Want to know what's under your feet? Your smartphone can now tell you.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council and GNS Science have collaborated to develop an interactive portal which provides instant access to information on Bay of Plenty groundwater systems and geology.
All you need to do is enter a street address or map co-ordinates into your computer, or have an android smartphone with GPS (the app isn't available for iPhone yet), and you can call up information about the geology beneath your feet.
The computer programme is believed to be the first of its kind in New Zealand, and both organisations have funded the project. The regional council provides its groundwater information and borehole data, and GNS Science provides information on aquifers - earth or rock containing water - which are available to the public.
Regional council science manager Rob Donald said the model was part of a larger project where scientists developed three-dimensional subsurface geological models of Taupo's volcanic zone to better understand the geometry, fluid flow pathways and layer properties underground.