Welcome to WOSSAC

The mission of the World Soil Survey Archive and Catalogue (WOSSAC) at Cranfield University, UK, is to provide a secure home for soil survey reports, maps, imagery and photographs produced over the last 80 years from 396 territories worldwide, with a view to ensuring their enduring availability and protection. WOSSAC holds:

Maps

Maps and charts of soil and environmental themes worldwide

Books

Extensive soil survey reports, books and monographs

Photographs and imagery

Soil-related photographs and historical satellite imagery

Datasets

Soil profile data, land characteristics and statistical environmental information

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Hosted at Cranfield University, UK

As the UK's only exclusively postgraduate university, Cranfield University's world-class expertise, large-scale facilities and unrivalled industry partnerships is creating leaders in technology and management globally.

Environment and Agrifood

For 50 years, Cranfield has been contributing to enhancing natural capital and ensuring that global food systems are more resilient for the future. We are recognised worldwide by industry, government and academe for our research and teaching in plants, soil, water and air.

Soil science

Our research spans from basic aspects of soil physics, chemistry and biology to soil resource evaluation, sustainable soil management, soil conservation and land restoration.

QUEEN’S ANNIVERSARY PRIZE

Cranfield University is delighted to announce that, for the fifth time in its history, it has been the proud recipient of a prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize, in recognition of research and education in large-scale soil and environmental data for the sustainable use of natural resources in the UK and worldwide. Cranfield is one of only eight institutions to have won the award on five or more separate occasions.

This is the first time in the Prize’s history that an award has been given for soil science. Cranfield University's world-class expertise, large-scale facilities and unrivalled industry partnerships is creating leaders in technology and management globally.

Our prize was made ‘In recognition of research and education in large-scale soil and environmental data for the sustainable use of natural resources in the UK and worldwide’. The WOSSAC Archive and related soil facilities played a critical part in this success story for the University.

Queen's Anniversay Award logo

Case studies

The WOSSAC Archive and its many resources can be of enormous assistance for a range of applications and activities, from national and regional strategic land planning, to managing development and relief efforts, to the conduct of academic research. WOSSAC contains a huge wealth of unique reports, maps, manuscripts, photographs and albums covering scores of countries around the world over a period of many decades. The following examples give an idea of how the WOSSAC archive is being used to further development aid, relief work and research.

Blog

Recent news and updates from the WOSSAC archive. See All the blogs »

Dr Ian Baillie: 1941-2023: Obituary - a soil scientist remembered

We are sorry to learn of the death this week of Dr Ian Baillie, who passed away following his gallant battle with ill health. Ian served as a key member of the soils archive team at Cranfield University as a Visiting Research Fellow, working on the WOSSAC global archive and collection of land resources materials.....

The Land Between the Rivers: A Forgotten Project in the Nile Valley

One of the features of the WOSSAC collection are the detailed records of soil and land appraisal projects undertaken with a view to large scale irrigation works. In Sudan, the early success of the Gezira cotton scheme developed in the 1950s encouraged the Government of Sudan and international donors to invest in preparatory investigation .....

Assessing Colonial Soil Science in Africa and its Legacy

Assessing Colonial Soil Science in Africa and its Legacy Workshops

Two members of the WOSSAC team at Cranfield University attended a workshop at the University of Nottingham on the 8th September. The meeting was convened to bring together academic researchers interested in the evolution of soil studies in Africa. The workshop title, Assessing Colonial Soil Science in Africa .....