The data set includes meta data from sedimentary samples taken within the exclusive economic zone of Germany that are affected by the Geological Data Act. Also includes information on applied laboratory methods.

For farming, the production function of the soils and thus the natural soil fertility play a decisive role. A healthy soil with its properties, potentials and functions is the basis for high land yields, but at the same time also the basis for sustainable agriculture and responsible land use. The theme maps of soil capability in Germany are based on the landuse stratified soil map of Germany 1:1,000,000 (BUEK1000N), the Digital Elevation Model DGM50 of the German Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG), climatic information of the German Meteorological Service (DWD) for the period 1961-1990 as well as on land use data from the data set CORINE Landcover 2006 (UBA).

The General Geological Map of the Federal Republic of Germany 1:250,000 (GÜK250) is a seamless “Inselkarte” and the digital follower of the General Geological Map of the Federal Republic of Germany 1:200,000 (GÜK200). Like its predecessor, the GÜK250 represents the surface geology of Germany and contains harmonised and updated information on age, composition and genesis of the rocks. According to this content, the GÜK250 offers three nationwide legends for the portrayal of the geologic units: a) chronostratigraphy, b) petrography and c) petrogenesis. Furthermore, the new GÜK250 includes information on the lithostratigraphy, the genetic process as well as information on the physical and chemical environment of the rock formation. Additionally, the GÜK250 provides - if available - information on the thickness of the geologic units and contains layers which represent tectonic elements, marginal position of the ice shield and quartz dykes. In general, the term “surface geology” refers to geologic formations up to a depth of two meters. However, particularly in the south of Germany, considerable deviations of this concept exist and thicknesses of a couple of hundred meters may are displayed. The GÜK250 contains a base layer and an overlay layer which usually comprises thin Quaternary deposits.

The maps show a total of 14 newly interpreted base horizons (Middle Miocene unconformity to the base of the Zechstein) of depth maps and a total of 13 layer thickness maps from the Lower Miocene to the Zechstein.

The geological overview map (GÜK200) provides detailed information on the stratigraphy, petrography and genesis of the geological units shown. In the revised GÜK200, the surface geology on the mainland is shown in up to two overlays. The shallow, overlying soil is not shown. In the marine area, only the petrography of the recent seabed is shown, which comprises the uppermost 20 cm of the seabed. In accordance with the original GÜK200 map sheets, the seabed is addressed stratigraphically as recent seabed. The entire map area is dominated by Quaternary formations, whereby a distinction is made between Pleistocene and Holocene deposits. The Pleistocene deposits are dominated by the glacial deposits of the Elster, Saale and Weichselian cold periods, with glacial basin sediments, boulder clay of the ground moraines and glaciofluvial, fluviatile and aeolian deposits. After the end of the glaciations with the rising sea level, the various marine facies, sediments of the land/sea transition zone and on land, above all the fens and raised bogs dominate in the Holocene. Outcrops of older geological units are linked to the dynamics of the Zechstein salts in the subsurface and only occur sporadically in the map area, such as the well-known red sandstone cliffs of Helgoland.

The KOR250 in the scale of 1:250,000 shows occurrences and deposits of mineral resources in Germany, which lie close to the Earth’s surface, i.e. can be mined in open-pits, quarries or near-surface mines. These mineral resources include industrial minerals, aggregates, peat, lignite, oil shales, and natural brines. The map is the digital successor of the map series KOR200 „Map of Near-Surface Deposits of the Federal Republic of Germany 1:200,000”, which has been published since 1984. The KOR200 and KOR250 have been published by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources together with the State Geological Surveys of the federal states on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Primary purpose of the KOR250 is to display Germany’s potential of domestic raw materials in a comparable way. The explanations given in the printed booklets accompanying the KOR200 are not available in the digital KOR250. In the KOR250 besides the defined deposits and differently coloured areas of raw materials, "active mines" (= operations) at time of publication or "focal points of several active mines" are marked with one symbol each. These symbols often display the headquarters of the mining company and not the mining site itself. As the map sheets of the KOR200 have been generated over more than three decades the timeliness of data is extremely different. For more detail, the current large-scale raw material maps of the Federal State Geological Surveys should always be consulted.

Web Map Service (WMS) of the map Organic Matter Content of Top-Soils in Germany. The map Organic Matter Content of Top-Soils in Germany 1:1,000,000 highlights the results of a Germany-wide compilation of typical soil organic matter contents in top-soils differentiated according to 15 groups of soil parent material, four climatic areas and the main land use. The evaluation is based on more than 9000 soil data profiles with information about Soil Organic Matter (SOM) from a period of about 20 years. The report 'The Organic Matter Content of Top-Soils in Germany', BGR Archiv, No. 0127036 (in German) documents the methodology. The classes of the map legend are based on the classes given in the German Soil Mapping Guideline, 5th Edition (KA5). The version 2.0 of the map is based on the Digital Topographic Map 1:1,000,000 (DTK1000-V) of the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy, which was altered in parts by BGR.

This dataset has been compiled within the BGR project "D-AERO-Auswertung" based on several survey area located along the German North Sea coast. The BGR helicopter (Sikorsky S-76B) is used for airborne geophysical surveying of the Earth’s subsurface. The standard equipment comprises the methods electromagnetics, magnetics and radiometrics. The passive magnetic (HMG) system consists of two Cesium magnetometers, which are located in the HEM flying tube (bird) about 40 m beneath the helicopter as well as in a base station on ground. The results are displayed as maps of the anomalies of the Earth's magnetic total field.

Web Map Service (WMS) of the BUEK3000. The BUEK3000 is prepared by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) for the National Atlas of Germany. Based on the generalized and aggregated soil map 1:2,000,000, it shows 43 mapping units with information about soil texture, parent material, dominant and associated soils.