KANSAS GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEOSCIENCE INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET

The Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) began distributing information over the internet in 1995. With the ultimate goal of presenting as much as possible of our geoscience information via our website and aiding users in utilizing and interpreting the information, we continually increase and improve our natural resources data; add selected publications, reports, and educational resources; provide pertinent links; and build practical applications and interactive tools. Resource topics on the KGS website (www.kgs.ku.edu) include:

· Groundwater: three databases of water wells and water rights; attendant mapping applications; data on well locations, depths, yields, static water levels, down-hole lithologies; annual water level measurements; High Plains/Ogallala Aquifer information.

· Oil and Gas: records on nearly every oil and gas well in the state. General and specialized searches are available, as is an interactive mapping tool, scanned logs and forms, and a variety of web-based applications. Electronic filing of forms (or Online record submission) is being developed in collaboration with the Kansas Corporation Commission.

· General Geology: geologic maps and charts, measured sections, bulletins, publications, information on industrial minerals, and an online bibliography of publications related to Kansas geology.

· Geophysics: research and shallow seismic exploration information, seismic processing software, and gravity and magnetic data for the entire state.

· Publications: many online, include public information circulars, open-file reports, current research reports, county bulletins, and a catalogue of available KGS publications, maps, books, and software.

· Educational Resources: information about geologic regions, fossils, rocks and minerals, places to visit, a photo library, interactive activities, reports, books, and interesting links.

Adding and editing data is facilitated through centralized relational databases and uses the internet as the only interface to the data; thus the only software needed for retrieving or creating data is a web browser. Scientists, government agencies, policy makers, private industry, and the public have come to rely heavily on the geologic information available on the KGS website, typically averaging 490,000 visits per month.