The Single Onshore Borehole Index (SOBI) is an index of over one million records of boreholes, shafts and wells from all forms of drilling and site investigation work held by the BGS. The collection covers onshore and near-shore boreholes from Great Britain dating back to at least 1790 and ranging from one to several thousand metres deep. Each year thousands of new records are added. Includes scans of paper records and digital records (including AGS).

Scanned images of the records of all onshore Great Britain (or near shore) boreholes, trial pits, shafts and wells held in the BGS archives in either paper, microfilm or digital format. The records range from simple single page lithological logs through to hydrocarbon completion reports. Current collection over 1million records with 50,000 new records added per annum. Scanning started in 2002 and is ongoing with new records being scanned and added to the collection.

The Borehole Geology database holds downhole lithological / lithostratigraphical data (with unit-bound lithological properties where appropriate) for boreholes identified within the Single Onshore Borehole Index (SOBI), which covers onshore and nearshore Great Britain. The database can store multiple interpretations for each borehole and properties assigned to each coded lithological unit. Available borehole geology properties include porosity, Munsell colour, grainsize, water struck, etc, and other valid property-types can be included when/if required.

This layer of the Map based index (GeoIndex) shows the location of records of boreholes, shafts and wells from all forms of drilling and site investigation work. Some 850,000 records dating back over 200 years and ranging from one to several thousand metres deep. Currently some 50,000 new records are being added to the collection each year. The dataset available via the GeoIndex is a snapshot, taken at a particular date, of the Single Onshore Borehole Index. Although the GeoIndex is updated at regular intervals more information may be available than is shown. This layer is only available at specific zoom levels. Please zoom to a larger scale to interrogate the map.

Records of all onshore (or near shore) boreholes, trial pits, shafts and wells held in the BGS archives in either paper, microfilm or digital format. The records range from simple single page lithological logs through to hydrocarbon completion reports. Spatial coverage will vary considerably depending on drilling activity, collecting activity and donations. The majority of new data is from site investigation reports with concentrations in urban areas and along transport routes. Current collection over 1million records covering the whole of Great Britain with 50,000 new records added per annum. Some records date back to 1600 but the majority date from 1900 onwards. Copies of records are available in hard copy or digital formats subject to confidentiality.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) is a world-leading geological survey and global geoscience organisation, focused on public-good science for government and research to understand earth and environmental processes. We are the UK’s premier provider of objective and authoritative geoscientific data, information and knowledge to help society to use its natural resources responsibly, manage environmental change and be resilient to environmental hazards. For more information see: https://www.bgs.ac.uk/The Single Onshore Borehole Index (SOBI) is an index of over 1 million boreholes, shafts and wells and references collections of digital and analogue records from all forms of drilling and site investigation work held by the BGS. The index covers onshore and near shore boreholes from Great Britain dating back to at least 1790 and ranging from one to several thousand metres deep. Some 50,000 new boreholes are added each year. The majority of the records contain written descriptions of the ground encountered. The SOBI index database originated in 1988 from a number of existing tables and from data input from a variety of coding forms. Most non-confidential boreholes link to a scan of the borehole record. For more information see: https://www.bgs.ac.uk/information-hub/borehole-recordsSOBI points are visible when zoomed in beyond scales of 1:175,000SOBI is also available on the BGS website via the GeoIndex or as a WMSFor more information contact: enquiries@bgs.ac.uk

BGS has drilled almost 600 boreholes to prove seismic interpretations of the marine Quaternary geology and bedrock from the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). The collection also includes additional third party data and has assisted in the creation of BGS marine geology maps. The boreholes penetrate beneath the sea bed to depths ranging from about 10 m to over 300 m, depending on the target depth or technical problems associated with drilling the borehole. The data include descriptive geological core logs and data which have been captured from these, and in some cases, natural gamma logs. A variety of analyses have been conducted on the core material, such as particle size analysis (PSA), micropalaeontological analysis, geotechnical investigations, palaeomagnetic analysis and age dating. Core material is managed as part of the BGS materials collection and is available for examination and subsampling. The data are stored as part of the National Geoscience Data Centre (NGDC) and the Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) Data Archive Centre (DAC) for geology and geophysics. Data are delivered via the BGS GeoIndex. This dataset is covered by multiple layers, split by the type of material or sampling technique, and the type of data. Borehole-type samples (including boreholes, cores and drills), grab-type samples and other sample types are separated, and there is a metadata layer (containing metadata and links to scanned borehole logs) and a geological data layer (containing depth-bounded geological observations and/or measurements) for boreholes, grabs and other sample types. For borehole-type data, a geotechnical layer containing numerical results of geotechnical tests is also provided. Where available, particle size analysis (PSA) and geochemical data are also provided as separate layers. The data are applicable to a wide range of uses including environmental, geotechnical and geological studies. Reference: Fannin, NGT. (1989) Offshore Investigations 1966-87 British Geological Survey Technical Report WB/89/02, British Geological Survey.

