Data and research for environmental applications and models [DREAM]

The BGS has a long history of working with regulators, government and industry to aid environmental decision-making and provide geological information for planning guidance, for example supporting sustainable groundwater abstraction or reducing risks from groundwater flooding. To aid future environmental decision-making BGS has developed a 3D geological modelling capability that enables characterisation and attribution of the shallow subsurface environment. The Challenge for BGS and collaborators is to integrate these models with future environmental change scenarios and deal with the ‘what ifs’, incorporating data and models from all relevant environmental sciences. These are the things that determine what will be sustainable underground developments.