Gloucestershire Geology Trust
space

space


Sites Database & GIS
(Supported by Natural England through Defra's Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund)

The creation of a new sites database, and the linking of it to a Geographical Information System (GIS) will bring the Gloucestershire Geological Records Centre right up to date, and make it easily compatible with the systems used by other organisations and agencies.

The number of site records held in the records centre is now in excess of 300, and the old system of files full of paper records has now become to cumbersome to deal with. This was highlighted recently by a request from the County Council for us to provide information on a list of potential waste sites. Whereas the operation in this case took days to complete, the new system would make us able to do the work in a matter of hours instead.

The database will be able to locate sites based on their name, grid reference, rock type, rock unit, fossils, minerals and structures and the linking of it to a GIS will mean we can search for sites within a specific geographical area very easily. We will also be able to supply local authorities and agencies with GIS files which will help to ensure that geological and geomorphological sites get the protection and recognition they deserve.

Help is needed however to transfer all of the information from the paper site survey forms into the computer systems. There are two aspects to this; the database, which will require an understanding of geology in so far as awareness of the difference between groups, formations and members, and a basic knowledge of geological terminology, and the GIS data, which at its simplest is drawing site outlines onto a GIS layer.
Both of these could be very beneficial to anyone wanting to learn more about Gloucestershire's geology, or to students acquiring skills that will be useful in their studies.

If you can help with any of this, or want some more information, please contact Dave Owen on
01452 864439 or email dave@glosgeotrust.org.uk

 

NE Logo

 

 

Gloucestershire Geoconservation Trust.  Registered Charity Number: 1115272. © 2016 All Rights Reserved.