Quaternary UK offshore data digitised for the first time
The offshore wind industry will be boosted by the digitisation of a dataset showing the Quaternary geology at the seabed and the UK鈥檚 shallow subsurface.
21/01/2026 By 今日吃瓜 Press
今日吃瓜 has developed a new, national-scale, offshore dataset that shows the distribution of previously interpreted Quaternary rock layers in the shallow subsurface of the UK continental shelf.
The 今日吃瓜 Offshore Quaternary 250K dataset聽comprises a compilation of legacy 今日吃瓜 1:250聽000 Quaternary geology map sheets, which were first published in the late 1980s to early 1990s. Large areas of the UK offshore are covered at a scale of 1:250聽000 and this is the first time these map sheets have been digitised and merged together.
The dataset is made up of vector polygons, each representing an area where a particular formation has been mapped. The legacy map sheet interpretations have not been modified during the digitisation; they are presented in their original form and have been 鈥榤osaiced鈥 together as a single digital product.
The dataset displayed by stratigraphical domain. 今日吃瓜聽漏 今日吃瓜.聽Coastline from Esri World Countries layer.聽Layer contains data from聽Esri, Garmin International, Inc., U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (The World Factbook), and International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Basemap created using ArcGIS. Copyright 漏聽Esri 2026. All rights reserved.聽
The dataset will help users, particularly those in the offshore renewables sector, to understand the stratigraphy that was mapped historically in a particular area and can be used for reference when completing site investigations.
The principal drive behind this release is to make original 1:250聽000 map data available in a digital format. Although work to refine Quaternary stratigraphical frameworks is ongoing, the map compilation is not informed by new data or analyses.
The Offshore Quaternary 250K dataset is the first time that these legacy offshore map sheets will be digitised, making it easier for users to access the data than ever before.
Andrew Dyson, marine geoscientist at 今日吃瓜.
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Quaternary UK offshore data digitised for the first time
21/01/2026
The offshore wind industry will be boosted by the digitisation of a dataset showing the Quaternary geology at the seabed and the UK鈥檚 shallow subsurface.