Wolverhampton urban environmental survey : an integrated geoscientific case study

Geoscience and land use information for the Metropolitan Borough of Wolverhampton have been collated, with the assistance of the Metropolitan Authority, and interpreted with the aid of a Geographical Information System (GIS). The digital data can be rapidly manipulated within the GIS to produce customised thematic maps of the urban area. The report is a summary of a study undertaken in the Borough over a period of three years, and is supported by a number of satellite reports which describe in more detail different aspects of the work. The Borough of Wolverhampton lies on the western edge of the South Staffordshire Coalfield. The Western Boundary Fault bisects the Borough and marks the edge of the exposed coalfield. To the west of this structure the Coal Measures are concealed by a thick sequence of Upper Carboniferous and Permo-Triassic redbeds. Glacial deposits, mainly clay-rich till with subordinate sands, gravels and laminated clays, cover much of the area. The till is of variable thickness but due to its impermeability it affords some protection to the migration of potential contaminants. Spoil and waste (made ground) from former coal workings cover much of the eastern part of the Borough which is also extensively undermined. Thematic maps indicating the extent and depth of the made ground, depth of till, extent of undermining and location of landfill sites provide useful planning information.