Karst, GIS and geological hazard planning and management in Great Britain

The British Geological Survey (BGS) database of karst features for the United Kingdom include dolines, cave entrances, stream sinks, resurgences and building damage; data for approximately half of the country has so far been gathered. BGS makes and utilises digital geological map data, which includes lithological and stratigraphical information for bedrock and superficial deposits. By incorporating this digital map data with digital elevation slope models and karst data, BGS has generated a derived dataset assessing the likelihood of subsidence due to karst collapse. This dataset is informed and verified by the karst database and marketed as part of its GeoSure suite; the karst layer includes areas of limestone, chalk, gypsum and salt. It is currently used by environmental regulators, the insurance and construction industries plus the BGS semi-automated enquiry system. The karst database and GeoSure datasets can be combined and manipulated using GIS to make other datasets that deal with specific problems. Sustainable drainage systems, some of which use soak-aways into the ground are being encouraged in the UK, but in karst areas they can cause problems. Similarly, open loop ground source heat pumps may induce subsidence if installed in certain types of karst such as chalk with overlying sand deposits. Groundwater abstraction also has the potential to trigger subsidence in karst areas. GIS manipulation of the karst information will allow the UK to be zoned into areas suitable, or unsuitable, for such uses; it has the potential to become part of a suite of planning management tools for local and National Government to assess the long term sustainable use of the ground

Model metadata report for Swansea-Neath-Port-Talbot

This report describes the creation of city-wide 3D geological of the natural and artificial superficial deposits of the Swansea-Neath-Port-Talbot area. It includes the glacigenic, coastal, estuarine, aeolian and organic deposits of Swansea Bay and the Tawe and Neath Valleys. The 3D geological model does not include bedrock units or geological faults. The construction of the model formed part of a wider study that investigated risks associated with land contamination from past industrial activity including metal processing. The 3D geological model includes ten geological units and thirty one primary cross-sections. Cross-sections were constructed in a northeast-southwest orientation, parallel to the trend of the Tawe and Neath Valleys and northwest-southeast, perpendicular to them to a maximum depth of approximately 60 m below OD. Cross-sections were constructed by considering 752 borehole records that had been manually processed, interpreted and recorded in the British Geological Survey’s Single Onshore Borehole Index and Borehole Geology databases. The distribution of buried units in the Lower Tawe Valley and Neath Valley is defined by geological correlations that determine the geometry of the buried rock basins. Glaciolacustrine deposits and basal till are confined entirely within the buried valleys. Glaciolacustrine deposits are interpreted to be present in the lower part of the Neath Valley although they are only proved west of Briton Ferry (borehole SS79SW65). The presence of these deposits within the remainder of the Neath Valley in the study area is uncertain. Glaciofluvial sand and gravel is present beneath alluvium in the Lower Tawe Valley and is interpreted to underlie tidal flat deposits in the Neath Valley. The presence of glaciofluvial deposits in the shallow offshore area is uncertain and an arbitrary southern limit was taken. Similarly, the presence of till in the offshore area is uncertain and may extend further offshore

An enhanced classification of artificial ground

This report describes a detailed scheme for the mapping and recording of artificial ground. It presents codes and descriptions that underpin the entries in the British Geological Survey stratigraphical lexico

Urban futures: the sustainable management of the ground beneath cities

Over half of the world's population now live in cities. In 2011 it was estimated that the global population exceeded 7 billion. Pressures on the environment including land use are increasing. The ground beneath cities and the interaction between physical, biological and chemical processes provides natural capital on which society depends. These benefits and the ground properties and processes that support and deliver them can be considered ecosystem services. Characterizing the ground properties on which ecosystem services depend involves a qualitative assessment of positive and negative impacts of proposed urban sustainability solutions, including use of the ground. The sustainability of a proposed solution depends on how the future might unfold. Future scenario analysis allows consideration of the social, technological, economic, environmental and political changes that may determine the ability of a proposed solution to deliver its benefits now and in the future. Analysis of the positive and negative impacts of a proposed use of the ground on ecosystem function, measured against future scenarios of change, can be integrated to deliver strategies for the future management of the ground and the wider environment beneath cities

