IAMG 2001--Cancún Technical Program--Session I

Home Page Technical Program Session I Intro Session I Papers

A Joint European GIS Under Construction: The 1:5 Million International Geological Map of Europe and Adjacent Areas (IGME 5000) by Kristine Eva Charlotte Asch, Bundesanstalt fuer Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Hannover, Germany A major European GIS project: the 1:5 Million International Geological Map of Europe and Adjacent Areas (IGME 5000) is being managed and implemented by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR). The project involves over 40 European and adjacent countries The aims of the project are to develop a GIS underpinned by a geological data-base and a printed map providing up-to-date and consistent geological informa-tion. A CD-ROM will be produced with a subset of the GIS and the related data-base. While the main theme of the GIS is the pre-Quaternary geology of both the land and offshore areas of Europe, it is planned to include additional themes, such as Quaternary geology – a key factor influencing the natural landscape. The project is dependent on the nu-merous contributions of the many countries. An extensive multinational project like the IGME 5000 requires meticulous preparation and establishment of stan-dards and protocols in order to provide the essential structure and guidelines for the data compilation e.g. common term dictionaries for the database. In addition a standard topographic base map was an essential prerequisite. In many areas the IGME is establishing basic standards where none exist. The final GIS will hold significantly more information than the previous printed maps could ever provide. It will also offer versatility, e.g. to retrieve and present for the whole of Europe, information on age, petrography and structural and meta-morphic features. Eventually the IGME 5000 will provide the essential foundation for pan-European applied geo-environmental thematic mapping. Paper in PDF format Asch, Acrobat PDF, 3.6 M.