RESPONDING TO SOCIETAL NEEDS FOR GEOSCIENCE INFORMATION: THE NATIONAL GEOLOGIC MAP DATABASE

The USGS and the Association of American State Geologists (AASG) are mandated by Congress to provide a National Geologic Map Database (NGMDB, http://ngmdb.usgs.gov) of standardized, spatial geoscience information to be used to address societal issues and support scientific research. This USGS-AASG partnership also involves collaboration with the Geological Survey of Canada, universities, and the private sector.

The NGMDB Project provides many online resources for geologic mappers and for GIS and cartographic specialists who prepare maps and databases. For example: 1) the U.S. Geologic Names Lexicon ("GEOLEX"), a standard reference for the nation's stratigraphic nomenclature; 2) the Geoscience Map Catalog; 3) a Cartographic Resources website of map templates, publication guidelines, and other resources; and 4) Proceedings from the annual Digital Mapping Techniques workshops, which document map-preparation techniques, standards in use or in development by the nation's geological surveys, and data-capture techniques. Also, the NGMDB Project is designing an archive of unpublished information (e.g., paleontologic data, cores, field notes) to support geologic mapping; this archive also will address the goals of the newly-enacted National Geoscience Data Preservation Act.

The NGMDB Project's most ambitious task is to design an online, queryable database of geologic map information, to be served in a distributed environment by the numerous project partners. Working with other U.S. and Canadian agencies, we have developed draft standards for a map data model, lithologic terminology, locational accuracy, and map symbology. These standards are providing the framework for development of the distributed database. Recent progress includes development of a data-entry and database-management software tool with an accompanying suite of standard science terminologies, and implementation of the database in ESRI Geodatabase format. The ability to exchange information between nodes of the proposed distributed system is critical; accordingly, we have contributed to the IUGS CGI-sponsored development of a GML application for data interchange ("GeoSciML"), which should promote interoperability between state and federal databases that constitute nodes in the NGMDB system.