LibGuides: Earth Sciences: Databases and literature searching

Key databases for Earth Sciences

Digimap - agCensus
Access to Digimap services is restricted to UCL students and members of staff. Users must register with their UCL username and password on first use and agree to licence conditions. Access to a time-series database of grid square based data derived from the regular Agricultural Censuses of England, Scotland and Wales. Login and choose "agCensus".
Digimap - Geology Digimap
Access to Digimap services is restricted to UCL students and members of staff. Users must register with their UCL username and password on first use and agree to licence conditions. Online access to geological maps and data from the British Geological Survey. Login and choose "Geology".
Digimap - Marine Digimap
Access to Digimap services is restricted to UCL students and members of staff. Users must register with their UCL username and password on first use and agree to licence conditions. Login and choose "Marine". View and download hydrographic and marine data from SeaZone Solutions Ltd. Two datasets: Hydrospatial (in ESRI and MapInfo formats) and Charted Raster (GeoTiff format) are available.
Digimap - Pilot
Access to Digimap services is restricted to UCL students and members of staff. Users must register with their UCL username and password on first use and agree to licence conditions. Pilot provides access to data that Digimap are trying out and evaluating against demand from users. Login and choose "Pilot".
Digimap - Verisk Digimap
Previously named Geomni Digimap. Access to Digimap services is restricted to UCL students and members of staff. Users must register with their UCL username and password on first use and agree to licence conditions. Map data from VeriskUK. Login and choose "Verisk".
Elsevier Reference Collection in Earth Systems and Environmental Science
This reference collection contains trusted, peer-reviewed, comprehensive content from Elsevier's reference works. It contains "Featured Articles" for quick, clear overviews and subject hierarchies to put information in context. Accessibility statement for ScienceDirect.
Faculti Sciences collection
Faculti videos covering both formal and natural sciences offering academic and professional research insights.
GEOBASE
See the LibrarySkills@UCL guide to Ovid. This database can be accessed by no more than 4 users at a time. Index of literature in the fields of physical and human geography, geology, oceanography, geomechanics, mineralogy, ecology and development studies.
GeoRef
See the LibrarySkills@UCL guide to Ovid. Index of literature in the geosciences. See GeoRef InProcess for provisional content.
GeoRef InProcess
See the LibrarySkills@UCL guide to Ovid. Records of the American Geological Institute's geoscience database that have not yet been indexed completely. These records will appear in GeoRef once they are indexed fully.
Google Scholar
UCL has activated findit@UCL links in Google Scholar. If you are using a UCL computer, you should see these links automatically. If you are outside the UCL network and want to display findit@UCL links, you will need to set UCL in 'Library Links' within the Settings menu.
JoVE Unlimited
UCL users have access to all JoVE content, including over 15,000 videos in 13 sections of the JoVE Video Journal. New subject series and collections are added to the JoVE Science Education Library several times a year.
Knovel
Searchable science and engineering data taken from leading databooks and databases. Please note that content with a padlock icon next to it is unavailable to UCL
SCOPUS
See the LibrarySkills@UCL guide to Scopus. Multi-disciplinary database containing references to journal articles, conference proceedings, trade publications, book series and web resources. Please use IE 8 or higher, Google Chrome or Firefox browsers.
SNL Metals & Mining
For UCL users only. Register via S&P Capital IQ Pro New User on initial use from a UCL computer with your UCL email to create a username and password. Change between SNL Metals & Mining, Financial and Real Estate data by changing your ‘Current Profile’ within the ‘User Profile and Display Information’ in your user account. To search all modules, please use the Generalist profile.
Web of Science
See the LibrarySkills@UCL guide to Web of Science. Defaults to a ‘Core Collection’ search, covering the main Web of Science journals database; select 'All Databases' option from the drop down menu to cross-search all of UCL's subscribed Web of Science products, including Biosis, MEDLINE etc.

FindIt@UCL

Where you see the Findit@UCL icon, click on it to link to the full text.

Sometimes you will see a link to the publisher's site. Unless the article is open access, you might find that you can't reach the full text.

Clicking on the Findit@UCL link instead will link you to the full text via UCL's subscription access, if available.

Library Databases

Library databases A-Z
Browse or search our databases by title, or use the Subject drop down box at the top to narrow down to databases in your subject area.

What is a database?

Search strategies for literature searching

This online tutorial uses a series of videos and activities to demonstrate some top tips for enhancing your searching skills. The extract below looks at how you decide what terms to use.

Try the full tutorial.

Guide to searching for information

This guide will help you start looking for research for assignments, literature reviews and research.