Caithness-Dounreay project GIS development, update 2004

This report describes the development and character of an ArcView-based GIS, principally covering the area of the Devonian and Quaternary of Caithness Project. It lists some 84 individual datasets (themes) that have populated the GIS in the 32 months since its inception. These themes range in character from satellite imagery covering much of NE Scotland, to corporate data sets (such as SOBI) and project-specific data (such as the location of taxonomically identified Devonian fossil fish specimens, within the collections of BGS, Scottish National Museum, the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow and elsewhere). The report provides metadata on each data set. It explains how each data set has been treated within the GIS environment and how it can be accessed and manipulated by the non specialist user. The report also identifies new datasets that will be added to the GIS as the Project proceeds and describes which existing data sets will be superseded once corporate versions become available. This report essentially provides a ‘snap shot’ of a moment in time in the evolution of a complex and dynamic assemblage of datasets, that not only continue to grow, but also form the foundations upon which commissioned studies worth several hundreds of thousands of pounds are generated.