about which assumptions must be made in numerical models), shape sorting, and abrasion rates.

Tags: Abrasion, Freshwater, NERC_DDC, Pebbles
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
A Pilot Experiment on Rock Weathering in Permafrost

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. The processes by which frost shatters rock are subject to controversy. The main objective of the proposed research is to develop a new methodology for experimentally testing a model of ice segregation in permafrost. Using specialist cold-room facilities in the CRNS Centre de Geomorphologie, Caen (France), the methodology will simulate the bedrock thermal and hydrological regime at the top of cold permafrost in order to determine whether growth of segregated ice within the simulated permafrost shatters a large block of frost susceptible rock (chalk). Verification of the ice-segregation hypothesis by the proposed experiment would have international significance to the fields of permafrost science, engineering and rock weathering because it would emphasise the unified nature and consequences of ground-ice development in fine-grained soils and rocks.

Tags: Glacial action, NERC_DDC, Permafrost, Weathering
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
Dynamics of the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. Understanding of the fundamental dynamic controls of eruptive behaviour of andesite volcanoes using Montserrat as a case study. Quantitative petrology and geochemistry; thermodynamic models on changes in magma during degassing; experiments to constrain kinetic laws of crystallisation of degassing magmas; mathematical models on the dynamics of lava extrusion and explosive eruption.

Tags: Geochemistry, Lava flows, Magma, NERC_DDC, Petrology, Thermodynamics, Volcanic eruption, Volcanoes, Volcanology
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
Impacts of Vehicle Emissions on Vegetation

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. This proposal builds on an earlier feasibility study which successfully developed a model system for exposing plants to realistic measures of urban pollutants. The present study will evaluate the impacts of urban pollution climates on a broad range of plant species (trees, shrubs, herbs & lichens) and insect herbivores, using this facility and a range of supporting roadside transects. Direct impacts of pollutants on growth, physiology and leaf-surface characteristics of plants and plant-herbivore interactions will be assessed. Selective filtration studies will be used to separate effects of different components of exhaust pollution (gases/particles). The influence of abiotic stresses of urban environments (turbulence, water deficit, night illumination) on pollutant uptake, plant growth and plant herbivore interactions will be evaluated.

Tags: NERC_DDC, Pollution
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
A Cellular Automaton Model for Investigating Landscape Development in Vegetated Aeolian

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. Vegetation plays an important role in landscapes that are shaped by wind-driven (aeolian) sand transport, such as coastal dunes and semi-arid regions. We have a good knowledge of how and why different types of desert dunes and dune fields form without the presence of vegetation, but our understanding of the effects of vegetation in the formation of coastal foredunes, parabolic dunes, blowouts, and nebkha's (shrub hummocks) is limited to descriptive observations and reasoning. This is especially true for vegetated dune fields on a landscape scale, and the effects of various plant species on the evolution and dynamics of such environments are not quantified. This research project aims to develop a computer simulation model based on moving around slabs of sand across a grid of cells that represents a landscape surface including varying amounts of vegetation in each cell. These movements are controlled by a set of simple rules that dictate interactions between the existing surface, the vegetation in each cell, and the propagation of the sand slabs. This allows simulating the evolution of aeolian landscapes through self-organisation into different types of dune fields without actually modelling the complex airflow dynamics and sand transport patterns. Simulations will be compared with our current descriptive understanding of vegetated aeolian landscape development to ensure that the model generates realistic results. The model is then used to systematically investigate exactly how and why various kinds of plant species and vegetation patterns influence the dynamics of dune development in aeolian environments.

Tags: Climate change, Earth surface, Ecology, NERC_DDC, Population, Sedimentary geology
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
LiDAR DEM data for the UK

The dataset contains detailed Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), generated from Airborne LiDAR. The data is owned by the Environment Agency and is provided to BGS for research use only. Very limited UK coverage, limited mostly to floodplains. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is an airborne mapping technique which uses a laser to measure the distance between the aircraft and the ground. This technique results in the production of a cost-effective terrain map suitable for assessing flood risk. The aircraft flies at a height of about 800 metres above ground level and a scanning mirror allows a swathe width of about 600 metres to be surveyed during a flight. Individual measurements are made on the ground at 2 metre intervals allowing a highly resolved model of the terrain to be generated. The Agency's Flood Defence function has a requirement under the Water Resources Act 1991 to monitor the flood plain. LiDAR is being used to measure land topography and assess coastal erosion and geomorphology. Products that can be generated from the LiDAR data include colour coded elevation models, height contour plots and three-dimensional perspective views allowing easy visualisation of surveyed areas.

