Revamp of Digimap Help pages

We have implemented a new Help system for the Marine and Geology Digimap collections (Marine Help and Geology Help ). The Help pages have been moved to a new production system which will make is easier for us to keep them more up to date and allow you to find the information you are looking for more easily and print better looking pages.

Visually there is not much change to the pages but over the coming months we will be updating and revising the content of the Help pages within Digimap to provide users with improved access to information about the Digimap facilities, the data available and how to use the data in different systems.

If you have any comments about the new Help pages or suggestions please let us know.

Tip: if you want to search for a phrase put it in quotes e.g. "zoom to position"

Geological Photos in Geology Roam

Geology Roam now allows you to view British Geological Survey images (of geological features, rocks, fossils and the BGS at work) from the JIDI Image Collection. The images area accessed via the map interface when you are zoomed in to the most detailed geology maps.

There are over 3000 images mainly found in geologically rich areas such as Cumbria, North and South Wales, the Dorset coast, Edinburgh etc. The images cover a wide range of features from details of bedding planes and large crystals in rock faces to aerial photographs of valleys showing glacial erosion features.

To access the photos go to one of the 5 most detailed zoom levels in Geology Roam and click on the camera icon in the tool bar or Geological Photos tab. You can then pan around the maps till you find an area with some photos.

The photos are marked on the map at the location they were taken from; click on the markers to see thumbnails of the image(s) for the location. You can view a full sized image with detail about what is shown by clicking on the thumbnail.

These photos are useful for geologists but there are also some spectacular landscape images that can be enjoyed by everyone.

Geology Roam - new mapping tool

EDINA has released Geology Roam; a new mapping facility within the Geology Digimap Collection. Geology Roam is based upon the Roam mapping facility from Digimap's OS Collection and includes standard features such as fixed scale map views, 'slippy maps', map content customisation, searching by place name, postcode and grid reference, bookmarking and comprehensive help.

Geology Roam contains BGS DiGMap-625, DiGMap-250 and DiGMap-50 geology datasets and Ordnance Survey backdrop mapping. The geological data includes bedrock, superficial deposits, mass movement and faults.

Key features of Geology Roam include the ability to decrease/increase the opacity of the geology data over the Ordnance Survey back-drop map. A single click on the map will query the geology data and display details about the bedrock and any superficial deposits found at that point.

Geology Roam features a new printing interface that will become standard in all the Roam mapping facilities across Digimap. The new printing interface enables you to resize and reposition the map, and to add a map title and National Grid lines.

Beta Service
Currently available as a BETA service, we encourage you to give us feedback on the usability of Geology Roam so that issues you raise can be factored into ongoing development over the coming months. As well as responding to any issues you report, the following additional functions will be introduced:

• Geological area (polygon) highlighting when clicking to obtain feature information, to make it easier to identify the extent of any geological feature to which the reported information corresponds.


• Map based links to a Geology Photography Collection (JIDI Images). Icons will appear over the geology maps to indicate the availability of geological feature photographs for that location. Click on the icon to view these photographic images within the Geology Roam application.


• Introduction of the BGS Rock Lexicon as an Independent application Geology Roam will run in parallel with the existing Geology Mapper during the Beta phase, after which Geology Mapper will be withdrawn (Dec 2010).

The existing mapping application will be withdrawn in December 2010 and will be wholly replaced by Geology Roam.

EDINA would welcome feedback on the service and on these proposed developments. Please contact us on edina@ed.ac.uk or 0131 650 3302.

New cartography for geology maps

The Geology Maps facility in Geology Digimap has been greatly enhanced by upgrading the technology. The maps now use a transparency technique to represent rock types in colour, rather than hatching. The result has been much clearer maps, more closely matching their paper counterparts printed by the British Geological Survey. It also makes it easier to see the underlying context mapping, as well as identifying which rock types overlay which. Below are some examples of the new colour scheme.

Old and new versions, clearly labelled

The previous version of Geology Maps is still available for those who have become accustomed to it or have created training courses based upon it. This version is clearly labelled "old". It will be withdrawn at the start of the next academic year (2008/9) when we hope everyone will be enjoying the benefits of the new maps.

New style cartography, using transparency

Old style cartography, using traditional hatching methods