Geological information is essential for a diversity of public and other
purposes, including land use planning, hazard mitigation, and the exploration
and sustainable use of natural resources. This is especially important in New
Zealand, where the complexity of the geology is due to its position on an active
plate boundary - the ultimate cause of earthquakes, mountain building,
subsidence and volcanic activity. The geological setting also controls the
origin and distribution of New Zealand's varied mineral and energy resources.
Providing information about the origin, quality and quantity of mineral
resources has long been seen as a key function of national geological
organisations such as the Institute of Geologicaland Nuclear Sciences.
Such information is essential for wise land-use decisions under the Resource
Management Act. One of the major goals of the Institute is to quickly and
effectively disseminate research results to interested users. The most effective
and internationally accepted method of presenting geological data is by means of
geological maps, which show the distribution of rock types and structural
features at the surface. Most countries have ongoing gelogical mapping
programmes, and in recent years the need for up-to-date, reliable information
has led to a trend to accelerate basic geological mapping (eg US National
Geological Mapping Act 1992; Australian National Mapping Accord 1990; Plan 2000
in the UK).
Over the last 25 years, the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences and
its predecessors (NZ Geological Survey and DSIR Geology and Geophysics) have
concentrated on detailed mapping of priority areas selected on the basis of
economic and scientific interest. This has included remapping of Nelson-West
Coast and Coromandel, regions with high mineral potential, for which 1:63 360 or
1:50 000 maps have been prepared.