DIGITAL FIELD DATA-COLLECTION TECHNIQUES AT THE KENTUCKY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

The Kentucky Geological Survey has a rich history of geologic mapping and field data collection that dates to the late 1800’s. Data-collection techniques by Survey geologists have proven to be highly effective but have essentially remained unchanged, using paper maps, field notebooks, and traditional measuring devices to navigate and collect data. With the emergence of digital data, there has been a desire to use methods that would streamline data flow from the field into the KGS enterprise database. To accomplish this, KGS has recently started digital field data collection through the use of the ESRI Collector for ArcGIS application. This is a native iOS and Android application that allows field workers to collect ArcGIS-compatible data in the field with a mobile device, and upload the data into an enterprise database. KGS has been using this application on two projects.

Since 2004, geologic mapping at the Kentucky Geological Survey has been primarily focused on mapping the surficial geology of Kentucky. Using the ESRI Collector application, mappers can collect data and photos in the field with a standard tablet or phone device; this has the advantage of having both online and offline capability, which was a requirement for the mappers since they commonly work in areas without reliable cell phone signal. Once uploaded, the collected data (point and line features) can be directly accessed to produce geologic maps in a GIS.

The ESRI Collector application has also been used for field-checking sinkholes in central Kentucky that were identified using LiDAR. The processed sinkhole data were loaded into Collector, and the field workers would use the application to navigate to a possible sinkhole feature and record all necessary information when identifying whether it was a sinkhole or not. This proved to be a highly effective and efficient method for accomplishing this task.