Scanned Images of Oil Shale Seam Maps for the Lothians, 1977-1982

78 scanned map images cover 13 National Grid 1:10,560 map areas in the Lothian oil-shale field. Each map shows the extent of a single oil shale seam and was published between 1977 and 1982 by the Institute of Geological Sciences in Edinburgh. The original maps were scanned in 2014 by the British Geological Survey.

Use Cases

• Digitally analyze the historical extent of oil shale seams based on the scanned map images.
• Study the spatial distribution of shale resources in the Lothians based on the 1:10,560 scale maps.
• Compare historical geological interpretations from the 1977-1982 period with modern data.
• Georeference and integrate the scanned map layers into a modern GIS for historical analysis.

Strengths

• 78 individual map images provide coverage of 13 distinct map areas.
• Maps were created by a recognized geological institution (Institute of Geological Sciences) over a defined 5-year period (1977-1982).
• The 1:10,560 scale suggests a detailed level of spatial information.

Limitations

• The description metadata is limited; actual data quality and resolution of the scanned images require manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation for any associated metadata is absent; field semantics must be inferred.
• The record is noted as superseded, which may indicate outdated or incomplete metadata.

Provenance

Source

British Geological Survey (BGS)

Collection Method

Original paper maps were scanned in 2014.

Time Range

1977 to 1982

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-28 13:00:46.530502; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Lothian oil-shale field, Scotland, UK