Andrew P. Marchant

The development of a GIS methodology to assess the potential for water resource contamination due to new development in the 2012 Olympic Park site, London

The Initial Screening Tool (IST) has been developed to enable Planners to assess the potential risk to ground and surface water due to remobilisation of contaminants by new developments. The IST is a custom built GIS application that improves upon previous screening tools developed by the British Geological Survey (BGS) through the inclusion of 3-D geological data and an enhanced scoring methodology. The key new feature of the IST is the ability to track individual pollutant linkages, from a source of contamination, along multiple possible Pathways to potentially susceptible Receptors. A rule based approach allows the methodology to be easily updated, and as a result the IST has a role in scenario planning. The application provides output in the form of an automatically generated report, in which details of the potential pollutant linkages identified are presented. The initial research area selected was the Olympic Park site, London.

Mapping suitability for open-loop ground source heat pump systems: a screening tool for England and Wales, UK

The UK Government expects that, by 2020, 12% of the UK’s heat demand will come from renewable sources, and is providing incentives to help achieve this. Open-loop ground source heat pumps (GSHP) could make a substantial contribution. A web-based screening tool has been developed that highlights areas where conditions may be suitable for installing commercial-scale (>100 kW heating or cooling demand) open-loop GSHP systems in England and Wales. In addition to the basic requirements for open-loop GSHP (i.e. the availability of a sufficiently productive aquifer within a reasonable depth beneath the surface) the tool provides information on existing abstractions, water chemistry and the location of protected areas. Validation and tool application show that it produces reliable results and provides an effective method for the initial assessment of subsurface conditions and suitability for GSHP installations. Hence, the tool can help to reduce uncertainty at the early planning stage, and also to promote GSHP technology to a variety of audiences.

Can sustainable development be achieved if geology is ignored

“Sustainable development” implies that a stable relationship between human activities and the natural world is possible such that the prospects of future generations do not diminish. Can this really be achieved in our urban centres where social and economic issues are often the driving force behind development? Geoscience information has traditionally been under-utilised in planning and development, because all too often its relevance and significance is misunderstood or underappreciated. However, this is starting to change. Using case studies from London and the Thames Gateway Development Zone, this paper discusses how technological developments, such as improvements in GIS technologies and 3D modelling software, are driving this turnaround. The paper also considers the impact of organisations not sharing ground investigation geodata and know-ledge about anomalous ground conditions across London, the huge benefits that data sharing can offer and how lessons learned in this study can be applied to other urban centres. The paper will show that within the environmental ecosystem, if one component part is misunderstood, then developing sustainably without compromising future needs will be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. In London, difficult ground conditions cost developers time and money through project overruns and expensive engineering solutions. A more sustainable solution is in improving our understanding of the relationship between the geology (lithology) and its properties (physical, chemical or hydrological characteristics). We will show that for the urban underground to be fully utilised throughout Europe, the lack of development policies for the subsurface needs to be addressed. For a subsurface development policy to be written, stakeholders will need to regard the urban underground as environmentally sensitive, just as it does for the surface.