FAQs

What is GeoStage?

GeoStage is an application designed for researchers and students to explore and create geological maps and visualisations.

Who can use GeoStage?

Everyone! Universities, schools, researchers, academics, teachers and students in geology and earth sciences.

Business and commerical users are also welcome to use GeoStage, though commercial and economic geology is not the focus of the application.

Of course, any one can download and try it out to learn some geology.

When will GeoStage be available for download?

An early alpha release is targeted for between July to September 2027.

What platforms will GeoStage support?

GeoStage will be available for Linux, Windows and MacOS.

How much will GeoStage cost?

Nothing! GeoStage is free and open-source software.

GeoStage uses some commercial services to provide satellite imagery and elevation data. See How will GeoStage connect to Google, MapBox etc?

How will GeoStage be funded?

GeoStage will be supported through donations and other funding.

Support licences may be available in the future for organisations.

Once the core features of GeoStage have been completed, additional features may be provided under a separate commerical licence upon request.

How will GeoStage connect to Google, MapBox etc?

Users will need to connect to these services themselves and provide the appropriate API key to GeoStage.

These API keys can not be provided by GeoStage since exposing them in the open-source code would violate the Terms of Service from these providers. Further, these can not be proxied or sublicenced through GeoStage without violating the TOS.

An organisation that provides GeoStage to multiple users over a network will be able to use a Windows Group Policy or similar to provide these keys.

How does GeoStage compare to ArcGIS, QGIS etc?

GeoStage is focused on geology and geological mapping. It does not require customisation or configuration to create geological maps. It can also create interactive 3D visualisations and animations from your data.

While ArcGIS, QGIS and other GIS software are excellent, they are designed for a broader use-case and therefore require more effort to make work for a geological context.

Who is developing GeoStage?

My name is Laurence, I am currently an undergraduate in Geology at Birbeck College, University of London. My field work focuses on the palaeoenvironments of human evolution in South Africa.

I am a software developer with almost two decades of professional experience building large, complex software with millions of end-users.