This layer of the Map based index (GeoIndex) shows the location of registered samples of drillcore and washed cuttings from onshore boreholes drilled in UK by BGS, commercial and public bodies, representing almost 10,000 boreholes. There is also a drillcore collection taken from onshore boreholes drilled in England and Wales by the BGS and commercial and public bodies. This layer is only available at specific zoom levels. Please zoom to a larger scale to interrogate the map.

Index to the statutory notifications of the intention to drill any boreholes, shafts or wells under the Mining Industry Act 1926 or the Water Resources Act 1991 for Great Britain. Index complete for all notifications since 1952, but record data will vary. Complete and current entries generally accurate to 10 metres . Earlier entries to map sheet level only. Digital capture from October 1988.

Data identifying the current national understanding of the locations (shown as polygons) of buried valleys from BGS maps, memoirs and current borehole data. The scale of the data is 1:250 000 scale. Onshore coverage is provided for England, Wales and Scotland. It is formed of two parts: 1) a compilation of the positions of buried valleys data derived from historical publications and academic literature; 2) an expert controlled semi-automated 3D modelling methodology to create our best current assessment of where these features might occur. It is meant to complement the National Superficial Deposit Thickness Model.

This layer of the Map based index (GeoIndex) shows the location of records of boreholes, shafts and wells from all forms of drilling and site investigation work. Some 850,000 records dating back over 200 years and ranging from one to several thousand metres deep. Currently some 50,000 new records are being added to the collection each year. The dataset available via the GeoIndex is a snapshot, taken at a particular date, of the Single Onshore Borehole Index. Although the GeoIndex is updated at regular intervals more information may be available than is shown.

This layer of the map based index (GeoIndex) providex an index to 17,500 borehole rock samples (drillcore) from the Mineral Reconnaissance Programme (MRP) and related studies. The UK Government's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) funded BGS to provide baseline information on areas prospective for the occurrence of metallic minerals in Great Britain. This programme, known as the MRP, ran continuously from 1973 to 1997 and covered particular locations across Great Britain. It was designed to stimulate private sector exploration and to encourage the development of Britain's indigenous mineral resources. Under the programme a number of boreholes were drilled to gather information. This layer is only available at specific zoom levels. Please zoom to a larger scale to interrogate the map.

This document data set contains paper copies of selected geophysical borehole logs made from the master data set held by the BGS National Geological Records Centre (NGRC) at Keyworth. These have been made for interpretation. Most data are within the UK onshore area; although there are some UK near-shore and offshore (North Sea, Irish Sea) and foreign data. Most data were acquired for commercial hydrocarbon exploration and subsequently provided to BGS for use on specific projects. Some data were acquired by BGS and other public-sector bodies for research purposes (e.g. geothermal energy). The documents are dyeline prints or plain-paper photocopies. They are stored folded in boxes, approx 20 logs per box, approx 500 boxes. There are some duplicates. Only a sub-set of the available borehole logs have been copied, usually for deep boreholes or boreholes of special significance in the interpretation of seismic data. Mostly concentrated in areas prospective for coal, oil and gas.

