The application of NEXTmap digital elevation data to geological mapping in northeast England

NEXTMap Britain is a collection of high-resolution, digital datasets including elevation of the UK landmass. This report examines methods of reprocessing these digital elevation data to produce data representing the slope angles and breaks-in-slope of a natural hillside that may relate to the bedrock or superficial geology. Digital elevation data for various parts of the North Pennines of England are reprocessed to produce slope analysis maps in which slope angles and breaks in slope are represented by shaded colours. Slope analysis maps are then compared with detailed geological survey field slips for the same areas (produced without reference to the NEXTMap data or any processed derivative) in order to highlight some of the characteristic signatures in the slope analysis map produced by different features of the bedrock and superficial geology. The potential uses of slope analysis in mapping these features and interpreting geology are discussed. Based on these studies of previously surveyed areas, the slope analysis map for an area of the North Pennines not previously surveyed is interpreted in terms of features and anomalies. From this interpretation, a traverse-based, ground survey can be planned to tie the signatures noted in the slope analysis map to features related to the geology (or otherwise). This test case shows the potential efficiency gains that slope analysis can bring to the survey process.