WEB-BASED GLACIAL AND BEDROCK GEOLOGIC MAP PRODUCTS AND DATABASES FOR MARION COUNTY, INDIANA

The Internet has become a medium of choice for delivering geologic information to both technical users and the general public. The Indiana Geological Survey (IGS) is creating a Web-based glacial and bedrock geologic map site for Marion County in central Indiana. Marion County is the site of Indiana’s capital and largest city, Indianapolis, and is an IGS mapping and outreach priority area because of intensity of land use. This Web site provides detailed geologic information in this area that continues to experience pressure on natural resources because of a growing population and expanding transportation network. The IGS anticipates that the information available via the Web site will be widely used by the general public, industry, and government entities concerned about the geology, groundwater, and other natural materials in this county.

The Marion County Web site links an Internet Map Server (IMS) and database to provide a portal to the IGS’s enterprise geodatabases that allows users to efficiently create, manage, update, and distribute maps and data. The IMS site retrieves maps and cross sections of Marion County completed during earlier IGS mapping projects. Map layers pertaining to bedrock geology, surficial geology, hydrology, infrastructure, and imagery layers are included. Database information includes (1) lithologic information compiled from water-well records stored in the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water archives, (2) natural gamma-ray geophysical log data, (3) stratigraphic test hole data, and (4) petroleum well-record data. The development of the Web site is funded by the IGS and the Great Lakes Geologic Mapping Coalition.