The British Geological Survey onshore borehole collection database of core and sample types and depths contains records of over 15 000 onshore boreholes drilled in the UK by BGS, commercial and public bodies. Material types include continuous drillcore, core samples, individual hand specimens, bulk samples, unwashed cuttings, washed and dried cuttings, plugs, powders and bulk samples. The physical collection and database was developed as part of the British Geological Survey's responsibility to establish and maintain a national borehole collection. Details of the collection are held in the Borehole Materials Database, and may be accessed via the BGS website. The collection was initiated in 1968, and the database is updated daily by the addition of new data and by modification of existing data. Most material is stored at the facility in BGS Keyworth. Some material is held at BGS Edinburgh. The majority of borehole cores and samples are available for study and sub-sampling by bona fide academics and commercial companies. Commercial companies are charged for access; academics will need to complete an academic waiver form. Some boreholes, especially recent hydrocarbon wells, are confidential, and depths and sample details may not be given. If you require further information about these boreholes, contact kwcorestore@bgs.ac.uk for details of the owner. In a few cases, the precise map references are also confidential.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) is a world-leading geological survey and global geoscience organisation, focused on public-good science for government and research to understand earth and environmental processes. We are the UK’s premier provider of objective and authoritative geoscientific data, information and knowledge to help society to use its natural resources responsibly, manage environmental change and be resilient to environmental hazards. For more information see: https://www.bgs.ac.uk/The Single Onshore Borehole Index (SOBI) is an index of over 1 million boreholes, shafts and wells and references collections of digital and analogue records from all forms of drilling and site investigation work held by the BGS. The index covers onshore and near shore boreholes from Great Britain dating back to at least 1790 and ranging from one to several thousand metres deep. Some 50,000 new boreholes are added each year. The majority of the records contain written descriptions of the ground encountered. The SOBI index database originated in 1988 from a number of existing tables and from data input from a variety of coding forms. Most non-confidential boreholes link to a scan of the borehole record. For more information see: https://www.bgs.ac.uk/information-hub/borehole-recordsSOBI points are visible when zoomed in beyond scales of 1:175,000SOBI is also available on the BGS website via the GeoIndex or as a WMSFor more information contact: enquiries@bgs.ac.uk

The Single Onshore Borehole Index (SOBI) is an index of over 1 million boreholes, shafts and wells and references collections of digital and analogue records from all forms of drilling and site investigation work held by the BGS. The index covers onshore and near shore boreholes from Great Britain dating back to at least 1790 and ranging from one to several thousand metres deep. Some 50,000 new boreholes are added each year. The majority of the records contain written descriptions of the ground encountered. The SOBI index database originated in 1988 from a number of existing tables and from data input from a variety of coding forms. Therefore not all fields in the database are populated and data that should be in some fields may currently form part of the entries in another. The index is available on the BGS website via the Geoindex

This Institute of Geological Sciences (IGS) now British Geological Survey (BGS) marine sampling survey took place during 1969 in the Humber Estuary. Beach and tidal areas were accessed either on foot or by inflatible boat. The purpose was to obtain data for regional geology mapping. The four boreholes drilled were logged by BGS Conitinental Shelf Unit 1 in conjuction with the Yorkshire and East Midlands Unit. Sea-bed samples were collected by hand and drilling boreholes. These data are archived by BGS. Summary details of the survey are contained in IGS annual report 1969.

[This metadata record has been superseded, see http://data.bgs.ac.uk/id/dataHolding/13480158] The Geophysical Borehole Log index provides details of all digital geophysical logs available to BGS. The database provides the borehole metadata related to logging and metadata for the logging itself and log data stored in a proprietary hierarchical database system (PETRIS RECALL). Contains most digital geophysically logged bores known to BGS National Geological Records Centre. Scattered distribution of boreholes, locally dense coverage, relatively few logs from Scotland & Central Wales, increasing data density on UK continental Shelf.

Data from the British Geological Survey's GeoIndex Boreholes theme are made available for viewing here. GeoIndex is a website that allows users to search for information about BGS data collections covering the UK and other areas world wide. Access is free, the interface is easy to use, and it has been developed to enable users to check coverage of different types of data and find out some background information about the data. More detailed information can be obtained by further enquiry via the web site: www.bgs.ac.uk/geoindex.

"The BGS holds over a million borehole records and these can be viewed online in the dedicated borehole viewer (https://www.bgs.ac.uk/data/boreholescans/home.html). Coverage across Great Britain is clustered (generally within urban centres and corridors). This map only shows borehole data that has been captured to date (additional data may exist). Boreholes are drilled for assessing ground conditions for construction, water and mineral resources. They are generally not drilled for the purpose of recording soil information. However, many boreholes note the depth of deposits classed as 'Topsoil' and so BGS has started to compile a dataset of reported 'Topsoil' depths. Most records suggest that the driller has identified a generic 'Topsoil' layer. Some records provide further details that indicate the topsoil layer has differing properties, or is not solely a topsoil layer but a combination of soil and other materials (e.g. parent material, peat and artificial ground). Users should therefore be aware that the term 'topsoil', as used in borehole records, should be regarded as a very simple description of what soil-scientists might regard as a combination of O, A, E and possibly B horizons."