Acquisition of offshore geophysical and geological data for regional and environmental surveys

• Published in: Marine georesources & geotechnology 1998-01, Vol.16 (1), p.53-74
• Main Author: Skinner, Alister C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied geophysics; data acquisition and management; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; Internal geophysics; Marine; Marine geology; offshore geophysical and geological survey; sampling and coring
• ISSN: 1064-119X; 1521-0618
• DOI: 10.1080/10641199809379957

The British Geological Survey (BGS) has completed a geological survey of the UK Offshore Continental Shelf and Slope and has published geophysical and geological maps for the area at 1:250,000 scale together with a set of regional reports. The requirements of acquisition, storage, and manipulation of the offshore data collection for map making are considered. Geophysical techniques, seabed coring equipment, wireline coring equipment, and station-keeping procedures have been developed and proven, and now enjoy international application. To store this information BGS has created, and continues to maintain, a sample and core archive, an analog record archive, and an interactive computer database. These validated datasets, fronted by computerized indices, assist rapid access to stored information and facilitate reinterpretation and integration with other research data-a feature which is especially important for present-day multidisciplinary projects. Current work is extending the offshore mapping into UK-designated frontier areas in the northeast Atlantic Ocean, where the water depths can exceed 2,000 m. International collaboration with other surveys and industry has also posed new challenges, particularly with regard to shallow stratigraphic drilling techniques and environmental survey, for which the huge dataset amassed during the regional geological survey is now of importance for the provision of baseline information.