DATA PRESERVATION WITHIN THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY'S ENERGY RESOURCES PROGRAM

The USGS Energy Resources Program (ERP) is responsible for generating publicly available science-based assessments describing the distribution, quantity, and quality of domestic and worldwide energy resources. Characterizing energy resources and their distribution promotes responsible use, helps sustain a dynamic economy, and supports formulation of economic, energy, and environmental policies. The ERP sponsors a Data Management Project to (1) provide stewardship of information in support of energy assessments; (2) develop and implement Information Technology (IT), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and data management infrastructure; (3) expedite public access to energy resource information; and (4) preserve, archive, and provide data rescue for both project and enterprise data holdings. Being tasked in data preservation raises a variety of questions and poses several challenges with regard to desired outcomes, scope, and context—for example, to ensure that data collections are preserved for future projects, should data preservation efforts focus on rescue and archival of legacy data collections, or should they be directed toward current data modeling strategies. This presentation offers an overview of how the ERP has attempted to address such questions and challenges and will outline strategies and perspectives related to data preservation as it relates to the program mission. An overview of data rescue and preservation efforts within the program will be introduced in content areas related to legacy oil shale, uranium, coal, and seismic data. Further discussion will follow regarding strategies to help ensure data preservation for active and future projects through all phases of a project lifecycle.