The mineral resources of the English Channel and Thames Estuary

This report accompanies the Marine mineral resource map the marine sand and gravel resources of the English Channel and Thames Estuary (Bide et al, 2012). It has been published as part of the research project Mineral Resource Assessment of the UK Continental Shelf commissioned by The Crown Estate. The map is one of a series that covers the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). Knowledge of mineral resources is essential for effective and sustainable planning decisions. The marine mineral resource maps provide a comprehensive, relevant and accessible information base. This information will allow all stakeholders (planners, industry and members of the public) to visualise the distribution of offshore minerals to a common standard and at a common scale, an important requirement of an integrated marine planning system. The maps will also facilitate the conservation (safeguarding) of non-renewable mineral resources for future generations in accordance with the principles of sustainable development

The marine mineral resources of the UK Continental Shelf : final report

In 2011, The Crown Estate commissioned the British Geological Survey (BGS) to begin a two year research project to undertake a Mineral Resource Assessment of the UK Continental Shelf with the results being depicted as a series of maps, accompanying reports and associated GIS data. This report details the process behind the compilation of these maps. It outlines the data sources used in the project, the methodology used to compile the data, the confidence in the data and any caveats associated with the data and its use. This report focuses on the national model for sand and gravel, where relevant information on the data for other minerals is included for completeness. Knowledge of mineral resources is essential for effective and sustainable planning decisions. The marine mineral resource maps provide a comprehensive, relevant and accessible information base. This information will allow all stakeholders (planners, industry and members of the public) to visualise the distribution of offshore minerals to a common standard and at a common scale, an important requirement of an integrated marine planning system. The maps will also facilitate the conservation (safeguarding) of non-renewable mineral resources for future generations in accordance with the principles of sustainable development

The mineral resources of the East Inshore and East Offshore marine plan areas, southern North Sea

Minerals are naturally occurring raw materials essential for the development of a modern economy. However, mineral resources are finite and can only be worked where they occur. As their extraction is subject to many constraints, it is important that society uses minerals in the most efficient and sustainable manner. Identifying the distribution of known mineral resources on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) and presenting them in a consistent fashion at a national scale allows minerals to be considered in the marine spatial planning process and permits more effective and sustainable management strategies to be developed. The British Geological Survey (BGS) has undertaken a commission from The Crown Estate to prepare a series of mineral resource maps which cover the UKCS. Mineral resource information was compiled following a desk study of data held by the BGS and external sources. This report summarises the mineral resources depicted on the first of these maps - the East Inshore and East Offshore Marine Plan Areas in the southern North Sea. These are the first areas (Figure 1) for which the Marine Management Organisation is preparing marine plans (MMO, 2010). The map has been produced by the collation and interpretation of a wide range of information, much of which is spatially variable and not always available in a consistent and convenient form. The map depicts mineral resources of current or potential future economic interest in the area. It comprises a 1:500 000 scale map (which accompanies this report) depicting marine aggregate (sand and gravel) resources on the sea bed, and two 1:1 500 000 scale maps (as annexes in this report) depicting coal and evaporite resources at depth beneath the sea bed. These map scales are convenient for the overall display of the data. However, all the data are held digitally at larger scales using a Geographical Information System (GIS), which allows for revision, updating and customisation of the information, together with integration with other datasets

Marine Aggregate Survey. Phase 1, Southern North Sea

Marine sand and gravel meet approximately 10-15% of the demand for aggregate in Englarrl and Wales, but in South East England the contribution is nearer 20%. It is declared government policy (DOE Circular 21/82) to encourage the use of marine aggregates wherever possible and in order to assist mineral planning by central and local government it is clear that information on offshore sand and gravel resources is required. A considerable amoont of information on the surface and sul:rsurface geology of the UK continental shelf is available within the British Geological Survey (BGS) and the Crown Estate Commissioners (CEC) have commissioned BGS to undertake a review of all available data on marine aggregate resources. '!his report gives the results of the data assessment of the Southern North Sea area which forms Phase 1 of the ~ research programme. The area covered in this report is from 51 o_53°N and covers UK waters east of 1°E. Further areas of the continental shelf off England and Wales are scheduled for appraisal in later stages of the programme. Phase 1 also forms an essential first stage in a more detailed resource assessment research programme to be funded by the Department of the Environment (DOE). This will aim to evaluate the origins, distribution and quality of marine aggregate resources in a trial area off the East Anglian coast

An overview of the lithostratigraphical framework for the Quaternary deposits on the United Kingdom continental shelf

