The NBN Atlas Data and Development teams have introduced a range of new features being rolled out in the NBN Atlas.
The updates are being delivered through the NBN Atlas Accelerator project 2024/25, which has been developed in partnership with Natural England and funded by Defra through the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services (NCEA) programme. The project aims to maximise the mobilisation, use and impact of biodiversity data that aligns with global standards and helps us achieve our mission of making data work for nature.
These improvements will be rolled out gradually alongside upgrades to the underlying data processing platform, which forms the final stage of the “Fit for the Future” project to increase efficiency and capacity for handling new data sources.
NBN Atlas Accelerator Project Enhancements
Data Sharing and Access Improvements
- eDNA data is now supported in the NBN Atlas. A new template and full guidance has been generated to make it easier for data partners to share occurrence data derived from molecular-based approaches to biodiversity monitoring.
- Metadata updates: Templates for data partners have been revised to clarify required information, whilst online displays have been updated to improve navigation. The new guidance and help also has details of over 40 Darwin Core Terms the NBN Atlas supports.
- Access Controls: The new function, released earlier this year, enables data partners and users to provide and view full spatial resolution data with appropriate controls. We now have eight data resources shared through access controls, with another four being added during July’s data processing run. Please email data@nbn.org.uk if you are interested in this feature and have your say on how you would like it to be enhanced.
Data Quality enhancements
- Citations and references: New fields have been added to link occurrence records to research papers and researcher identifiers, following requests from users for improved citation tracking.
- Metrics for data partners and data uses: We have been working with Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and Defra on updating one of the core biodiversity indicators that supports the UK reporting against the Global Biodiversity Framework. This work will ultimately update the previous E1 metric.
- Conservation designations: Species pages will soon include clearer information about conservation status, showing UK Red List status and Nationally Rare and Scarce designations. Updated processes are now in place to maintain current species designation information.
Data Visualisations
- Web Map Service (WMS) features: New Web Map Service capabilities are available, in beta version, to help users integrate NBN Atlas maps into GIS applications. Please let us know if you have any feedback on this via the embedded links to the NBN Forum.
- Embeddable Map Service: A new embeddable map service has been developed to replace the outdated legacy system. It is backward-compatible, offering immediate visual improvements for existing users. The current implementation of the new service is an advanced prototype, providing a strong foundation for a production-ready service.
- Site wide NBN Atlas maps: Working with FuturesWild.com, we undertook a user discovery workshop and gathered feedback from NBN Atlas users on the current mapping functionality. This resulted in FuturesWild creating new designs for the map components to enhance the navigation, usability and download options, addressing issues raised that we can look to implement in 2025/26.
- Spatial portal: A major upgrade has been tested and will shortly be rolled out to this powerful analysis tool.
User Experience Improvements
- My Profile and Saved Searches: We have upgraded the My Profile section of the NBN Atlas to make it easier to navigate and allow users to save their search criteria, so that they can run the same search another time. Full information on how to access this new feature is available in the help pages.
Further announcements and guidance on new features will be provided as the roll out continues. More guidance and information is available through the NBN Atlas documentation and help pages.