British Geological Survey

British Geological Survey (BGS)

Abbreviation	BGS
Formation	1835 by Henry De la Beche
Legal status	Government Organisation
Purpose	Geoscience Carry out scientific research to understand the structure, properties and processes of the solid Earth system
Headquarters	Kingsley Dunham Centre
Location	Nicker Hill, Keyworth Nottingham NG12 5GG England, United Kingdom
Region served	United Kingdom
Executive Director	Dr. John Ludden
Parent organisation	Natural Environment Research Council
Budget	£52m around 50% from NERC
Website	BGS.ac.uk

The British Geological Survey (BGS) is a partly publicly funded body which aims to advance geoscientific knowledge of the United Kingdom landmass and its continental shelf by means of systematic surveying, monitoring and research.

The BGS headquarters are in Keyworth, Nottinghamshire, England, United Kingdom. Its other centres are located in Edinburgh, Wallingford, Cardiff and London. The current motto of the BGS is: Applied Geoscience for our changing Earth.

History and previous names

The Geological Survey was founded in 1835 as the Ordnance Geological Survey, under Henry De la Beche. This was the world's first national geological survey. It remained a branch of the Ordnance Survey for many years. In 1965, it was merged with the Geological Museum and Overseas Geological Surveys, under the name of "Institute of Geological Sciences". On 1 January 1984, the institute was renamed the British Geological Survey (and often referred to as the BGS), a name still carried today.

Competences

BGS Seal

Logo

The BGS advises the British government on all aspects of geoscience, as well as providing impartial advice on geological matters to the public, academics and industry. BGS is a component body of the UK Natural Environment Research Council which is the UK's leading body for fundamental, strategic and applied research and monitoring in the environmental sciences. The core outputs of the BGS include geological, geophysical, geochemical and hydrogeological maps, descriptions and related digital databases. Scientists at the BGS produced the first comprehensive map of African groundwater reserves. One of the key strategic aims for the next decade is to complete the transition from 2-D mapping to a 3-D modelling culture. The BGS has an annual budget of £57M, about half of which comes from the Government's science budget, with the remainder coming from commissioned research from the public and private sectors.

See also

• Systems geology

External links

• British Geological Survey official website
• Natural Environment Research Council official website
• BGS Annual Report
• Geological Modelling at BGS.ac.uk
• Industrial Minerals at BGS.ac.uk
• School Seismology Project at BGS.ac.uk
• Landslides at BGS.ac.uk
• Climate change research at BGS.ac.uk