From ice sheet cycles to urban regeneration : modelling the Quaternary geology under Scotland's biggest city

Finlayson, Andrew. 2012 From ice sheet cycles to urban regeneration : modelling the Quaternary geology under Scotland's biggest city. In: Quaternary Research Association Annual Discussion Meeting : Quaternary Science and Society, Hampshire, UK, 4-6 Jan 2012. (Unpublished)

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Abstract/Summary

The Glasgow conurbation is Scotland’s most densely populated area (approximately 1.2 million people). The city is built upon a complex succession of Quaternary sediments, which were deposited during multiple ice sheet cycles, periods of higher relative sea level, and more recently, through modern anthropogenic processes (arising from Glasgow’s industrial heritage). In the Glasgow area, several large-scale and long-term projects aimed at regenerating post-industrial (brownfield) sites are underway. These projects need to anticipate ground conditions and potential groundwater and contaminant migration pathways within the underlying Quaternary sediments. To help planners at early stages in such activities the British Geological Survey (BGS) has undertaken a programme of attributed three-dimensional geological modelling of the Quaternary deposits, using the geomodelling software GSI3D and GOCAD, as part of the Clyde-Urban Super-Project (CUSP) and in partnership with Glasgow City Council and others. The modelling is based on a densely-spaced and extensive digital borehole dataset (>50,000 coded boreholes). The geological models allow planners to have a three-dimensional preview of the properties of the subsurface, allowing critical decisions to be made before any expensive site investigation takes place, and potentially saving time and money. The models can also be used to aid recognition of major resources (such as water, thermal and sand and gravel) in a buried valley system under Glasgow (and elsewhere in central Scotland), and inform groundwater modelling studies.

Item Type:	Publication - Conference Item (Paper)
Programmes:	BGS Programmes 2010 > Geology and Landscape (Scotland)
Date made live:	29 Aug 2012 12:15 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/19390

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