Tags: DEM, NERC_DDC
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
Biogeochemical and Microbial Analyses of Deep Saline Hotwater Aquifer in the Weardale Granite

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. Opportunities to sample relatively undisturbed deep subsurface microbial communities rarely arise. This outline for an Urgency proposal relates to one such rare opportunity to sample a deep hot, saline aquifer in Eastgate, Weardale, and conduct microbiological and geochemical analyses on the samples. This will provide both fundamental data on the microbiota of a rarely explored environment and geochemical data that will provide clues to the source of the hot water and hence other potential areas for geothermal energy recovery, which could be contribute to the UK's renewable energy portfolio. Analysis of hydrogen and oxygen isotopes will be used to identify the source of the deep groundwater, chemical analysis will define the geochemical environment and process measurements coupled with analysis of the bacterial and archaeal communities will provide information on what supports the deep biosphere in this deep, hot saline aquifer.

Tags: Biogeochemical exploration, Geothermal energy, Ground water resources, Hydrogeology, Microbiological processes, NERC_DDC, Renewable energy
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
Georeports

The commercial GeoReports project, under the National Geoscience Information Service sector of the Information Systems and Management directorate, produces around 8000 GeoReports a year, giving an annual turnover of over 600,000 pounds currently. The site specific reports are aimed at anyone who is investigating ground conditions in Great Britain (geology, hydrogeology and any related geohazards, including radon). Georeports reference: http://www.bgs.ac.uk/georeports

Tags: Geological surveys, Hydrogeology, NERC_DDC, Radon gas
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
Waste disposal site records

Records of some 3500 waste sites in England and Wales identified by BGS as part of a survey carried out on behalf of the Department of the Environment in 1973. Information is included on the extent of the site, geology, wastes and risks to aquifers It should be noted that the assessments were carried out when the data was collected and may not reflect current interpretation. There are not records for all of the sites listed.

Tags: Aquifers, Groundwater, Land filling, NERC_DDC, Pollution, Surface waters, Waste disposal
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
Computational Modelling of Hydrogen Defects and Their Mobility in Olivine

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. Olivine, the major component of the Earth's upper mantle, is known to contain water in the form of H defects. These defects have a significant effect on the physical and chemical properties of minerals. If we are to correctly interpret seismic data from the upper mantle, and to constrain models of its petrologic and geochemical evolution, then we must have information on the energies and mechanisms of water solubility in olivine, and its effects on physical properties. The aim of this project is to use computer simulation methods to predict the nature of H defects in olivine, their mobility, and their effects on elasticity as a function of pressure, and to use this information to better constrain models of dynamic behaviour of the Earth's upper mantle.

Tags: Earth core, Earth mantle, NERC_DDC, Tectonics
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
Non-linear dynamics of volcanic systems

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. This project will investigate the dynamical consequences of strongly non-linear and coupled property changes that occur when magmas erupt from an open-system magma chamber. The project will develop models for unsteady conduit flow and magma chamber pressurisation during replenishment. The aim will be to couple conduit and magma chamber flow together to elucidate feedback responses between chamber processes and surface activity. The models will be applied to geophysical and observational data from recent well-documented eruptions, including the Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat.

Tags: Earth core, Earth surface, Hydrogeology, Magma chamber, NERC_DDC, Volcanic activity
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
Bedrock Fracture by Ice Segregation

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. The research will experimentally test the ice-segregation model of rock fracture in the context of near-surface bedrock. Experiments at the Caen Cold Laboratories will monitor the effects of different thermal regimes, moisture conditions and material properties on rock fracture, ice segregation and frost heave in large blocks of limestone and sandstone. Experimentally-formed fractures and segregated ice will be compared with predictions from two theoretical models of rock fracture and frost heave, and the observed rock fractures compared with contemporary and relict weathering profiles. By integrating curiosity-driven research on important Earth-surface processes (rock fracture, ice segregation) with their practical consequences (rock heave/settlement), the study will have international significance to cold-regions Earth science and engineering.

