WOSSAC is a unique environmental archive at Cranfield providing a secure home for soil survey reports, maps, imagery and photographs produced over the last 80 years from 373 territories worldwide, with a view to ensuring their enduring availability and protection.

Launched in 2004 in partnership with the British Society of Soil Science (BSSS), ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥'s is a unique archive and catalogue of all substantial soil survey and land appraisal documentation, including reports, maps and analytical data, over a period principally from around 1950 to the present. The core of this collection is survey material from developing countries, with particular reference to those by British companies. WOSSAC therefore provides a safe repository for endangered information. At the heart of the collection is a searchable and accessible catalogue making the accrued information widely available for consultation by interested parties, and of direct relevance to Cranfield’s work across the Sustainable Development Goals.

The archive is open for consultation online or in person. Hard copy documents can be accessed by arrangement at the ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ site with help of staff. There are currently well over 25,000 catalogued items in WOSSAC, from 374 territories worldwide. The archive has many users, including researchers, environmental organisations and development agencies. Curation of the material to provide background and context is ongoing where there are substantive holdings from a territory or locality. These overviews provide insights into local environmental conditions and historic land development planning.

The archive collection is housed in dedicated facilities within the new custom agri-informatics building on the Cranfield campus – itself funded in partnership by ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥, Innovate UK through the Agri-EPI Centre Ltd and the Wolfson Foundation – to create innovative informatics to support novel business, management and policy approaches in the agricultural sector. The building is also home of the National Reference Centre for Soils and Cranfield’s associated land information system, . In 2017, ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ was awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize for its research and education in large-scale soil and environmental data for the sustainable use of natural resources in the UK and worldwide, supported by the archive resources.

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