GeoScour v2 - A geological assessment of the potential for river scour

BGS GeoScour v2 provides river scour susceptibility information for Great Britain using a three-tiered data provision allowing increasing levels of understanding at different resolutions from catchment to local (channel/reach) scales. GeoScour v2 includes 18 GIS layers, providing information on the natural characteristics and properties of catchment and riverine environments for the assessment of river scour in Great Britain. The dataset product fills a gap in current scour modelling, with the input of geological properties. It provides an improved toolkit to more easily assess and raise the profile of scour risk, now and in the future, to help infrastructure providers and funders prioritise resources, identify remedial works to preclude costly and prevent disruptive failures. The product has broad applications through its adaptation to suit multiple types of asset susceptible to fluvial erosion. GeoScour looks specifically at the geological factors that influence scour and does not consider any hydraulic or hydrodynamic factors. The GeoScour Dataset Product is designed to be used by multiple stakeholders with differing needs and therefore, can be interrogated at a number of levels. Tier 1 A catchment stability dataset provides a summary overview of the catchment characteristics, typical response type, and evolution. It can be used as a high-level overview for incorporation into catchment management plans, national reviews and catchment comparisons using Tier 2 datasets are available as smaller catchment areas and focusses on providing data for more detailed catchment management, natural flood management and similar uses. It analyses geological properties such as flood accommodation space, catchment run-off potential, geomorphology types, and additional summary statistics for worst, average, and best-case scenarios for underlying surface geology scour susceptibility, as well as additional summary statistics of key environmental parameters such as protected sites and urban coverage. Tier 3 datasets provide the detailed riverine information that is designed to be incorporated into more complex river scour models. It provides the baseline geological context for river scour development and processes and identifies important factors that should be considered in any scour model. Factors such as material mineralogy, strength and density are key properties that can influence a river’s ability to scour. In addition, an assessment of river fall, sinuosity and flood accommodation space is also provided. This data is of use to those assessing the propensity for river scour for any given reach of a river across Great Britain and can be used as an input into hydraulic/hydrodynamic models. Tier 1 and 2 datasets are Open Government Licence (OGL), Tier 3 is licenced.