Tags: Earth surface, Glacial action, NERC_DDC, Quaternary
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
Part of the International Magnetospheric Study (IMS)

BGS ran a series of Rubidium Vapour magnetometer stations, mainly in the UK, but also overseas. Data is held on 3 batches of CDs. The largest batch consists of 20CDs containing data from 1977 to 1984. The second batch contains a duplicate of the 1980 data, but also contains documentation and software to read the data files. The final batch is a single CD holding data from 1976 (a time when the stations were being set up). Data was sampled at 2.5sec intervals.

Tags: Geomagnetism, Magnetosphere, NERC_DDC
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
Coal Resources Map of Britain

Coal resource maps for the whole of the UK have been produced by the British Geological Survey as a result of joint work with Department of Trade and Industry and the Coal Authority. The Coal Resources Map is a Map of Britain depicting the spatial extent of the principal coal resources. The map shows the areas where coal and lignite are present at the surface and also where coal is buried at depth beneath younger rocks. The maps are intended to be used for resource development, energy policy, strategic planning, land-use planning, the indication of hazard in mined areas, environment assessment and as a teaching aid. In addition to a general map of coal resources for Britain data also exists for the six inset maps: Scotland; North-East; North-West; East Pennines; Lancashire, North Wales and the West Midlands; South Wales, Forest of Dean and Bristol. Available as a paper map, flat or folded, from BGS Sales or as a pdf on a CD if requested.

Tags: Coal, Coal resource maps, Coalbed methane, Mineral resources, NERC_DDC
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
Determining an accurate timescale for the Vostok ice core using ice-sheet measurements and modelling

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. The nature of ice-sheet flow between Ridge B and the Vostok sub-ice lake will be determined from a series of measurements and numerical models. Datasets available foe measurements include airborne radar(for ice thickness, internal ice layering, crystal orientation fabric development, and sub-ice conditions), ERS-1 altimetry (for the ice-surface elevation) and interferometric SAR (for the ice-surface velocity). The measurements will form boundary conditions for state-of-the-art models of ice flow. Model results will establish the true nature of ice flow in this region of Antartica. Results will be fundamental to (1) the depth-chronology of the Vostok ice core (2) the examination of the ice-water interaction above the large Vostok subglacial lake and (3) developing traditional models of ice flow in central regions of ice sheets that currently do not replicate the true glaciology.

Tags: Glacial action, Land ice, NERC_DDC, Palaeoenvironment, Quaternary
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
Are Bacterial-Like Structures on Silurian and Devonian Plant Fossils Silurian or Devonian Microfossils?

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. Spherical and rod-shaped structures of bacterial dimensions found on coalified Upper Silurian and Lower Devonian mesofossils including spores, cuticles and coprolites will be subjected to a number of techniques to determine whether they are biological and, if so, the timing of the colonisation (coeval, post Lower Devonian or Recent) of the plants. Techniques will involve imaging and analytical FESEM and SEM, TEM, removal of modern bacteria and simple incubation experiments with bacterial cultures. Such studies have much wider implications for the detection of bacteria in the history of life on Earth and other plants.

Tags: Biodiversity, NERC_DDC
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
BGS Applied Geology Maps and Sections