This stratigraphical framework report presents a lithostratigraphical scheme for the Quaternary succession on the United Kingdom continental shelf (UKCS). The emphasis has been placed on the delineation and definition of a series of lithostratigraphical groups that provide the basis for first-order correlation between Quaternary deposits, both offshore and onshore. The proposed scheme is based on information derived from the extensive marine dataset acquired by the British Geological Survey (BGS) since the late 1960s, and published as a series of offshore maps and regional reports. The first part of the report (Chapter 1) introduces the project and in particular focuses upon the fundamental differences between onshore and offshore stratigraphical approaches. Resolving this problem is fundamental to creating a unified stratigraphical scheme that is applicable to both domains. The timescale that we use defines the base of the Quaternary System/Period and the Pleistocene Series/ Epoch at 2.58 Ma, as formally ratified by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) (Gibbard et al., 2010). This is followed in Chapter 2 by a brief description of the methodology that underpins the existing offshore stratigraphy. Although this scheme has been constructed largely on the basis of seismic stratigraphy, information on the nature and age of the stratigraphical units is provided by a wealth of borehole and short core data. Consequently, the offshore scheme is best described as a hybrid of seismic, litho- and biostratigraphy. Chapter 3 outlines the principles behind the new proposed lithostratigraphical scheme. Although the scheme is not wholly lithostratigraphical in nature, the hierarchy of lithostratigraphical nomenclature is adopted as the most practical terminology for describing a succession that is mappable at several levels, is divided by distinctive regional bounding surfaces, and displays significant lithological variation. By adopting a lithostratigraphical nomenclature we retain consistency with a recently published BGS onshore lithostratigraphical framework, thereby promoting an integrated land–sea approach to Quaternary correlation. A brief description of the new lithostratigraphical scheme is presented in Chapter 4, with emphasis at the group level. We define twelve groups from the Atlantic margin, North Sea and Celtic Sea–Irish Sea region that represent regional subdivision into predominantly non-glacial Lower–Middle Pleistocene, and glacially-dominated Middle Pleistocene– Holocene units. The proposed defining formations from each group are presented in a series of accompanying tables. Some of the larger estuaries (e.g. Moray Firth) and the English Channel–South-west Approaches region remain undivided at the present time. A comparison of the UKCS lithostratigraphical scheme with those in adjacent international sectors is presented in Chapter 5, with specific focus on the Dutch and Norwegian sectors. A major concern across the international boundaries is that the lithostratigraphical hierarchy of equivalent units varies between countries. Chapter 6 presents some recommendations for further work in order that the stratigraphical scheme be fully utilised by the scientific community and industry. This includes: 1) complete revision, update and population of the offshore entries in the BGS Stratigraphical Lexicon of Named Rock Units; 2) the production of a full framework report that details all aspects of the offshore Quaternary succession (groups, formations, members, etc); 3) a review of areas where the Quaternary stratigraphy is ambiguous or poorly defined; 4) the development of a single onshore–offshore classification scheme that can be captured seamlessly within the BGS Geological Spatial Database (GSD); and 5) the development of a unified North-west European Quaternary stratigraphical scheme. It is concluded that tasks 1 and 4 are essential corporate issues that underpin the entire BGS superficial deposits framework

The mineral resources of Welsh waters and the Irish Sea

This report accompanies the mineral resource map the marine sand and gravel resources of Welsh waters and the Irish Sea (Bide et al, 2012). It has been published as part of the research project Mineral Resource Assessment of the UK Continental Shelf commissioned by The Crown Estate. The map is one of a series that covers the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). Knowledge of mineral resources is essential for effective and sustainable planning decisions. The marine mineral resource maps provide a comprehensive, relevant and accessible information base. This information will allow all stakeholders (planners, industry and members of the public) to visualise the distribution of offshore minerals to a common standard and at a common scale, an important requirement of an integrated offshore planning system. The maps will also facilitate the conservation (safeguarding) of non-renewable mineral resources for future generations in accordance with the principles of sustainable development

The mineral resources of Scottish waters and the Central North Sea

This report accompanies the mineral resource map of Scottish Waters and the Central North Sea (Green et al, 2013). It has been published as part of the research project Mineral Resource Assessment of the UK Continental Shelf commissioned by The Crown Estate. The map is one of a series that covers the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). Knowledge of mineral resources is essential for effective and sustainable planning decisions. The marine mineral resource maps provide a comprehensive, relevant and accessible information base. This information will allow all stakeholders (planners, industry and members of the public) to visualise the distribution of offshore minerals to a common standard and at a common scale, an important requirement of an integrated offshore planning system. The maps will also facilitate the conservation (safeguarding) of non-renewable mineral resources for future generations in accordance with the principles of sustainable development

Coastal and shelf sediment transport: an introduction

Interest in sediment dynamics is generated by the need to understand and predict: (i) morphodynamic and morphological changes, e.g. beach erosion, shifts in navigation channels, changes associated with resource development; (ii) the fate of contaminants in estuarine, coastal and shelf environment (sediments may act as sources and sinks for toxic contaminants, depending upon the surrounding physico-chemical conditions); (iii) interactions with biota; and (iv) of particular relevance to the present Volume, interpretations of the stratigraphic record. Within this context of the latter interest, coastal and shelf sediment may be regarded as a non-renewable resource; as such, their dynamics are of extreme importance. Over the years, various approaches and techniques have been applied to the determination of sediment transport pathways and the derivation of erosion, transport, and deposition rates. Such wide-ranging approaches include the refinement and application of numerical modelling; and the development of new and more efficient field equipment, e.g. video systems (coastal/inshore) and multibeam. In general, sediment transport can be defined on the basis of direct observations, indirect observations and by modelling. Direct observation methods include: acoustic backscatter; optical backscatter; sediment traps; artificial tracers, for sand and pebbles; natural tracers or labelled sediments, for silts and clays; and the determination of water movements, using drifters, SPM (suspended particulate matter) and remote sensing. Indirect observational methods include: sediment characteristics, including GST A (grain size trend analysis) and mineralogy; geomorphology, including coastal landforms, estuarine volumes and asymmetric bedforms (ripples, sandwaves and sandbanks); and, finally, the internal structure of the sediment bodie