DIGITAL GEOSCIENCE RESOURCES: COLLABORATIVE COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION

In this age of complex information sources and technologies, colleagues are working together to collect and disseminate geoscience information in digital formats. At the University of Arkansas (UA), faculty in the Geosciences Department, Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST), and University Libraries have created numerous web-based resources, collaborative projects that have involved students and staff on campus and in governmental agencies throughout the state. Collaboration requires a pervasive, long-term relationship in which colleagues recognize common goals, undertake extensive planning and implementation, and share benefits.

Various collaborative projects since the mid-1990s have resulted in digital geospatial resources that include geoscience data. CAST developed the first comprehensive statewide online geospatial digital data warehouse and delivery system – GeoStor – which provides data for download and use with geographic information systems (GIS) software. Supported by the Arkansas Geographic Information Office, it represents a cooperative collection of over 600 thematic layers, including hydrology, geology, soils, and imagery data, contributed by local, regional, state, and federal agencies as well as UA researchers. Starting the Hunt, developed initially by colleagues at CAST and now maintained by the UA Libraries, offers a guide to online U.S. geospatial data including links to numerous state geological surveys. Coordinated by the local regional planning commission with many funding sources including the UA Libraries, a recent collaborative project resulted in a set of one-foot resolution orthorectified aerial photography. With Web access as developed by CAST, the imagery can be examined through an imagery viewer or downloaded through GeoStor, and is useful for geologic applications. Currently the Geosciences Department, CAST and UA Libraries are conducting a collaborative grant-supported project to digitize and provide Web access for a historic collection of imagery used for geologic analysis. All these digital geoscience resources are disseminated through the UA Libraries' GIS and Maps Web page.