This dataset contains scans of Applied Geology Maps (AGMs) and sections, which are also known as thematic maps, Environmental Geology Maps (EGMs) or Planning for Development Maps (PfD). They were produced as part of 'Geological Background for Planning and Development' and preliminary sand and gravel projects carried out by the British Geological Survey for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR), the Scottish Development Department and Scottish Office from 1975 to 1996. The maps and sections cover a number of themes (up to 22) for specific areas relating to the project area within the United Kingdom (which are mostly urban areas). Themes include simplified bedrock and superficial maps, drift thickness, drift lithology, rockhead contours and a range of mining-related themes. Each area had its own custom set of maps and were issued with an accompanying BGS Technical Report. The maps and report were sometimes issued as a pack, but for some areas they were made available separately. The geological linework and the methods used to produce the maps are those current at the time of production. Map scales are predominantly 1:10 000 or 1:25 000, with a few 1:50 000 maps. The maps have Ordnance Survey map bases and are bounded by the project area. The maps could be used for geological, engineering geological, environmental and resources research, as an information and reference resource and for inclusion in reports and papers. These maps are hard-copy paper records and digital scans, stored in the National Geoscience Data Centre (NGDC).

Tags: Cross sections, Engineering geology, Geological mapping, Geological maps, Geology, Land use planning, Maps, Mining, NERC_DDC, Natural hazards, Natural resources
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
Development of synchrotron in-situ multianvil techniques and their application to the study of upper mantle mineral reactions

PROJECT DETAILS ONLY - NO DATA. Multi anvil presses (MAPS) are used worldwide for high p/t work. The 'Walker cell' has made maps more accessible for earth sciences research. A Walker cell is installed at Daresbury allowing X-ray diffraction data to be obtained at high p/t simultaneously. Its 'inventor', Prof D. Walker, is visiting Daresbury and Manchester for 1 year from October, 1997, and he is working with the PI's in developing the equipment so that higher p will be attainable, with better controlled and calibrated t. In situ experiments will provide data on the molar volumes of garnets and CO2 as a function of p and t. The results will improve thermodynamic databases allowing relevant mantle mineral reactions to be calculated more robustly.

Tags: Chemistry, Earth core, Earth mantle, NERC_DDC, Physics
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
Fluoride in Stream Water

THIS DATASET HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN **This dataset was created for the "Britain beneath our feet" atlas using information extracted from the Geochemical Baseline Survey Of The Environment (G-BASE) For The UK . For Fluoride in Stream Water data please see Geochemical Baseline Survey Of The Environment (G-BASE) For The UK ** Geochemical Baseline Survey of the Environment (G-BASE) coverage for Fluoride in stream water. The G-BASE programme involves systematic sampling and the determination of chemical elements in samples of stream sediment, stream water and, locally, soil, to build up a picture of the surface chemistry of the UK. The average sample density for stream sediments and water is about one site per 1.5-2km square. Analytical precision is high with strict quality control to ensure countrywide consistency. Results have been standardised to ensure seamless joins between geochemical sampling campaigns. The data provide baseline information on the natural abundances of elements, against which anomalous values due to such factors as mineralisation and industrial contamination may be compared. Published in Britain beneath our feet atlas.

Tags: Fluorides, Geochemistry, NERC_DDC, Stream sampling
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)
Advanced Computer Modelling of Hominin Dispersal From Africa: Integrating Archaeological and Palaeoclimatic Simulations

Our study targeted the questions surrounding the form and rapidity of the first hominid dispersal from Africa, that of Homo erectus. Arrival dates of Homo erectus in Europe and SE Asia were investigated, exploring the effects that bridges and barriers, combined with environmental/climate change, had on human dispersal patterns during the period from 2myr to 1myr ago. Our research shows that the most consistent dispersal scenario is that Homo erectus was limited to 'marginal' existence in mid-latitude forest regions (i.e. Europe), rather than successful dominance of the landscape (fig 1). In addition to this the methodology has been extended to address issues of hominid morphology, shedding light on the issue of Homo erectus diversity during the Plio-Pleistocene, specifically demonstrating that an Africa/Asia division is the natural consequence of biogeography (fig 2). Finally a series of simulations have been completed investigating the application of the methodology to the dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa, around 200 kyr. Link to data (used to be) http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/valdes_nerc_2006/downloads.cfm . The data archived here consists of the vegetation patterns used in constructing the simulations and the patterns of climate variability used to constrain the variations in sea level and vegetation change. From these data it is possible to reproduce the simulation results.

Tags: Climate change, Homo sapiens, NERC_DDC
Organization: British Geological Survey (BGS)