The UK Soils Observatory (UKSO), an initiative supported by the James Hutton Institute and other leading soil research institutions to provide a point of access to UK soils data and underpinning research, has been awarded the Excellence with Impact prize at the newly launched Association for Geographic Information (AGI) Awards for Geospatial Excellence.
The AGI Awards are a prestigious event recognising the very best achievements in the field of geographic information throughout the year. The purpose of the awards is to recognise excellence within the industry and to foster a spirit of innovation to the betterment of geographic information in the UK. In particular, the Excellence award recognises projects which have achieved outstanding success or impact, within an organisation or at a local, regional, national or international scale.
Judges described UKSO as “an ambitious project with huge potential as a spatial research resource for a range of fields including agriculture and geotechnical engineering.”
Dr Helaina Black, senior soil scientist at the James Hutton Institute and UK representative on the Intergovernmental Panel on Soils, said: “We are delighted that UKSO has been highlighted for its excellence and impact, and through UKSO we are now able to bring together some of the world’s best soils data and information for broad access and use.
“The observatory’s objective is to give simple, free access to these data for non-profit making use and to facilitate commercial use for wealth creation – something that is even more relevant as 2015 has been declared by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations as the International Year of Soils.”
Besides the James Hutton Institute, the UK Soils Observatory partners are the Natural Environment Research Council, Center for Ecology and Hydrology, British Geological Survey, Cranfield University, Rothamsted Research, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Forestry Commission and Forest Research.
Bernardo Rodriguez-Salcedo [1], Media Manager, Tel: +44 (0)1224 395089 [2] (direct line), +44 (0)344 928 5428 [3] (switchboard) or +44 (0)7791 193918 [4] (mobile).
Links:
[1] mailto:bernardo.rodriguez-salcedo@hutton.ac.uk?subject=Query%20from%20Hutton%20website
[2] tel:+441224395089
[3] tel:+44344928 5428
[4] tel:+447791193918