Ordnance Survey (OS) has added a collection of geological data products to its open data OS Data Hub.
The national mapping agency has worked on the project with the British Geological Survey (BGS), with the aim of making it easier for users to access above and below ground geospatial data.
It said this is the first time that products from another authoritative government data partner have been made available through the OS Data Hub and it hopes it will be followed by more. This will provide developers, data scientists and geospatial specialists across the nation with easier access to a broader range of geospatial data to support their activities.
The development has been funded by the Government Office of Technology Transfer’s Knowledge Asset Grant Fund, and comes after OS and BGS showed potential benefits to both public and private sectors from greater access to geological data.
It will enable customers to access OS and BGS data from a single platform, which should make it easier to create value from geospatial data.
Nine in collection
The nine BGS datasets are: Geology 625k on rock types and lithology; Mining Hazard (not including coal); GeoSure 5km hex grid on ground instability issues; GeoClimate UKCP18 Open, showing potential change in subsidence due to climate change; GeoCoast Open for coastline planning; GeoScour Open on river areas; Hydrogeology 625k; Health Security Agency Radon data; and the BGS Soil Parent Material Model.
John Kimmance, managing director of national mapping services at OS, said: “Ordnance Survey is constantly looking to provide a greater and richer variety of data to customers whether above or below ground, so adding the BGS datasets, which is a first for us, will extend our offering to our customers significantly.
“As we explore this new territory for the OS Data Hub, we really hope to encourage other third parties to collaborate with us – and for new and existing customers to explore the new data available to support their own challenges.”
Superb opportunity
Garry Baker, director of informatics at BGS, said: “The OS Data Hub presents a superb opportunity for new differing user communities to access BGS geological data and we are excited to see what impact this will bring.”
The OS Data Hub launched in July 2020, and now supports around 40,000 individuals and organisations across the public and private sectors by providing a suite of geospatial APIs and data downloads which can be integrated into users’ apps and solutions. It allows access to data on addressing data, road networks, greenspace, topography and a range of other features.
