The British Geological Survey (BGS) has purchased the complete NEXTMap Britain elevation dataset of England and Wales on behalf of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) for use in all NERC\'s institutes.

It promises to be a heavily used remote sensing dataset right across the BGS programme and is initially being used to support increased uptake of digital mapping methods within the land survey programme.

The main outputs from its interpretation will be revised geological line work, maps of landslides and terrain features such as glacial landforms, three-dimensional viewing, geological modelling and more efficient air photo processing.

For a geologist, being able to see the landscape in three dimensions can provide a significant proportion of the information needed to carry out geological interpretation.

Intermap\'s NEXTMap Britain has been one of the world\'s most ambitious mapping projects. Using advanced airborne radar first developed for the US military, the entire British Isles has been mapped electronically in 3D. With a specially equipped Learjet flying at night at an altitude of 6,000-8,500m, the data was captured every 5m with an elevation accurate to just 50cm.