dataset · England
iHydrogeology shale and aquifer surfaces (vertical separation maps and data)
These maps provide an overview, at the national scale, of the spatial relationships between principal aquifers and some of the major shale and clay units in England and Wales. The data comprises a series of occurrence maps shows the distribution of rock units that form the principal aquifers and some major shale and clay units in England and Wales. In addition, a series of separation maps show the vertical separation between pairs of shales or clays and overlying aquifers. If shale gas resources
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Licence: ["The copyright of materials derived from the British Geological Survey's work is vested in the Natural Environment Research Council [NERC]. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in an
Evidence quality: 33.4
Listed in data.gov.uk public catalogue API on 2026-10-16; relevance/value screened (haiku).
Metadata checked: 2026-10-14T13:20:00.000Z
What's in it
- Data offered docs-verified
- occurrence maps of principal aquifers and major shale and clay units (England and Wales) · vertical separation maps between pairs of shales or clays and overlying aquifers · underlying aquifer, shale and clay datasets as ESRI GIS and KML files
- Coverage docs-verified
- England and Wales
- Update frequency docs-verified
- as needed (no fixed schedule)
- Formats docs-verified
- ESRI GIS · KML
- Access docs-verified
- Free download for own use; no API key or login. Copyright vested in NERC/BGS: reproduction or transmission requires prior permission from the copyright holder. Use at customer's own risk.
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- Screening aquifer-to-shale/clay vertical separation for shale gas groundwater risk assessment in England and Wales · Desk-study baseline of principal aquifer extent for FRA or site investigation scoping · Offline regional hydrogeological context mapping in GIS alongside site-scale data
- Audience llm-inferred
- hydrogeologists · geologists · GIS analysts · environmental consultants · planners
Limitations
- Constraints llm-inferred
- National-scale overview maps; not suitable for site-specific detail · BGS/NERC gives no warranty on accuracy or suitability for any use · Reproduction or redistribution needs prior permission from the copyright holder · Shale and clay coverage is for major units only, not all clay units · Dataset reference date is 2014-07 and update frequency is as needed, so currency may lag
Evidence
- https://www2.bgs.ac.uk/groundwater/shaleGas/aquifersAndShales/home.html
- https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/2d8aebfb-a6e5-4468-9860-50c3fd45cc28/ihydrogeology-shale-and-aquifer-surfaces-vertical-separation-maps-and-data
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.