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.

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 BUEK1000. The first country wide soil map at a scale of 1:1,000,000 (BUEK1000) has been compiled on the basis of published soil maps of the former German Democratic Republic and the pre 1990 federal states of Germany. To do this, it was necessary to match the soil systems used in East and West Germany and to develop standardized descriptions of soil units. A relatively homogeneous map has resulted, which permits uniform assessment of the soils throughout Germany. The map shows 71 soil mapping units, described in the legend on the basis of the German and FAO soil systems. Each soil unit has been assigned a characteristic soil profile (Leitprofil) as an aid to map interpretation. For the first time the subdivision of the country into 12 soil regions has been represented on the map. This subdivision was coordinated with the state Geological Surveys. These soil regions will represent the highest hierarchic level of nation wide soil maps in future. The colours of soil units correspond to the standards of the 'Bodenkundliche Kartieranleitung' (KA 3; Guidelines for Soil Mapping). The various hues characterize differences in relief or soil humidity. The BUEK1000 was produced digitally. It is an important part of the spatial database integrated in the Soil Information System currently being established at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (FISBo BGR). It can be used together with the characteristic soil profiles to derive thematic maps related to nation wide soil protection. The scale of the BUEK1000 makes it especially suitable for small scale evaluations at federal or EU level.

The WMS D-AERO (INSPIRE) comprises airborne geophysical surveys for mapping the shallow subsurface in Germany. Since the eighties BGR carries out helicopter borne measurements in Germany as well as in neighbouring and distant countries. In particular a series of continuous areas on the German North Sea coast are flown during the last years within the context of the D-AERO project. The helicopter of type Sikorsky S-76B is operated for the airborne geophysical survey of the earth's subsurface. Usually airborne electromagnetic, magnetic and radiometric measurements are carried out. According to the Data Specification on Geology (D2.8.II.4_v3.0, sub-theme Geophysics) the information with respect to the airborne geophysical surveys is INSPIRE-compliant. The WMS D-AERO (INSPIRE) contains for each airborne geophysical survey one layer, e.g. GE.flightLine.G081Cuxhaven. The flightlines are displayed correspondingly to the INSPIRE portrayal rules. Via the getFeatureInfo request, the user obtains the content of the INSPIRE attributes platformType und profileType. Additionally, the WMS contains a campaign layer (GE.airborneGeophysicalSurvey) with the INSPIRE attributes campaignType and surveyType.

This dataset has been compiled from diverse BGR airborne surveys in Germany. The survey areas supplement the dataset consisting of the areas 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 radiometric (HRD) system is installed into the helicopter and consists of a gamma-ray spectrometer with five Sodiumiodid detectors to measure the gamma radiation. The results are as maps displaying total count, exposure rate as well as (equivalent) concentrations of Potassium, Thorium and Uranium at ground level.

The IGME5000-EU (INSPIRE) represents the pre-quaternary bedrock geology (onshore and offshore) of the European map on a scale of 1:5,000,000. According to the Data Specification on Geology (D2.8.II.4_v3.0) the geological map provides INSPIRE-compliant data. The WMS IGME5000-EU contains layers of the geologic units (GE.GeologicUnit) and faults (GE.GeologicFault) mostly displayed according to the INSPIRE portrayal rules. The geologic units are represented graphically by stratigraphy (GE.GeologicUnit.AgeOfRocks) and lithology (GE.GeologicUnit.Lithology). For different geochronologic minimum and maximum ages, e.g. Ordovician - Silurian, the portrayal is defined by the color of the geochronologic minimum age (olderNamedAge). The portrayal of the lithology is defined by the first named rock or rock group. In case of the geologic units the user obtains detailed information via the getFeatureInfo request on the lithology and stratigraphy (age).

This dataset has been compiled from diverse BGR airborne surveys in Germany. The survey areas supplement the dataset consisting of the areas 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.

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.

The maps show the thickness (in m) of the Holocene and Pleistocene layer sequences and the depth (in m below sea level) of the base of the Holocene and Pleistocene sedimentary sequences in the area of the German North Sea. For a more detailed description, see the associated data set.