Effect of silicic acid and other silicon compounds on fungal growth in oligotrophic and nutrient-rich media

Mycelium grew from a spore-mycelial inoculum of Aspergillus oryzae added to ultra-pure water (upw) containing silicon compounds, but did not grow in upw alone. Growth of other fungi also occurred in upw only when silicon compounds were added. Increased growth of A. oryzae, and other fungi, also followed the addition of silicic acid and other silicon compounds to Czapek Dox. Aspergillus oryzae solubilized silicon compounds in both upw and nutrient-rich media. Although interactions between microorganisms and silicon have been generally neglected, the results show that silicon compounds can increase fungal growth under both oligotrophic and nutrient-rich conditions

Enhanced mapping of artificially modified ground in urban areas : using borehole, map and remotely sensed data

The report described here is focused on how using boreholes and attributes from boreholes increased and enhanced the mapping of Artificially Modified Ground, and helped measure landscape evolution change in the urban environment. These attributes from boreholes include the presence of AMG in a borehole, the thickness of AMG recorded, the start height of a borehole and the location of boreholes (and other boreholes in close proximity) with modern topological features and geological maps

Model metadata report for Manchester and Salford, NW England

This report describes the creation of a 3D geological model of natural and artificial superficial deposits in Manchester and Salford, NW England. The Manchester and Salford model forms part of the Lower Mersey Corridor, NW England. The Lower Mersey Corridor includes models within the region comprising: Manchester-Salford Warrington Liverpool Irlam The location of the geological models is shown in Figure 1 and the spacing of cross-sections is shown in Figure 2. Figure 1 Location of Manchester and Salford 3D geological model and its relationship to others in the Lower Mersey Corridor area of NW England. The 3D models include natural and artificial superficial deposits. Cross-sections for Manchester and Salford include schematic bedrock correlations for illustration only. Bedrock is not included in the calculated mode

Influence of personality, age, sex, and oestrus state on chimpanzee problem-solving success

Despite the importance of individual problem solvers for group- and individual-level fitness, the correlates of individual problem-solving success are still an open topic of investigation. In addition to demographic factors, such as age or sex, certain personality dimensions have also been revealed as reliable correlates of problem-solving by animals. Such correlates, however, have been little-studied in chimpanzees. To empirically test the influence of age, sex, estrous state, and different personality factors on chimpanzee problem-solving, we individually tested 36 captive chimpanzees with two novel foraging puzzles. We included both female (N = 24) and male (N = 12) adult chimpanzees (aged 14–47 years) in our sample. We also controlled for the females’ estrous state—a potential influence on cognitive reasoning—by testing cycling females both when their sexual swelling was maximally tumescent (associated with the luteinizing hormone surge of a female’s estrous cycle) and again when it was detumescent. Although we found no correlation between the chimpanzees’ success with either puzzle and their age or sex, the chimpanzees’ personality ratings did correlate with responses to the novel foraging puzzles. Specifically, male chimpanzees that were rated highly on the factors Methodical, Openness (to experience), and Dominance spent longer interacting with the puzzles. There was also a positive relationship between the latency of females to begin interacting with the two tasks and their rating on the factor Reactivity/Undependability. No other significant correlations were found, but we report tentative evidence for increased problem-solving success by the females when they had detumescent estrous swellings

Integrated modelling of geoscience information to support sustainable urban planning

The provision of reliable and up-to-date geoscientific information for the urban environment has assumed increasing importance in recent years as legislative changes have forced developers, planning authorities and regulators to consider more fully the implications and impact on the environment of large-scale development initiatives. To comply with the principles of sustainable development, developers are increasingly required to demonstrate that proposals are based on the best possible scientific information and analysis of risk. Nowhere is this more relevant than in the context of urban regeneration, where planning policy guidance gives priority to re-use of previously developed (brownfield) land. In England, brownfield sites suitable for re-development cover an area equivalent to half the size of London