UK Topsoil Geochemistry Raster Maps for 41 Elements

British Geological Survey's UK Compiled Topsoil Dataset provides predicted concentrations for 41 chemical elements across the UK. It consists of 82 georeferenced raster images derived from 57,966 topsoil samples collected between 1978 and 2014. The maps were produced via ordinary kriging interpolation of X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometry data.

Use Cases

• Model spatial distribution of heavy metals using the 41 element concentration rasters for environmental risk assessment.
• Analyze geochemical baselines by comparing predicted concentration and standard error layers across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
• Train a model to predict soil properties from the 500m resolution GeoTIFF rasters covering 41 elements.
• Conduct source attribution studies by overlaying the topsoil concentration maps with known pollution point sources.

Strengths

• Derived from a substantial foundation of 57,966 physically analyzed topsoil samples.
• Provides comprehensive spatial coverage for 41 distinct chemical elements.
• Offers both predicted concentration and standard error rasters for uncertainty assessment.
• Integrates data from three major national surveys (G-BASE, TellusNI, RR-BGS XRF).

Limitations

• Spatial coverage is incomplete for Scotland, limited to the Clyde Basin.
• Underlying sample collection spans a long period (1978-2014), potentially introducing temporal inconsistency.
• Data is presented as interpolated rasters, not the original point sample data, limiting granular analysis.

Provenance

Source

British Geological Survey (BGS), integrating G-BASE, Geological Survey of Northern Ireland TellusNI, and BGS-Rothamsted Research XRF data.

Collection Method

Ordinary kriging interpolation of X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) analyses from physical samples.

Time Range

1978 to 2014

Freshness

Released August 2024; platform record updated March 2026.

Geography

England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Clyde Basin in Scotland.