BEYOND THE MAP: INTEGRATION OF NON-SPATIAL GEOLOGIC INFORMATION WITH GEOSPATIAL GEOLOGIC MAP DATA

The Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) is currently converting the statewide set of published 7.5-minute geologic quadrangle maps (GQ's) into a geographic information system (GIS) format. One problem with this endeavor is that detailed geologic information from a traditional GQ, such as lithologic descriptions, does not fit in a standard database field, so this type of data cannot be attributed to the geospatial information using the standard GIS methods. To help solve this problem, the lithologic column, lithologic descriptions, economic geology, and references from each published geologic map are being electronically scanned. This information is then put into a Microsoft Help file format so that a user can easily query the more detailed information about a GQ. This format is useful because:

· Any Windows user can run a Help file without downloading any extra programs or components.

· Help files are portable: one small (< 3 MB) file can hold the map information from at least 160 7.5-minute quadrangle maps, and all this information can be easily accessed through a simple menu.

· Help files have a built-in search capability so that any word or phrase contained in the file (e.g., "limestone") can be searched, enabling a user to retrieve all the documents containing that word or phrase.

The information in a Help file can also be "hot-linked" to geospatial data in standard GIS applications such as ArcView (ESRI). Through simple scripts, Help file codes can be used to link the lithologic descriptions in a Help file with their associated geospatial feature in a GIS application. The final product of this effort is a customized, interactive ArcView project of the geospatial geologic and geographic data linked to the lithologic description Help file. This enables the user to query and view the spatial geologic features, and also query and view more detailed information, such as lithologic descriptions and columns, about the geospatial data.