WORLD WAR II-ERA GEOLOGIC MAPS AND REPORTS OF PACIFIC ISLANDS – IMPROVING THEIR ACCESSIBILITY VIA THE WEB

During and after World War II, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Military Geology Unit was charged with preparing reports on Pacific islands where military operations might be conducted. These reports included geologic and soils maps, and interpretive maps of construction materials, water resources, road and airfield siting and construction, and beach and terrain analysis. After the war this effort continued under agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and USGS. The results were released in a series of reports that were accompanied by high-quality map plates. Given the subject matter and rather informal nature of their publication, access to these reports has been quite limited. However, through cooperation between USACE and USGS, these reports have been scanned and now are available online, through the National Geologic Map Database (NGMDB), where they can be discovered and accessed by a much larger user community. An example of the scanned report and map plates is shown at http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_100429.htm. Maps of the Pacific islands surveyed by the Military Geology Unit are viewable in the NGMDB’s mapView application, at http://t.co/nrRErGgOZl.