The map shows the distribution of typical soil types (soil texture) in the topsoils of Germany. Typical is used in the term of areally dominating. The map visualizes the results of the project that are documented in a BGR report (Bodenarten der Böden Deutschlands; BGR Archiv, Nr. 0127305). The soil texture data from the analysis of the particle size distribution for 16,132 sites in Germany were classified after the legend units of land use-stratified soil map of Germany 1: 1,000,000 (BÜK1000N V2.3) and mean soil texture were calculated. Considering the large heterogeneity in the data and the resulting uncertaintly in the precision for a site the depiction of the obtained soil texture is presented at the level of the soil types group, according to the German soil classification system (KA5).

INSPIRE theme Geology. Provision of the sediment distribution of the seabed in the North and Baltic Sea.

Which salt formations are suitable for storing hydrogen or compressed air? In the InSpEE-DS research project, scientists developed requirements and criteria for the assessment of suitable sites even if their exploration is still at an early stage and there is little knowledge of the salinaries’ structures. Scientists at DEEP.KBB GmbH in Hanover, worked together with their project partners at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources and the Leibniz University Hanover, Institute for Geotechnics Hanover, to develop the planning basis for the site selection and for the construction of storage caverns in flat layered salt and multiple or double saliniferous formations. Such caverns could store renewable energy in the form of hydrogen or compressed air. While the previous project InSpEE was limited to salt formations of great thickness in Northern Germany, salt horizons of different ages have now been examined all over Germany. To estimate the potential, depth contour maps of the top and the base as well as thickness maps of the respective stratigraphic units and reference profiles were developed. Information on compressed air and hydrogen storage potential were given for the identified areas and for the individual federal states. The web service "Information system for flat layered salt" gives access to this data. The scale of display is limited to a minimum of 1:300.000. This geographic information is product of a BMWi-funded research project "InSpEE-DS" running from the year 2015 to 2019. The acronym stands for "Information system salt: planning basis, selection criteria and estimation of the potential for the construction of salt caverns for the storage of renewable energies (hydrogen and compressed air) - double saline and flat salt layers".

Nation-wide land use strategies and planning as well as soil protection require harmonised and standardised area-covering information. Such data is provided by the digital Soil Map of Germany at scale 1:200,000 (BUEK200). The pedological data of this map, stored in a relational database, is used to demonstrate the abundance and the associations of soils and their basic properties in Germany. However, the main purpose of the BUEK200 is to offer a database which allows the estimation and visualisation of soil functions, soil potentials and soil hazards. To achieve comparable soil information throughout Germany the BGR and the soil surveys of the federal lands have elaborated and defined BUEK200 standards concerning the map (e.g. delineation and description of mapping units) and its database (e.g. database model, parameters, codification).

Compilation of the European Pre-Quaternary marine geology (section of Germany). Project partners are the national geological services of the participating countries. The map consists of data at highest available spatial resolution, map scale („multi-resolution“-concept) and data completeness vary depending on the project partner (as of 2016 September). According to the Data Specification on Geology (D2.8.II.4_v3.0) the content of the geological map is stored in a INSPIRE-compliant GML file: EMODnet-DE_Pre-Quaternary_GeologicUnit.gml contains the geologic units. The GML files together with a Readme.txt file are provided in ZIP format (EMODnet-DE_Pre-Quaternary-INSPIRE.zip). The Readme.text file (German/English) contains detailed information on the GML file content. Data transformation was proceeded by using the INSPIRE Solution Pack for FME according to the INSPIRE requirements.

The map series General Geological Map of the Federal Republic of Germany 1:200,000 (GÜK200) is the result of cooperation between the State Geological Surveys of the Federal Republic of Germany (SGD), the Geological Surveys of neighbouring countries and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR). The GÜK200 displays the surface geology of Germany and adjacent areas of neighbouring countries on 55 map sheets. The map sheets show the regional dissemination of more than 3800 geological units. The geological units contain information on stratigraphy (age), genesis and petrography (composition) of the rocks. Each printed/scanned map sheet contains one or several geological cross-sections which give an insight into the subsurface. The digital data of the map series are stored separately for each map sheet. According to this geological units/polygons, their boundaries, tectonic linear elements and, if present, ice sheet boundaries are saved as a discrete layer in a shapefile for the single map sheets. The attributes of the geological units contain information – like in the printed map sheets – on stratigraphy, genesis and petrography of the rocks.

The BSK1000 (INSPIRE) provides the basic information on the spatial distribution of energy resources and mineral raw materials (‘stones and earth’, industrial minerals and ores) in Germany on a scale of 1:1,000,000. The BSK1000 is published by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources in cooperation with the State Geological Surveys of Germany. According to the Data Specification on Mineral Resources (D2.8.III.21) the content of the map is stored in five INSPIRE-compliant GML files: BSK1000_Mine.gml contains important mines as points. BSK1000_EarthResource_point_Energy_resources_and_mineral_raw_materials.gml contains small-scale energy resources and mineral raw materials as points. BSK1000_EarthResource_polygon_Distribution_of_salt.gml contains the distribution of salt as polygons. BSK1000_EarthResource_polygon_Energy_resources.gml contains large-scale energy resources as polygons. BSK1000_EarthResource_polygon_Mineral_raw_materials.gml contains large-scale mineral raw materials as polygons. The GML files together with a Readme.txt file are provided in ZIP format (BSK1000-INSPIRE.zip). The Readme.text file (German/English) contains detailed information on the GML files content. Data transformation was proceeded by using the INSPIRE Solution Pack for FME according to the INSPIRE requirements.

Compilation of the European marine geomorphology (section of Germany). According to the Data Specification on Geology (D2.8.II.4_v3.0) the content of the geological map is stored in an INSPIRE-compliant GML file: EMODnet-DE_Geomorphology_NaturalGeomorphologicFeature.gml contains the natural geomorphologic features. The GML file together with a Readme.txt file are provided in ZIP format (EMODnet-DE_Geomorphology-INSPIRE.zip). The Readme.text file (German/English) contains detailed information on the GML file content. Data transformation was proceeded by using the INSPIRE Solution Pack for FME according to the INSPIRE requirements.

The map ”Organic Matter Content of Top-Soils in Germany 1:1,000,000 (INSPIRE)” highlights the results of a Germany-wide compilation of typical soil organic matter contents in top-soils differentiated according to 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 Archive, No. 0127036 (in German) documents the methodology. To transform the organic matter content (of the original dataset HUMUS1000OB) into INSPIRE-relevant organic carbon content (CORG1000OB), we applied the van Bemmelen factor (1.724). According to the “Data Specification on Soil“ (D2.8.III.3_v3.0) and the “Guidelines for the use of Observations & Measurements and Sensor Web Enablement-related standards in INSPIRE“ (D2.9_v3.0) the content of the map “Organic Matter Content of Top-Soils in Germany 1:1,000,000“ is stored in a single INSPIRE-compliant GML file: buek1000-humus-ob_SoilDerivedObject.gml. The data has been transformed into the following INSPIRE-Feature Types (Spatial Object Types): “SoilDerivedObject“, “OM_Observation“ and “OM_Process“. The GML file together with a Readme.txt file is provided in ZIP format (BUEK1000-HUMUS-OB-INSPIRE.zip). The Readme.text file (German/English) contains detailed information on the GML file content. Data transformation was proceeded by using the INSPIRE Solution Pack for FME according to the INSPIRE requirements.