Principles of engineering geological mapping

Methodology for creating national engineering geological maps of the UK

“…The First World War saw military engineers use them extensively for military purpose such as the excavation of military dugouts (Rose & Rosenbaum 2011). However, after that war, the development of engineering geological maps was limited mainly to countries such as Germany, Poland, the USSR and Czechoslovakia (Dearman 1991). There was a further revival in the use of geological maps by the British Forces in the Second World War; for example, in preparation for the D-Day landings in Normandy (Rose et al 2006).…”

“…For a country closer to the size of the UK, Matula (1969) produced a summary engineering geological map of Slovakia at a scale of 1:500 000. This map and that of the USA have been described in more detail by Dearman (1991). In Poland an engineering geological map at a scale of 1:500 000 was produced in 1967, and also in other Eastern European countries at around the same time as part of a co-ordinated project (Kabel 1968).…”

“…Single engineering geological units shown on the map consisted of between one and three of these lithologies in varying proportions, represented by a system of stripes of varying thickness. This resulted in a stripe system that differentiated 11 proportions of the up to three lithological types (Dearman 1991).…”

“…In the UK, engineering geological mapping only really came to the fore in the 1970s, when basic methods and techniques for their production were first outlined by the Engineering Group of the Geological Society's Working Party on Preparation of Maps and Plans in Terms of Engineering Geology (Anonymous 1972) and by the International Association of Engineering Geology's Engineering Geological Maps: A Guide to their Preparation (Anonymous 1976). Following this, Dearman (1991) also provided a comprehensive history of engineering geological mapping in his book on the subject. Anonymous (1976) classified engineering geological maps by scale as well as by purpose and content; large-scale maps were at 1:10 000 or greater, medium-scale maps were less than 1:10 000 and greater than 1:100 000, and small-scale maps were 1:100 000 and less.…”

“…He reinterpreted the geology and replaced the lithostratigraphical map units with engineering geological map units. It was originally proposed that two maps would be produced; the first would be a map combining superficial and bedrock engineering geology (similar to the map of Dearman & Eyles (1982), reproduced by Dearman (1991)). The methods developed by Dearman and his BGS collaborators Kevin Northmore and Martin Culshaw have been briefly discussed by Culshaw et al (2010).…”