ACCESS TO THE NATIONAL GEOLOGIC MAP DATABASE (NGMDB) MAP CATALOG VIA ARCGIS IMAGE SERVER

The AASG-USGS National Geologic Map Database, through its Geoscience Map Catalog (http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/), provides access to 87,000 maps and reports by 630 publishers. More than 23,000 of these publications are geologic maps. Access to these geologic maps and other types of geoscience reports is provided via the Catalog's Product Description Pages (PDPs) and its links to sales offices, libraries, and web servers where the products can be downloaded.

ESRI’s ArcGIS Server Image Extension is used to display all of the available geologic maps through numerous image services, with a query function to identify the map and link to the PDP. The extension is used to provide access to geologic maps for: (1) users of ArcGIS, who can directly consume image services; and (2) the general public, who will gain access via a map viewer in the NGMDB Map Catalog web pages. Production work on this initiative began in earnest in late 2010, refining the workflow, georeferencing maps, managing the map images within the Catalog's Oracle database, and preparing the website for public access to the REST service via ArcGIS Server API for Flex. By mid-2011, about 6000 maps had been processed into the system. We anticipate the system will be available to the public by late 2011.