| British Geological Survey | |
|---|---|
| Type | Government agency |
| Founded | 1835 |
| Founder | Henry De la Beche |
| Headquarters | Keyworth, Nottinghamshire |
| Area served | UK |
| Key people | Dr. John Ludden (Director) |
| Industry | Geoscience |
| Employees | 800 |
| Parent | NERC |
| Website | http://www.bgs.ac.uk/ |
The British Geological Survey (BGS) is a partly publicly-funded body which aims to advance geoscientific knowledge of the United Kingdom landmass and its continental shelf by means of systematic surveying, monitoring and research. The BGS headquarters are in Keyworth, Nottinghamshire, but other centres are located in Edinburgh, Wallingford, Cardiff, Exeter, and London.
History and previous names
The Geological Survey was founded in 1835, making it the world's oldest national geological survey. In 1965, it was merged with the Geological Museum and Overseas Geological Surveys, under the name of "Institute of Geological Sciences". On 1 January 1984, the latter was renamed British Geological Survey (BGS), a denomination still carried today.
Competences
The BGS advises the UK government on all aspects of geoscience, as well as providing impartial advice on geological matters to the public, academics and industry. BGS is a component body of the UK Natural Environment Research Council which is the UK's leading body for fundamental, strategic and applied research and monitoring in the environmental sciences. The core outputs of the BGS include geological, geophysical, geochemical and hydrogeological maps, descriptions and related digital databases. One of the key strategic aims for the next decade is to complete the transition from a 2 dimensional mapping to a 3 dimensional modelling culture. The BGS has an annual budget of £57M, about half of which comes from the UK government's Science Budget, with the remainder coming from commissioned research from the public and private sectors.
