OR/18/054 Summary

Bateson, L, and Novellino, A. 2018. Glasgow Geothermal Energy Research Field Site - Ground motion survey report. British Geological Survey Internal Report, OR/18/054.

The report describes the main findings associated with the baseline monitoring of ground motion for the Glasgow Geothermal Energy Research Field Site (GGERFS) as part of the UK Geoenergy Observatories (UKGEOS) project.

The analysis is based on the interpretation of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data acquired for the period 1995–2017. Overall, the GGERFS sites are stable, small areas near the 2014 Commonwealth Games athletes’ village show a minor subsidence pattern, with rates of ~5 mm/yr, observed for the 2015–2017 period between sites GGERFS04 (site currently ‘on hold’) and GGERFS10. This motion is interpreted to relate to settling of relatively thick superficial and anthropogenic deposits, which have recently been built upon for the development associated with the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Overall Glasgow and the surrounding area appears relatively stable for the three decades for which InSAR data has been processed. There are notable small areas of ground motion, which appear to relate to both natural (volume change of peat deposits, compressible ground) and anthropogenic (settling of made ground and landfill) factors.