Updating of the marine raw material database MARTA

To keep the users updated about the progress and news in the MARTA database GEUS provides a new service from 2023. You can access the news in two ways:

Via the link “Seneste nyhed ” on the MARTA-map.

Via a subscription to this RSS-feed, the users will get the news directly into their Microsoft Outlook. You can add the new RSS-feed in Outlook as: https://www.rss.geus.dk/category/marin-raastofdatabase-marta/?feed=rss

The method is described here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/subscribe-to-an-rss-feed-73c6e717-7815-4594-98e5-81fa369e951c

The data from the recent raw material mapping (2017-2021) governed by Miljøstyrelsen (Danish Environmental Protection Agency) has been interpreted by GEUS. The results are by January 2023 shown in the updated resource layer in MARTA. The updating includes information about the locations of the resource areas, the quality of the occurrences: resource type, geological formation type and resource certainty parameters (proven, likely, or speculative).

The resource areas’ raw material types are given according to the guidelines demanded from the exploitation companies when submitting production data to the Miljøstyrelsen. The submitted data comprise the four marine raw material classifications: sand 1, gravel 2, pebble gravel 3 and filler sand 4. The background for the characterisation is selected quality parameters, with the grain-size distribution as the basic parameter.

The accuracy of the mapping depends on the type and density of the background data. This is illustrated in the database with a legend at three levels: proven, likely, and speculative resources:

Proven resources yield a general assessment of volume and grain size and in certain cases material quality. A qualified guess of what and how much can be produced and of which quality, with an uncertainty of approx. 20%. The level of investigation corresponds to phase 1b according to the demands of the Raw Material Act.

Likely resources are limited, and the volume is reasonably well known based on a few seismic tracks and samples with associated grain-size analyses.

Speculative resources are primarily documented by scattered seismic data and based on a geological model.