Our School hosts the NERC Geophysical Equipment Facility, which loans equipment suitable for geophysical research free of charge to universities and other institutes engaged in environmental research. The NERC Geophysical Equipment Facility (GEF) forms part of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Scientific support and facilities portfolio. We support high-quality, peer reviewed projects across a broad spectrum of Earth and environmental sciences by providing internationally-recognised, state-of-the-art geophysical instrumentation for marine and land-based field experiments. Contact and location ContactNERC Geophysical Equipment Facility (GEF)gef@nerc.ac.uk+44 (0) 131 650 5927LocationAddress: Room 246, Grant Institute, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings, James Hutton Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FEPlease note that parking on campus is strictly by permit only, and parking spaces are subject to availability. Commercial and external users should contact our staff about parking arrangements. Campus maps and travel information The facility operates as three nodes:1. GEF (Edinburgh)Our Edinburgh GEF is located within the School of GeoSciences at the University of Edinburgh and forms the central administrative node. It specialises in support for geophysics fieldwork by supplying Global Navigational Satellite Systems (GNSS), Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Geomagnetic survey equipment, and Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) systems.2. GEF (Leicester)SEIS-UK is located within the Department of Geology at Leicester University and specialises in support for Seismology.3. OBIF (Ocean Bottom Instrument Facility)OBIF is located within Durham and Southampton Universities and specialises in seabed multi-sensor geophysical instrumentation. Instruments The NERC GEF maintains a pool of state-of-the-art geophysical equipment for loan to UK based researchers.We have a range of surveying equipment suitable for land-based research projects and marine projects. Access to facility resources Our facility loans equipment suitable for geophysical research free of charge to UK universities and other institutes engaged in environmental research within the NERC remit.Our instruments are extensively used by both experienced fieldworkers and novice PhD students to gather valuable geophysical data. NERC Geophysical Equipment Facility website We encourage you to visit our NERC Geophysical Equipment Facility website for more details, including:equipment catalogueloan information and application detailsscientific reports and publications NERC Geophysical Equipment Facility website Follow us on X @NERCgef This article was published on Wednesday 24 June 2026
